Includes bibliographical references.

Part I. Historical dimension. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe : origins and relevance of Weltliteratur / John Pizer -- Hugo Meltzl and "the principle of polyglottism" / David Damrosch -- Georg Brandes : the telescope of comparative literature / Svend Erik Larsen -- Richard Moulton and the "perspective attitude" in world literature / Sarah Lawall -- Rabindranath Tagore's comparative world literature / Bhavya Tiwari -- Richard Meyer's concept of world literature / Monika Schmitz-Emans -- Albert Guérard : reworking humanism for a troubled century / Dominique Vaugeois -- Erich Auerbach and the death and life of world literature / Aamir R. Mufti -- Qian Zhongshu as comparatist / Zhang Longxi -- René Etiemble : defense and illustration of a "true literary comparatism" / Samira Sayeh -- Dionýz Ďurišim and a systemic theory of world literature / César Domínguez -- Claudio Guillén : (world) literature as system / Darío Villanueva -- Edward W. Said : the worldliness of world literature / Jonathan Arac -- Pascale Casanova and the Republic of Letters / Helena Carvalhão Buescu -- Franco Moretti and the global wave of the novel / Mads Rosendahl Thomsen.

Part II. The disciplinary dimension. World literature and philology / Michael Holquist -- World literature and national literature(s) / Jing Tsu -- World literature and comparative literature / Sandra Bermann -- World literature and translation studies / Lawrence Venuti -- World literature between history and theory / Vilashini Cooppan -- World literature and postmodernism / Hans Bertens -- World literature and postcolonialism / Robert J.C. Young -- World literature and globalization / Eric Hayot -- World literature and diaspora studies / Jason Frydman -- World literature and cosmopolitanism / César Domínguez.

Part III. The theoretical dimension. Teaching worldly literature / Martin Puchner -- The canon(s) of world literature / Peter Carravetta -- The great books / John T. Kirby -- Bibliomigrancy : book series and the making of world literature / B. Venkat Mani -- World literature and the internet / Thomas O. Beebee -- World literature and the library / Reingard Nethersole -- World literature and the book market / Ann Steiner -- World literature, francophonie, and Creole cosmopolitics / Françoise Lionnet -- World literature and popular literature : toward a wordless literature? / Jan Baetens -- The genres of world literature : the case of magical realism / Mariano Siskind -- The poetics of world literature / Zhang Longxi -- The ethics of world literature / Peter Hitchcock -- The politics of world literature Sanja Bahun -- Uses of world literature / Bruce Robbins -- Gender and sexuality in world literature / Debra A. Castillo -- World literature and the environment / Ursula K. Heise -- Mapping world literature / Theo D'Haen.

Part IV. The geographical dimension. World literature and European literature / Roberto M. Dainotto -- World literature and Latin American literature / Djelal Kadir -- World literature and US American literature / Lawrence Buell -- African roads / Nirvana Tanoukhi -- World literature and East Asian literature / Red Chan -- Constructions of world literature in colonial and postcolonial India / Vinay Dharwadker -- The thousand and one nights as world literature / Sandra Naddaff -- World literature and Muslim Southeast Asia / Ronit Ricci.