Aim

Research in Contemporary World Literature (RCWL) offers a fresh, interdisciplinary space for exploring literature of the 21st century (and of the post-1945 period). As new currents, trends, movements and theories develop in contemporary and post-war writing worldwide, the Journal aims to stimulate critical engagement with contemporary literature and with the latest critical theory and practice that interrogate new directions, traditions and influences in literary studies of post-war and present-day literature globally. Innovative and rigorous approaches to scholarship which investigate literary intersections with cultural, political, technological and identity issues of modern and postmodern times are welcome.

 Scope

Topics to be covered: Original research articles, review essays, and interdisciplinary analyses of literature published after 1945 will be invited in a broad variety of genres (prose fiction, poetry, drama, and experimental writing). Topics include but are not restricted to:

1) Literary trends and movements (e.g., postmodernism, postcolonial literature, magical realism, speculative fiction, digital literature and posthumanism);

2) Critical theories and approaches (e.g., narratology, ecocriticism, feminist theory, posthumanism, trauma studies, disability studies);

3) Cultural and historical contexts of contemporary writing (e.g., writing of war, of migration, of globalisation, of technological change);

4) Emergent voices and previously underrepresented writing traditions and marginalized positions (e.g., Indigenous writings, writings of African literature, of the diasporas, Arab literature, and non-Western authors);

5) The relationship between literary production and other media (e.g., film, media, the visual arts) and their interaction in digital humanities studies.

Combining critical rigor and relevance to today’s literary studies, RCWL serves scholars and critics working in an exciting field of growing international importance.