Transformations of Intimacy in the Literary Discourse of Slovene "moderna" J6-3134

This project proposes to study various forms of intimacy in detail through case studies that are then placed into the broader context of their literary period and of the wider Central European cultural space. The subject of intimacy is infrequently pursued and remains underexplored in Slovene Studies and holds particular value in terms of its articulation in literary works, the question of transnational influence and in terms of other literary contacts in connection with the topic.
The starting point of the proposed research is, first of all, the question of how the authors of the Slovene »moderna« (1890-1920) movement articulate intimate relationships, how literary texts reflect the relationship between the social and the intimate and how concepts of intimacy (i. e. sexuality, legal institutions, parenting, friendship, self-awareness) are inscribed in the literary text. Analyses and reflections will employ a comparative method to determine how representations of intimacy in the modern period have transformed in comparison to previous literary periods. In this first set of concerns, the subject of research is the literary text.
The second area of research examines the tension between an author’s articulations of intimacy and the text’s reception within the literary system; namely, the possibilities of publication and related censorship by both publishers and official censorship bodies and the subsequent practice of self-censorship. Research focuses on the reception of a range of topics related to intimacy in literary criticism and in egodocuments (diaries, correspondence), and in archival material related to censorship.
The third research area covers the relationship between the articulations of intimacy in Slovene »moderna« and in the other national literatures to which the authors of literary and theoretical texts belonged and with whom Slovene writers were often in a dialogical relationship (either personally or only as readers of their writings). Slovenian literature is understood as a form of Central European literature that developed through contact with other (Central) European literatures.
The research will employ the traditional methods and approaches of literary scholarship in a way that integrates the findings and approaches from other disciplines, most especially Gender Studies. The objectives of the research are the following: 1) rethinking the concept of intimacy through the literature of Slovene »moderna« and of its transnational connections, especially with regards to the Czech cultural field, 2) revealing the strategies by which the authors of Slovene modernism carried out a paradigm shift in the development of Slovene literature and expressed intimacy through the medium of literature, 3) rewriting the Slovene literary history of the 1890-1920 period to acknowledge the contribution of women writers from this period. Many dissemination activities have been held in Slovenian language, learn more about them here.

International Conference Transformations of Intimacy in the Central and East European Literatures (1890-1920)

Programme of the conference Transformations of Intimacy in the Central and East European Literatures (1890-1920)

Book of abstracts

International Exploratory Workshop Censoring Intimacy in Women's Writing and Reading in the Long 19th Century

In the international research workshop titled Censoring Intimacy in Women's Writing and Reading, where researchers from across Europe discussed the connections between intimacy and (self)censorship in the 19th century and the present. It took place on August 23 and 24 at the Oton Župančič Library in Ljubljana, where a series of lectures were given on issues of intimacy and its connection to (self-)censorship from theoretical, historical, and spatial perspectives. The event, which was attended by the University of Nova Gorica, the Women Writers Route Association, Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University of Bucharest, the University of Gothenburg and the University of Turku, was conceived by Dr. Katja Mihurko Poniž, Professor at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Nova Gorica. With audience participation, the researchers discussed topics that have often been neglected in academia in the past - including why women were censored in the past, why they were not allowed to talk about love and sexuality, and why they often had to write under male pseudonyms.

Programme and Abstracts of the Exploratory Workshop Censoring Intimacy

Call for papers: exploratory workshop Censoring Intimacy in Women's Writing and Reading

Summer school Intimacy in Women's Writing and Reading

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