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Abstract
This article analyses the poem 'Sugarcane', by the Cuban American writer Achy Obejas, in reference to Emily Apter's essay 'A new comparative literature'. The connections between these two writings, including their links to certain aspects of Caribbean literary and cultural theory, are explored. The theoretical arguments of Edouard Glissant in particular are considered, Apter and Obejas being put into conversation with Glissant and other theorists such as E. K. Brathwaite in order to discuss the classification of Obejas's text as a literature of the contact zone. As part of this classification, the ways in which Obejas's poem elucidates Apter's project of rupturing the links between language, nation and identity are examined.

Beginning with a retrospective of the past century, this book offers a panoramic picture of Chinese comparative literature, from its nascence in the early 1920s, through its evolution in the 1980s, to the new development at the turn of the century, ending with a prospective look at the future of comparative literature in the 21st century. The articles presented here reveal the author's deep understandings of the literature and culture of her own country and those of other countries. A rich array of case studies and in-depth theorizing make it an extremely interesting and enlightening read. Prof. Daiyun Yue is a prominent professor at Peking University and a leading figure in Chinese comparative literature. She has served as Head of the Institute for Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies, PKU (1984-1998) and the third president of the Chinese Comparative Literature Association (1989-2014). Further, she is the founder of Dialogue Transculturel, a much-acclaimed journal of comparative literature. Prof. Yue approaches outstanding literature as a bridge to link people of different cultural traditions: "The reason why interdisciplinary literary research between two alien cultures is possible is because dialog between alien cultures, along with exchange and understanding, is more readily realized through literature." Herein lies the value of comparative literature

AbstractThis article contributes to the research on the normalization of European Union (EU) studies by presenting an analysis and assessment of the EU‐US comparative literature. Using an original and comprehensive data set of 104 publications, it shows not only that these comparisons have grown considerably since the early 1990s, but also and more interestingly that EU‐US scholarship itself has increasingly conformed to mainstream political science by becoming more diverse, causal in nature and empirically inclusive. Unlike other accounts of normalization, however, it is argued here that these transformations are only partly desirable, and that a better direction for the future is to develop EU‐US research as a distinct programme within EU studies, centred on a 'dual mission' – theoretical and empirical – that accepts political science's scope and explanatory objectives, but at the same time sees the two cases as worthy of being studied in isolation owing to their importance and the political value of their comparison.

"Reflecting on the "clash of civilizations" as its point of departure, this book is based on a series of sixteen of the author's interconnected, thematically focused lectures and calls for new perspectives to resist imperialistic homogeneity. Situated within a neo-humanist context, the book applies interactive cognition from an Asian perspective within which China can be perceived as an essential "other," making it highly relevant in the quest for global solutions to the many grave issues facing mankind today. The author critiques American, European, and Chinese points of view; highlighting the significance of difference and the necessity of dialogue; before ultimately, rethinking the nature of world literature and putting forward interactive cognition as a means of "reconciliation" between cultures. Chinese culture, as a frame of reference endowed with traditions of "harmony without homogeneity", may help to alleviate global cultural confrontation and even reconstruct the understanding of human civilization. The book will be essential reading for scholars and students of Comparative Literature, Chinese Studies, and all those who are interested in cross-cultural communication and Chinese culture in general"--

The past two decades have seen a revolution in the Latin American banking industry with a rash of crises, reforms, deregulation, privatizations, and foreign bank investment. The region has become a hot bed of interest in global financial markets. Brazil in particular has seen a significant change in its banking sectors competitive makeup with increases in foreign bank participation and lessening of public bank burden on the federal government. Competition, consolidation, and efficiency measures throughout the region have led to a reexamining of the costs and benefits of consolidated banking sectors and the threat of monopolistic actions of banks. Possible statistical analytical tools for efficiency, concentration, and competition are discussed, such as the Panzer Rosse H-Statistic, Frontier Analysis, and others. The quiet life theory of a monopoly is examined and put up against the efficient structure hypothesis of Demsetz in order to see which theory may hold more credence in the Brazilian banking sector upon further research. The paper finished with the analysis of the Brazilian banking sector and how developments can we do in future research to expand and fortify the previous findings about Brazilian banking sector.