International Journal of Geographical and Spatial Studies
JGSS Vol. 1, No. 1, 2026, pp. 5-18.
Print ISSN: 3105-1294; Online ISSN: 3105-1308
Journal homepage: https://www.gssjournal.com
DOI：https://doi.org/10.64058/JGSS.26.1.02
Towards a Comparative Literary Geography
方 英（FANG Ying）
Abstract: The rapid global development of literary geography has rendered comparative studies of literary geography between nations increasingly imperative, while also enabling the establishment of comparative literary geography as a distinct subfield. With respect to the current research landscape in Chinese and English-language academia, there appears to be a dearth of systematic discourse on the theoretical exploration or disciplinary construction of comparative literary geography. This paper thus endeavors to develop an academic system of Comparative Literary Geography (CLG), with a focus on exploring the following three aspects. First, the disciplinary positioning of CLG, particularly its nexus with comparative literature, (human) geography, and the “New Literary Geography” (NLG) proposed by MEI Xinlin. The paper argues that the CLG constitutes an interdisciplinary realm at the intersection of comparative literature and (human) geography, embodying the dual attributes of both disciplines. Moreover, it aligns with the academic tenets of the NLG and functions as a subfield and research direction thereof. Second, the research paradigm of the CLG, encompassing its theoretical frameworks, methodologies, and key concepts. The paper posits that the CLG features a “comparative” dimension spanning both literary and geographical scholarship: it entails comparative analyses of literary geography between different nations and regions, as well as geographical inquiries into comparative literature, such as the geographical routes and regional variations of transnational literary dissemination, and the transnational geographical distribution of genres, intellectual trends, and motifs. Third, the primary research domains of the CLG, including regional literary studies, genre-spatiality studies, spatial thematic studies, (comparative) literary cartography, and (comparative) geopoetics, and other related domains.
Keywords: comparative literary geography; New Literary Geography; disciplinary positioning; research paradigm; comparative geopoetics
Author Biography: FANG Ying is a professor of Zhejiang University of Technology. Her research interests include spatial literary studies, narratology, and comparative literature. E-mail: ttbetty@126.com
标题：比较文学地理学构想
摘要：文学地理学在全球范围的快速发展，使得不同国家之间文学地理学的比较研究变得日益重要，而且建立比较文学地理学这一分支领域也成为可能。就中文和英文学术界的研究现状而言，似乎还没有关于比较文学地理学学术体系或学科建构的系统讨论。因此，本文尝试建构比较文学地理学学术体系，将探讨以下三个方面问题。其一，比较文学地理学的学科定位，尤其是与比较文学、（人文）地理学和梅新林提出的“新文学地理学”之间的关系。本文认为，比较文学地理学属于比较文学与（人文）地理学的交叉学科，具有这两个学科的双重属性；而且将坚持新文学地理学的学术理念，并构成其分支领域和研究方向。其二，比较文学地理学的研究范式，包括理论框架、研究方法、重要概念等。文章指出，比较文学地理学具有文学与地理两个学科的“比较”维度：既包括不同国家和区域文学地理（学）的比较研究；也包括比较文学的地理学研究，如文学的跨国传播的地理路线和地域变异，文类、思潮、母题的跨国界地理分布等。其三，比较文学地理学的主要论域，包括区位论、空间主题论、文类空间论、（比较）文学绘图论、（比较）地理诗学等。
关键词：比较文学地理学；新文学地理学；学科定位；研究范式；比较地理诗学
作者简介：方英，浙江工业大学人文学院教授，研究方向为文学空间研究、叙事学、比较文学，电邮为ttbetty@126.com。
Received: 15 Mar 2026 / Revised: 26 Mar 2026 / Accepted: 02 Apr 2026 / Published online: 30 May 2026 / Print published: 30 Jun 2026.
