The terms contemporary literature and world literature are currently being discussed controversially. However, their tense relationship has hardly been addressed so far. The contributions in this volume relate both terms to each other, among other things, against the backdrop of current literary theoretical and historiographical debates, and illuminate them mutually by focusing on the contemporary aspects of world literature as well as the world literary aspects of contemporary literature. The assembled contributions from African studies, English studies, German studies, Japanese studies, Romance studies, Slavic studies, and cultural and media studies open up interdisciplinary as well as research policy perspectives and are complemented by insights into the literary field.