Transnational Neo-Victorian Studies: Notes On The Possibilities And Limitations Of A Discipline

Abstract

This essay explores the field of transnational neo-Victorian studies, arguing that “transnational” does not so much signal a subcategory of the discipline of Victorian or neo-Victorian studies as it does a recalibration of one's instruments of analysis and of one's position within a vast constellation of cultural producers and consumers, both within and without the academy. Transnational neo-Victorian studies requires recognizing the value of what literary critic Juliet John has called “undisciplined knowledge.” It requires, moreover, a collaborative and tentative ethos that is often at odds with the structural realities of the academy. This essay first glosses some of the salient discussions around the terms “Victorian,” “neo-Victorian,” and “transnational” before turning to an example of a transnational neo-Victorian text, Japanese manga Kuroshitsuji (黒執事; 2007–) by Toboso Yana (枢やな), and its representation of a Chinese opium den in London's East End, in order to interrogate the possibilities and limitations of the discipline.

Publication Date

7-1-2018

Publication Title

Literature Compass

Volume

15

Issue

7

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1111/lic3.12461

Socpus ID

85047621528 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85047621528

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