Theory and software: reflections about the division of labor in literary studies yesterday and today

Abstract

The article presents a reflection on the Literary Studies field, but that can also be applied to the humanities, that tries to emphasize how theory is created and circulates now a days. Departing from the idea that for all canon change it should also follow a shift at the theoretical basis, the text diagnostic is that, although the canon was expanded during the last decades, theory did not went through a significant change, and also the dynamics of theory production/consumption did not change as it should. We still produce and export more theory (software) from the central countries and, at the same time, we consume and translate those theories in the peripheral ones. Departing from Vilém Flusser, the article concludes pointing to the need to create new transnational circular and network dialog ways, that will be able to break with the domination of northèsouth discourse. Central discourse and its importation/translation have to be substituted by a genuinely horizontal dialog with theory translation in both directions.