Franco Moretti’s Interdisciplinary Approach and its Influence on Foreign Literature Studies in China

Abstract

Western literary theorist Franco Moretti’s researches are featured with interdisciplinarity. His approach began with the conceptual model of “world literature”, followed by the methodology of “distant reading”, and ended with the practice of “computational criticism”. This paper aims to explore the dynamic interaction between Darwin’s evolutionary theory and Wallerstein’s world-systems analysis, as well as the interplay between close reading and distant reading, and the dialogue between traditional criticism and computational criticism. With the popularization of the Internet, the revolution of information technology and the wave of globalization, the categorization of disciplines with distinct barriers can no longer meet the complexity of modernization, and the call for interdisciplinary integration is constantly heard. Nevertheless, interdisciplinary research is in urgent need of theoretical framework and practical guidance for reference. This paper seeks to contribute to the interdisciplinary study of foreign literature in China within the purview of “new liberal arts”.