What Is a World?

The book explores the concept of world literature and its cosmopolitan role, critiquing existing theories for neglecting the meaning of "world." Cheah synthesizes idealism, Marxist materialism, phenomenology, and deconstruction to propose a normative theory of literature's world-making potential. He emphasizes literature's receptivity and highlights postcolonial works by authors like Michelle Cliff and Amitav Ghosh, illustrating how these narratives create new possibilities for reimagining the world and resisting capitalist globalization through alternative temporalities.