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SISU hosts the Second Symposium on Regional and National Literature


20 January 2020 | By SESTA | Copyedited by Deng Boyin

  • Group photo

  • @ the Symposium

  • Writers sharing experience

  • Writers sharing experience

H

osted by the Institute of Literature Studies of Shanghai International Studies University (SISU), and co-organized by Shanghai Writers’ Association and Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press (SFLEP), the Second Symposium on Regional and National Literature was held on October 24th, 2019.

Participants included 13 experts in British and American Literature, Russian Literature, Japanese Literature, Arabic Literature, Polish Literature, Ukrainian Literature, and 11 writers, who were on the Shanghai Writing Programfrom countries, including Italy, Poland, Belgium, Jamaica, Mexico, Brazil, Thailand and Egypt.

The opening ceremony was hosted by Zheng Tiwu, dean of the Institute of Literature Studies. He pointed out that the organization of the symposium was aimed at not only building SISU into a world-class foreign language university with distinctive strengths in national area studies, but also promoting and diversifying China’s foreign literature research.

One of the major features of the symposium was that it brought together scholars and writers from different countries and regions, who had to venture across linguistic and national barriers.

The symposium consists two parts, namely academic seminars and experience sharing.

Yu Jianhua talked about the compilation of A Companion to American Literature and emphasized the book’s role in promoting cultural exchanges and connecting readers. Cai Weiliang shared his findings about the patterns of award-winning literature in the Arabian Gulf region in recent years in terms of content and literary features. Xie Jianwen analyzed the ground-breaking features of the dramatic works by Peter Handke, the 2019 winner of the Nobel Prize in literature. Other presenters included Elena Boldyreva from Russia, Gao Jie, Yang Sumei, Li Xinmei, Zhang Xu, Mao Rui, Xu Lisha and Lyu Na.

The writers exchanged their ideas on a range of topics. For example, using the masterpieces of contemporary Jewish literature, Chicano literature and Chinese American literature as examples, American writer Benet Cohn analyzed the identity issue in American literature. On the basis of his observation of the status quo of English literature, British novelist and poet Gerard Woodward pointed out that diversification is the future of literature and should be considered a tool for understanding and reflecting on society.

Other topics addressed included language, writing, publishing, the status quo and trends of literature in different countries, the aims of literature, the relationship between literature and imagination and that between literature and reality. Participated in the discussion were Polish writer Dorota Maslowsrf, Italian writer Gabriele Di Fronzo, Belgian playwight Isabelle Werym, Jamaican poet Millicent A. A. Graham, Mexican writer Noe Morales Munoz, Brazilian playwright and translator Paulo Scott, Thai novelist and poet Rewan Panpipat, Russian writer Tulusheva Elena, Italian writer Viola Di Grado, and Egyptian writer and journalist Yasser Abdel Hafez.

This article is translated by Bai Yang and Xu Mingchun, and proofread by Lu Yuyang, members of the Translation Association of the School of English Studies (SESTA) at Shanghai International Studies University. For use of the content, please contact: ses_translators@163.com.

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Press Contact

SISU News Center, Office of Communications and Public Affairs

Tel : +86 (21) 3537 2378

Email : news@shisu.edu.cn

Address :550 Dalian Road (W), Shanghai 200083, China

Further Reading