One of the most striking developments in recent literary studies is the growing awareness of the one-sidedness inherent in contemplating literatures in terms of national rather than cultural traditions. Unlike the English- and French-speaking countries, where postcolonial movements, transnational migration, and globalization processes have long since sparked an intensive debate on the culture-topographical and geopolitical/territorial aspects of literatures, there has hitherto been little reflection in the German-speaking world on the study of its literatures in terms of cultural, rather than geographical or national areas. The present volume stems from a joint German-Austrian-Swiss research project and represents an initial attempt to remedy the situation in this respect.