The center and the margins

Abstract

In this article, we propose a reflection about two recent histories of literature, the Comparative History of Literatures in the Iberian Peninsula (2010) and the Critical History of Portuguese Literature (1993-2010). In the first, which is spatially/topographically oriented and has a revisionist purpose, Portuguese literature emerges (geographically) decentered and (temporally) fragmented. The latter offers a summary of all the knowledge accumulated through the historiography of Portuguese literature, from a critical standpoint. Apropos of both, we put to question the possibilities of connection between space, history and literature.