comparative literature and its new defintion

research on compartive literature dates back to around two centuries ago, and has led to extensive debates among scholars and critics. despite tremendous efforts there is no consensus between researchers as to the definition of this field. however, different nations have succeeded to introduce the literary heritage of their own to the world. in this paper, we do not intend to give a precise definition , but try to highlight the trend of comparative literature development in the light of two distinctive approaches in the area.