Issues
The third week will be a demanding one for participants as
well as observers. Several issues should be kept in mind during
the final week of this four-year dialogue. Given the differences
in demographic composition, social organization, historical
Phase, given the distinct Possibility that Europe is Poised on
the edge of a deconstitution, while the Americas are on the verge
of an amalgamation, given the lack of a classical matrix in the
Americas and the virtual lack of Native-American and non-
Christian roots in Europe, given the different relations to high
culture in each hemisphere as well as the place of pop culture,.
given that the de facto mixing of ethnicities in the Americas and
the movement toward ethnic redefinition in Europe, given the
difference in perspective inevitable in Europe, given the
difference in perspective inevitable betw6en a colonizing culture
and the societies it colonized, and given the multiplicity of
differences at the level of life e style affecting every layer of
experience on either side of the Atlantic--is it possible that
despite a Partially common heritage, the Americas will not
continue the forge their Particular cultural modes as distinct
from Europe? Is it possible that the American continents will
continue to identify more closely with Europe than with their own
constituent parts? And is it possible that the novel of the
Americas will not evolve away from European form toward forms
that reflect its needs and particularlties. (This has been the
conscious search of many Latin American writers since the
beginning of the or New World cultural movements of
the l920s. ) And in any case, What forms of fiction have the
Americas developed or are likely to develop that are distinct
from those in Europe? What effect will the multicultural
demography of the Americas have on literary Production, formally
and otherwise? Is it possible that fiction as we know it will
turn out to be a fleeting phenomenon untenable outside its
historical moment and the culture in Which it thrived? Is it
possible that the concept of literature, of "culture" itself, are
contingent on a European culture and its traditions? Is it
possible that creative composition in writing and in the arts in
general are coming to bear a different relation to society and to
its pursuits of knowledge, with different uses and goals than the
ones we currently recognize as part of our European heritage?
Assuming the many things Europe and the Americas hold in common,
What are the differences between them, implicit or already
obvious, as expressed in our creative or narrative prose?
These questions will be explored during the Novel of the
Americas symposium, particularly during the third week, in round-
table discussions such as "Is There a Post-European Novel?" and
"Is There a Common Culture of the Americas?" The moderators,
participants and observers are invited to keep these issues in
mind during our three-week dialogue.
Freedom of Expression
Of course, there are other issues that will constitute
important elements of the Novel of the Americas Symposium. The