On the morning of June 1, the School of Foreign Studies of Nankai University and the Editorial Office of Foreign Literature of Beijing Foreign Studies University jointly held a high-end academic forum on "Mutual Enrichment of Civilizations and Foreign Literature Research". Experts and scholars from the Editorial Office of Foreign Literature, Institute of Foreign Literature of Beijing Foreign Studies University, and teachers and students from the School of Foreign Studies of Nankai University participated in this forum, and carried out in-depth exchanges and discussions on "Mutual Enlightenment of Civilizations and Foreign Literature Research".
Prof. Yan Guodong, dean of the School of Foreign Studies of Nankai University, and Prof. Jin Li, editor-in-chief of the editorial board of Foreign Literature, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. After the opening ceremony, the six scholars of the forum started an in-depth discussion on the role and influence of foreign literature research in the exchange and mutual appreciation of civilizations with both macro and micro as well as theoretical and textual experience. The two speeches were moderated and commented on by Prof. Jin Li and Prof. Ma Hailiang, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Editorial Board of Foreign Literature respectively.
Professor Jiang Hong, director of the Institute of Foreign Literature of Beijing Foreign Studies University and deputy editor-in-chief of the editorial board of Foreign Literature, analyzed the relationship between culture, civilization and literature after defining and identifying culture and civilization with the title "Talking about Culture, Civilization and Literature". Her speech provided important inspiration for the understanding of the relationship between the mutual appreciation of civilizations and the study of foreign literature. Dr. Hou Jie from the School of Foreign Studies of Nankai University discussed the political and cultural significance of the 19th-century American Cuban travelogues under the title of "Hyperspace-Hypertext-Political Unconscious in the 19th Century American Cuban Travelogues". Prof. Che Lin from the Institute of Foreign Literature of Beijing Foreign Studies University gave a speech entitled "Discrimination, Mixture and Blending: The Third Space in Marguerite Duras's L'amant(The Lover)". Based on the theory of the "third space" of Homi K. Bhabha, she discussed the manifestations of "discrimination", "blending" and "blending" in Duras's L'amant, and affirmed that Duras's novels create "harmony and differences". Dr. Bo Yidi from the Department of German, School of Foreign Studies, Nankai University answered the following three questions on the topic of "Bertolt Brecht's Reception and Transformation of Yan'an Literature": what books on Yan'an literature did Brecht read, how did he adapt the plays of Yan'an literature, and how did he internalize the Yan'an literature into his own works. Associate Professor Gu Jiawei, head of the Spanish Department of the School of Foreign Studies at Nankai University, discussed "The 'Expression of the Americas' by Contemporary Cuban Writer Alejo Carpentier", with three sub-topics: "The Origins of Europe's Retrospective on the Americas", "The Baroque of the Americas" and "The Chronicles of a 'Magical Reality'". Prof. Chen Rong from the Institute of Foreign Literature of Beijing Foreign Studies University gave a lecture on "Melanie Klein in Contemporary Western Literary Theory". After an introduction to Klein's life and theoretical concepts, the theoretical connections between Klein and Sigmund Freud, Klein and Jacques Lacan, Klein and Julia Kristeva, and Klein and JudithButler were analyzed in depth.
The above forum speeches were wonderful and fascinating. After the keynote speeches, teachers and students actively participated in the Q&A session passionately.
Finally, Prof. Ma Hongqi, vice dean of the School of Foreign Studies of Nankai University, and Prof. Jiang Hong, deputy editor-in-chief of the Editorial Board of Foreign Literature, delivered closing speeches respectively. This forum has carried out in-depth exchanges around the theme of "Mutual Enlightenment of Civilizations and Foreign Literature Research", and experts and scholars have made wonderful speeches from different perspectives and at different levels, presenting a feast of ideas. The School of Foreign Studies of Nankai University will take this forum as an opportunity to further strengthen the exchange and cooperation with the foreign literature research community, to interpret foreign literature in the context of mutual understanding of civilizations, and to launch high-quality research results to serve the Chinese modernization and the construction of the Community with a Shared Future for Mankind.
