Projects / Programmes
Comparative literary and literary theoretical studies
January 1, 2015
- December 31, 2021
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 6.07.00 |
Humanities |
Literary sciences |
|
| 6.06.00 |
Humanities |
Culturology |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| H390 |
Humanities |
General and comparative literature, literary criticism, literary theory |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 6.02 |
Humanities |
Languages and Literature |
comparative literature, literary theory, intercultural literary studies, translation studies, literary didactics, literary methodology, history of Slovene literature, history of European literature, literature and society, literariness
Researchers (28)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
It is the guiding principle of the group that literature is not just a cultural practice but rather an artistic and discursive field with specific qualities that contribute to literature exerting both aesthetic and social influence. This effect is far ranging, spanning from a role in the constitution of nationhood to therapeutic function; literary works are a vital document in historiography, sociology, philosophy, religious studies, cultural studies, gender studies, and postcolonial studies; due to its specifics, literature is an intercultural mediator par excellence and the bearer of epistemological and ethical function.
This is the reason behind the specific strands of research and their interplay. Studies in the field of literary theory focus on the analysis of the specifics of literature in general (literariness) and particularly those aspects that trigger and shape the above mentioned effects. These are not limited to Slovene literature but also include world literature and European literature in particular. Among other reasons, this is due to the conviction that a work of literature is never an isolated product, but that it is always embedded in an intertextual and intercultural framework and interconnected with extra-literary, extra-artistic, and extra-cultural fields. Thus emphasis is given to the comparative aspect, both in literary theory and literary history, and also in the fields of cultural mediation and trans-disciplinary research. This is why literary history and translation studies are part of the key research strands.
The programme looks at the characteristic social effects of literature in general and especially Slovene literature and its social role. Significant part of the research is thus oriented at the study of older and contemporary Slovene literature, its characteristics, developmental features, and attending social role.
Special emphasis has been placed on methodological issues, which play a significant, self-reflexive role in literary studies. The group is constantly re-examining its methodological apparatus and looking for adequate means of pursuing its aims. The most pertinent basis for the realisation of tasks has been methodological pluralism in the sense of the use of complementary methods relevant to the treatment of specific issues. It is expected that the problematic of methodology in literary history will be particularly relevant in the upcoming period.
The programme group has dedicated its efforts to the dissemination and application of findings. This has been done particularly (though not exclusively) through research in literary didactics and the digitalisation of the fields of literature and literary studies.
The programme group research thus covers a wide array of areas within the field of literary studies: literary theory, comparative literature, comparative and national literary history, literary methodology, literary didactics, translation studies (literary interculturality), and digitalisation.
Significance for science
As before, the results of the programme group will continue to contribute to the development of science, in all fields of research. Studies in versology will fully develop an original theory, encapsulated in the sentence: “In poetry meaning sounds and sound means.” Studies of Slovene verse in older literature will address the lacunae in Slovene literary history. Studies of literariness will further define some aspects of the term crucial to literary studies and attempt to develop a new scientific paradigm of literary science, unlike any paradigm defined in the modern period.
Research in the field of Slovene literary history will address the academic gaps in the field. Study of the theme of war and revolution in novel will provide useful results for several areas of academic study, including history. At least two books of collected works of Vladimir Bartol will be published, a key contribution to Slovene studies.
Results in the field of comparative literary history will be scientifically relevant nationally as well as internationally. Previous research on Kosovel has already incited interest in his work; new studies will place his work and the work of his contemporaries in a European literary and cultural context. Studies in Slovene literature and its specifics will significantly contribute to international comparative intercultural and inter-literal studies.
Research in methodology will contribute to the currently strongest international trend of study of methodologies in literary history and will represent an original contribution to the debate, especially due to the inclusion of often overlooked Russian literary scientists.
Studies in translation are already being pursued in the framework of international scientific projects and programmes; their results will enrich the Slovene as well as European research into issues connected to interculturality.
The digitalisation and development of internet tools represent a significant contribution to the enhancement of research infrastructure in the field of literary science.
Traditionally, the programme group has always been the central space for the study of Slovene literary didactics and is expected to remain so in the future. Two monographs are planned in the field.
Significance for the country
The overall results of the programme group will be vital in the conservation of linguistic, national, and cultural identity and heritage. International publications (realised in all research fields of the group) will promote Slovene culture and science internationally and will raise awareness of the similarities in the cultural identities of smaller European countries. This will be further achieved by establishing cultural and research connections with cultural institutions in countries that were literary centres historically significant for the development of Slovene literature (e.g. Zagreb, Vienna, Graz, Buenos Aires, etc.).
The research results will be integrated into the teaching of students on all levels of university study, while some of the results will play a significant role on lower levels (in high school), e.g. studies in the field of literary didactics and also in the field of Slovene literary history. In view of the actuality of unanswered questions in relation to Slovene history of the period, the ideologically unbiased study on the theme of the Second World War and revolution in the Slovene novel will aid in the teaching of civic education and ethics.
The evaluation of the role of translation in the processes of integration will allow the public services to create guidelines for effective communication strategies aimed at immigrants and other mobile subjects in contemporary society.
The placement of literary facts into space (authors’ birth places, novel locations, grave markers, information and memorial plaques, the tracing and marking of literary trails), as planned in some of the studies, will animate local communities, enhance their sense of identity, and at the same time guide them towards cultural tourism.
Among the social effects, the significance for national school strategy should be noted and also the inclusion of results into the pedagogical processes in Slovenia and abroad, collaboration in the development of individual courses and undergraduate and graduate study programmes, and the realisation of seminars for continuing professional education of teachers and professors. The group is therefore following the guidelines of development policy emphasising the importance of human resources and communication, the development of social cohesion, and the inclusion of Slovene language, literature, and culture into European and world exchanges.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2015,
interim report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2015,
interim report
