This course examines the conceptualization and historical moments of "literatures in the world." It studies two examples of literary and cultural travels, with a thematic focus on the historical transformation of the idea of China since the eighteenth century up to present times. The course materials invite students to rethink the linear structure of (comparative) literary history. Collectively, they show how and why historical, comparative, critical, and imaginative work sustains the Auerbachian humanist tradition.