Towards a Contemporary Humanism. The Role of Comparative Literature

RÉSUMÉ – L’article interroge le rôle de la littérature comparée dans l ’élaboration d’un humanisme renouvelé. ABSTRACT –The article interrogates the role of Comparative Literature in the elaboration of a renewed humanism. Starting from a definition of humanism as a fundamental notion in the development of the European and, in general, the Western idea of literature, and basing on the most recent theoretical positions, this essay aims to explore the notion of a contemporary humanism, focusing on the cultural and methodological role of comparative literature in defining and studying the concept. By concentrating on different languages, texts, genres, and forms in their relationships and transformations in synchronic and diachronic directions, namely, comparative literature is proved to be the dialogic discipline par excellence for reading both the present and the literary tradition, and, in general, the human.