Circles and Squares

October 7, 2011

Emanuel delivered a lecture in Korean to the “Korea Society of East Asian Comparative Literature” (동방문학비교연구회) on the response of Japanese intellectuals to Chinese vernacular narrative in the 18th century. The talk placed stress on the important role that exposure to Chinese vernacular narrative played in stimulating an active debate on the significance of vernacular language in general in Japan.

There is a tendency to attribute a new significance to the novel and vernacular writing in the late nineteenth century in Japan to Western literature. Emanuel argued, however, that the real precedents lie in the engagement with Chinese vernacular narrative in the previous century.

See this link for the Powerpoint in Korean of the presentation

일본 소설 및 소설론

Members of the Group

Emanuel delivers talk.