America Bungaku-shi heno Shoutai (An Essential History of American Literature)

The significance of the study of national literary history is no longer self-evident. Since the latter half of the 20th century, there has been a re-evaluation of the writers and works previously accorded universal value as “canon,” leading to attempts to describe a more diverse literary history. In addition to examining historical lineages from a perspective that reconsiders the framework of the nation-state’s “national language,” the advancement of network society, given much boost by the Internet, has made cultural creation across multiple, contemporary regions an everyday phenomenon.
 
In response to these developments, attempts to present the literary history of a nation are also becoming polarized. On one hand, there is a trend to expand the concept of literature to other cultural domains by drawing on materials like visual media, while on the other, some prioritize interdisciplinarity, adopt an encyclopedic style, and focus on thematic description. While it is natural for the presentation and description of literary history to change with the currents of the times, the fundamental fact that the appeal of individual literary works supports all these diverse endeavors will likely remain constant.
 
This book, Invitation to American Literary History, is a concise compilation of essential information for surveying the literature of the United States. It merges the latest developments surrounding 21st-century literary studies, as mentioned above, with a re-recognition of the literary work as the basis for everything else. While incorporating knowledge brought about by new views on literature and history, the book focuses on the writers and works still considered important today, even after decades of re-evaluation by various critical theories and philosophies since the latter half of the 20th century, emphasizing the reaffirmation of their literary appeal and significance.
 
A major characteristic of this book is the opportunity it provides to appreciate this literary appeal directly. It selects representative works from each era and introduces their actual expressions along with their critical assessments, rather than simply offering the biographies of the author. Furthermore, by introducing sections that emphasize the connection between the historical background and literature from the late 16th to the 21st century, the book stresses that studying American literary history is also a way to study the development of the United States as a nation.
 
Given the significant influence of the dynamic United States on the world, the book also incorporates contemporary perspectives, such as American literature within the context of world literature, its relation to Japanese literature, or 21st-century immigrant literature. Additionally, it includes supplementary materials such as maps visualizing the settings of the works and a guide to secondary literature for readers who wish to deepen their academic inquiry starting from this book.
 

(Written by FUJII Hikaru, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology / 2025)