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| Comparative Literature Association of India | |
|---|---|
| Name | Comparative Literature Association of India |
| Formation | 1970s |
| Type | Professional association |
| Headquarters | India |
| Region served | India |
| Fields | Comparative literature |
Comparative Literature Association of India is a national scholarly association that promotes the study of comparative literature across Indian and global contexts. The association connects scholars working on multilingual literatures and links to international institutions, journals, and universities to foster interdisciplinary dialogue. It engages with literary historians, translators, critics, and cultural theorists through conferences, publications, and collaborative projects.
The association’s origins trace to early academic initiatives that paralleled developments at Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Delhi, University of Calcutta, University of Mumbai, Banaras Hindu University, University of Madras, University of Pune, Aligarh Muslim University, University of Hyderabad, Jadavpur University, Panjab University, University of Kerala, University of Allahabad, Visva-Bharati University, University of Lucknow, North-Eastern Hill University, University of Rajasthan, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Punjabi University and Sri Venkateswara University. Influences include comparative paradigms from University of Paris, King's College London, Harvard University, Columbia University, University of Chicago, Yale University, Princeton University, Stanford University, Oxford University, Cambridge University, University of Toronto, McGill University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, University of Edinburgh, University of Melbourne, Australian National University, Leiden University, Heidelberg University, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Bologna, Università di Roma La Sapienza, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Universidade de São Paulo, Seoul National University, National University of Singapore, Tsinghua University, and Peking University. Key formative moments involved collaborations with centers associated with figures like Ananda Coomaraswamy, A.K. Ramanujan, R.S. Sharma, Irawati Karve, Gopinath Kaviraj, Sukumar Azhikode and institutional links to libraries such as National Library of India and archives like Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.
Governing structures echo models from Modern Language Association, International Comparative Literature Association, Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies, European Society for Comparative Literature, South Asian Literary Association, Asian Comparative Literature Association and national councils such as University Grants Commission and Indian Council of Historical Research-linked practices. Executive committees, elected presidents and secretaries have come from departments at University of Delhi, Jadavpur University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Hyderabad, Banaras Hindu University, Aligarh Muslim University, Calcutta University and Pune University. Advisory boards have included scholars associated with Sahitya Akademi, National Translation Mission, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta and museums like Indian Museum.
The association runs lecture series, translation workshops and collaborative seminars modeled on programs at Sahitya Akademi, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Institute of Development Studies and India International Centre. It organizes pedagogy workshops tied to graduate programs at Jadavpur University, University of Delhi Faculty of Arts, School of Oriental and African Studies, École Normale Supérieure-linked exchanges and international fellowships referencing Fulbright Program, Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, Erasmus Programme, DAAD, Japan Foundation, Ford Foundation, Guggenheim Fellowship and MacArthur Foundation-style initiatives. Summer schools, translator residencies and collaborative digital humanities projects have partnered with archives like National Archives of India, British Library, Library of Congress and repositories at University of Oxford.
The association publishes peer-reviewed journals, edited volumes and bibliographies, drawing on editorial models from PMLA, Comparative Literature Studies, Modern Language Review, New Literary History, Journal of Asian Studies, South Asia Research, Indian Literature, Economic and Political Weekly (culture section), Social Text, Critical Inquiry and monographs similar to series by Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge, Columbia University Press, Palgrave Macmillan, SAGE Publications, Tulika Books, Orient Blackswan, Permanent Black, Penguin India and HarperCollins India. Research emphases include comparative readings of works such as Mahabharata, Ramayana, Kabuliwala, Devdas, Gitanjali, Panchatantra, Tulsidas’ Ramcharitmanas, Shakuntala (Kalidasa), Tirukkural, Tagore's Gora, Premchand’s Godan, Mirza Ghalib's Diwan, Rabindranath Tagore, Sarojini Naidu, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Munshi Premchand, Subramania Bharati, Vikram Seth, R.K. Narayan, Amitav Ghosh, Arundhati Roy, Salman Rushdie, V.S. Naipaul, Jhumpa Lahiri, Kiran Desai, Agha Shahid Ali, Nissim Ezekiel, Kamala Das, Mulk Raj Anand, Firaq Gorakhpuri, K. Satchidanandan, Mahasweta Devi and connections to comparative works like One Hundred Years of Solitude, The Odyssey, Divine Comedy, Don Quixote, The Aeneid, Faust, The Tale of Genji, The Canterbury Tales, Metamorphoses (Ovid), The Iliad, Odysseus, Beowulf, The Bhagavad Gita.
Annual and biennial conferences mirror formats from Modern Language Association Annual Convention, ICLA World Congress, Association of Asian Studies Annual Conference, South Asian Literary Association Conferences, European Comparative Literature Conferences, Asiatic Society events and workshops held at venues including India International Centre, National Gallery of Modern Art, California Institute of Technology visiting programs, British Council spaces and university campuses such as Jadavpur University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Delhi, University of Calcutta, University of Hyderabad and Banaras Hindu University. Past keynote speakers have included scholars associated with Columbia University, Harvard University, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Yale University, Stanford University, Princeton University and cultural figures featured in festivals like Kolkata Literary Festival, Tata Literature Live!, Jaipur Literary Festival and Sahitya Akademi awards ceremonies.
Membership draws from faculty, researchers and students affiliated with institutions such as Jadavpur University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Delhi, University of Calcutta, Banaras Hindu University, University of Hyderabad, Aligarh Muslim University, University of Mumbai, Pune University, University of Madras, JNU Centre for English Studies, Centre for Comparative Literature at Jadavpur, Centre for Advanced Studies in English and international partners including Modern Language Association, International Comparative Literature Association and Asian Comparative Literature Association. Regional chapters and study groups operate in cities including Kolkata, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Lucknow, Patna, Bhubaneswar, Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati and Chandigarh.
The association confers awards for translation, best essay and lifetime achievement following precedents of Sahitya Akademi Award, Jnanpith Award, Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Best Book Prize (ICLA), Arun Kolatkar Poetry Prize-style honors and collaborates with fellowships from Karnataka Sahitya Academy, Kerala Sahitya Akademi, Tamil Nadu Government awards, Punjab Arts Council and university-level prizes at University of Delhi and Jadavpur University. Recipients typically include scholars connected to Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Calcutta, University of Delhi, Banaras Hindu University, Jadavpur University, University of Hyderabad and internationally affiliated researchers from University of Oxford, Harvard University and Columbia University.
Category:Literary societies based in India Category:Comparative literature