German Language and Literature, Foreign Languages and Foreign Literatures at the University of Tehran, Iran
Abstract
The idea of global literature is one of the main pillars of Goethe's literary and artistic life. The formation and development of this concept is the result of the considerable devotion that he addresses to foreign literature and the need of reflecting the world literature in his own culture, by the acknowledgment of the capacities and abilities of other cultures. This idea, from a cultural and literary perspective, is in opposition to the extreme nationalist insights by its socio-political, and cosmopolitan dimensions. This argument, especially today, with the re-emergence of the new nationalism, in many countries around the world, has become more important. The following article, relying on the idea of Goethe's universal literature, compares his views with nationalist beliefs and concluded that Goethe emphasizes on "opening the gates of national literature to the literature of other nations, by desiring a mutual influence and inviting the world's thinkers and authors to participate in intellectual exchange, cultural dialogue and international connection". Goethe’s ideas include some transnational, trans-ethnical, and trans-regional dimensions.
