Cosmopolitan Theory: Examining the (Dis-)location of Imagology

Abstract

Being interdisciplinary, reflexive and analytical, theory has practical effects, questioning assumptions such as those related to discourse, meaning or identity, and exploring the circumstances in which texts are produced. It offers new conceptual tools and provides an argumentative method. Fields such as imagology have benefitted from the outset from the variety of theories reflecting the intellectual progress of their times, in particular in connection with the study of the relationship between Self and Other, thus providing new perspectives on the uses of preconceived ideas in artistic, written and visual, representations. In view of the current context of migratory flows and societal upheavals, it seems topical to examine the theories feeding the field of imagology today. Traditionally, history, psychology and sociology have proved instrumental in the building of essential notions pertaining to the sphere. More recently, studies have drawn on new approaches connected to reception, translation, gender and education studies, widening the imagological scope and its range of methodological tools. This article examines the nature of the imagological undertaking, its current spread worldwide, and shows how this comparative literary field upholds a cosmopolitan ethos.