비교문학에서 본 독일 문헌학의 현재적 의미- 아우어바흐와 슈피처를 중심으로

Abstract

The Purpose of this paper is to reflect the role of philology in the transnational and postcolonial orientation of comparative literature studies by illuminating two foundational figures of comparative literature, Erich Auerbach and Leo Spitzer. Even if German philology conducted an important role ​​in the origin of western comparative literature, it is now somehow regarded as outdated, conservative, eurocentric, canon-oriented, so it seems to be no longer suitable for the current comparative literature studies. For example, Moretti's provocative proposal that the focus of world literature and comparative literature has to be shifted from the so called close reading to distant reading is understood as an indirect criticism of the philological method. However, there are perspectives which advocate the values ​​and relevances of German philology. E. Said points out that the experience of exile allows Auerbach to gain an objective perspective on Europe and to overcome his eurocentric perspective. It is then no coincidence that the two fathers of comparative literature were emigrants. The two German-Jewish Philologists were forced into exiles during the Nazi era, first to Turkey and later to the United States, and they contributed to the establishment of the institute for European language and literature at the first western university in Turkey. From this historical fact, an important insight can be derived: The western comparative literature has its origins in the exile and non-Europe. From this moment, the philology as exilic and transnational humanism can provide a valid model for the comparative literature studies. Although the German philology of the 19th century was involved in western Orientalism and nationalism, it has been developed into an universalistic and cultural relativistic humanism. Auerbach introduces a concept of the humanistic and 'secular' Weltphilologie by claiming that the home of the philology is now no longer the nation, but the earth, the world. Spitzer appropriates the "Amor de lonh" as the motto of the philology. According to him, there is no true philology without acknowledgment of the diversity of the world, without confrontation with foreign cultures. The foundation of the philological activity lies in the love for words, namely, in the close, intensive reading of foreign text. Moretti's claim seems to be suspicious because it is based on a problematic division between national literature studies and world literature studies. The experience of close reading is even more necessary in our globalizing world, because it provides us with the imagination and the views of the Other, and offers the possibility to contact with the foreign culture intensively. In this sense, G. Spivak proposes the close reading as a postcolonial and transnational practice. This intimate experience of foreign language and literature is the invaluable legacy of philology for the coming comparative literature.