Comparative Literature/World Literature: A Discussion with Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and David Damrosch

The following is a discussion between two distinguished comparative literature scholars, David Damrosch and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. This is a transcription of their dialogue, delivered orally before a large audience at the 2011 American Comparative Literature Conference in Vancouver, Canada, on 2 April. It has been lightly edited to remove the natural redundancy inherent to oral communication, to eliminate asides regarding technical aspects of the presentation, and to fill in gaps in the recording process, which left inaudible portions. They were introduced by then-president of the ACLA, Haun Saussy. (Biographical data on Damrosch and Spivak can be found in the “Contributors” section at the end of this journal.)