Universality after Universalism: On Francophone Literatures of the Present

Markus Messling

Open Access Published by De Gruyter 2023

Universality after Universalism

On Francophone Literatures of the Present

Markus Messling
Translated by: Michael Thomas Taylor
Funded by: European Research Council (ERC)

Volume 4 in the series Beyond Universalism / Partager l’universel

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111128306

Overview
Contents

About this book

Open Access

The idea of universalism inherited from the French Revolution has been strongly discredited by its colonial history; today, it is also the target of nationalist attacks. What remains of it? Now available in English, Markus Messling's critically acclaimed study shows how contemporary Francophone literatures seek, after European universalism, approaches to a new universality, without which knowledge and justice cannot be organised in world society.

With a foreword by Souleymane Bachir Diagne

Author / Editor information

Markus Messling, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany.

Reviews

“Messling’s book makes an essential claim, which is that the end of European universalism is not in fact the end of universality but perhaps its beginning.”
– Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Foreword

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“The originality of this essay lies in its use of literary works.”
– Catherine Mazauric, En attendant Nadeau

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“Markus Messling has written a witty book, stressing the importance of literature and of literature in French to understand the world we live in. His book bears witness to his in-depth knowledge with literatures in French and provides promising approaches to go beyond the sterile boundaries between French and francophone literatures.”
– Timo Obergöker, Modern and Contemporary France

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“The book’s wide scope makes it a valuable and highly relevant contribution to ongoing debates.”
– Joseph Hanimann, Süddeutsche Zeitung

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“The literary scholar Markus Messling is interested in the phenomenon of ‘world’ and how it is created in literature. The novel is the place where political upheavals are increasingly being negotiated. … In the French authors he reads, Messling discovers topics that paradigmatically illustrate the contemporary zeitgeist in Europe: the dismantling of social services, rage, the loss of ideals, groundlessness, and melancholy.”
– Susanne Luerweg, Deutschlandfunk Kultur

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“Analyzing francophone authors, Messling shows how a new concept of world literature has emerged under the sign of postcolonialism. And he introduces us to names that are hardly known in Germany: the Togolese writer Kossi Efoui, the Canadian-Lebanese author Wajdi Mouawad, or the Cameroonian novelist Léonora Miano.”
– Gregor Dotzauer, Der Tagesspiegel

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“The number of philologists who can claim to read along the pulse of our time is limited. Markus Messling is one of them.”
– Florian Gödel, Nilpferdkönige

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“Messling writes in a scholarly voice that is elegant and accessible.”
– Frank Hahn, tell. Magazin für Literatur und Zeitgenossenschaft

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Acknowledgements Publicly Available Download PDF	V
Foreword Publicly Available Download PDF	VII
Translator’s Note Publicly Available Download PDF	XI
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	XIII
Universality after Universalism Open Access Download PDF	1
Égalité—The Melancholy of White Men over Forty Open Access Download PDF	31
Liberté—The Language of the Villa Sésini Open Access Download PDF	83
Fraternité—Possibilities of a New We Open Access Download PDF	115
Bibliography Open Access Download PDF	131
Author and Translator Open Access Download PDF	143
Index Open Access Download PDF	145

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter
Audience: Academics (literary studies, cultural studies, francophone studies)
Pages
- Front matter: 13
- Main content: 148
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 1
Keywords: Francophonie; contemporary literature; universalism; universality

eBook

Published: October 24, 2023
ISBN: 9783111128306

Hardcover

Published: October 24, 2023
ISBN: 9783111125558