Comparisons not only prove fundamental in the epistemological foundation
of modernity (Foucault, Luhmann), but they fulfil a central function in
social life and the production of art. Taking a cue from the Practice
Turn in sociology, the contributors are investigating the role of
comparative practices in the formation of eighteenth-century literature
and culture. The book conceives of social practices of comparing as
being entrenched in networks of circulation of bodies, artefacts,
discourses and ideas, and aims to investigate how such practices ordered
and changed British literature and culture during the long eighteenth
century.