To, co religijne, to, co świeckie, i badania literackie. Jak wymyślić na nowo narrację o sekularyzacji w historiach dyscypliny
The Religious, the Secular, and Literary Studies: Rethinking the Secularization Narrative in Histories of the Profession

Summary/Abstract: Histories of the discipline of literary studies have long relied on a narrative of secularizationthat traces the gradual transformation of a profession that was once more religious intoone that is now largely secular. Recent studies in a number of different disciplines haverevised and challenged the basic assumptions behind secularization narratives, in partby complicating our understanding of the processes by which the categories “religious”and “secular” emerge and differentiate. This article begins with an account of some of thisrecent work, primarily from cultural anthropology and religious studies. In light of thesetheories, the article then examines how various attempts to differentiate the religious andthe secular have shaped disciplinary boundaries and identities as manifested in historiesof the profession. To indicate how an account of these continued acts of differentiationis central to an understanding of professional history and identity, and to literary criticalpractice, the article concludes with a brief look at some recent work in literary studiesthat has moved away from reliance on a straightforward narrative of secularization, andhas instead re-instated questions about the on-going relationship between the religiousand the secular.

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