Intercultural Literary Studies

To demonstrate the functioning of literary discourse and its embeddedness in the wider social discourse;
To demonstrate the theoretical and methodological foundations of literary imagology;
To promote students’ knowledge, understanding and respect of difference;
To develop students’ competence in (inter)cultural awareness,

The course is linked to courses Contemporary Literary Theories and Methodology of Literary Research.

Developing intercultural awareness is one of the recommendations of the Council of the European Union, because only knowledge, understanding and respect for difference opens the door to non-violent communication outside the triangle of power. Our ideas about the Other mirror our own value system, our own beliefs. Literary discourse, as part of a wider social discourse, is a space of reflection that encourages a critical assessment of self-images and hetero-images, a reflection on the established patterns of thought within which we think of ourselves and the Other.
The course introduces comparative literature as a literary discipline at the intersection of the humanities and the social sciences, from which new disciplines have emerged, including postcolonial studies and theories of multiculturalism. It then turns to literary imagology as one of the most interdisciplinary fields within comparative literature. On this basis, it broadens the student's horizons in the field of colonial studies and theories of multiculturalism. It thus exposes the student to in-depth reading and understanding of literary works from the point of view of the observed and of the observing culture, and to the dismantling of (national) stereotypes, prejudices and perceptions of ourselves and others.

Knowledge and understanding:

(Students ...)
- acquire knowledge of the characteristics;
- distinguish between literary fields and is able to explain the differences between them;
- acquire terminological and inter-linguistic knowledge in the fields of literary imagology and cultural studies;
- acquire an understanding of the differences between colonial, postcolonial and decolonial studies.

Skills:

(Students …)

develop comparative and imagistic approaches to literary studies;
acquire the ability to analyse a literary text from the perspective of literary imagology;
develop critical sensitivity and recognise and understand Orientalizing representations.

• H. Bhabha, 2007: The location of culture. London, New York: Routledge. E-version
• Afef Benessaieh, 2010: Multiculturalism, Interculturality, Transculturality. V: Amériques transculturelles - Transcultural Americas. Eds.: Afef Benessaieh. University of Ottawa Press. 11-38. E-version
• Gurminder K Bhambra, 2014: Postcolonial and decolonial dialogues, Postcolonial Studies, 17:2, 115-121. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13688790.2014.966414 E-version
• Marko Juvan, 2006: Literarna veda v rekonstrukciji: uvod v sodobni študij literature. Ljubljana: Literarno-umetniško društvo Literatura. Catalogue
• Joep Leerssen, 2007: Imagology: History and method. V: Manfred Beller, Joep Leerssen (eds). The cultural construction and literary representation of national characters. A critical survey. Amsterdam - New York Rodopi. 17-32. Catalogue
• Gunilla Lindberg-Wada (ed.): 2006 Studying Transcultural Literary History. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter. Catalogue
• Daniel-Henri Pageaux, 2008: Imagološke razprave. Izbor Tone Smolej. Ljubljana: Institutum Studiorum Humanitatis, Fakulteta za podiplomski študij. Catalogue
• E. Said, 1996: Orientalizem: zahodnjaški pogledi na Orient. Ljubljana: ISH. Catalogue
• Tone Smolej, Perspektive imagologije. Primerjalna književnost. Letn. 24, posebna številka. 253-262. E-version
• Tomo Virk, 2007: Primerjalna književnost na prelomu tisočletja, Založba ZRC SAZU. Catalogue

Successful completion of a seminar assignment on the chosen topic and defence of the assignment in the seminar. 50 %

Oral examination. 50 %

Dr Ana Toroš is Associate Professor and Director of the Doctoral Programme in Humanities at the University of Nova Gorica. Her main research interests are comparative studies of minority literature, literary imagology, cross-border didactics of literature, trauma studies and literature. Her research focuses on multicultural and multilingual literature in the border areas between Slovenia, Italy and Croatia (Trieste, Venetian Slovenia, Rhesia, Istria).

Izbrana dela

Znanstvene monografije (Scientific monographs):
● TOROŠ, Ana. Potovanje po neznanih poteh tržaškosti in Gradnikove poezije : izbrani spisi. Trst: Mladika: Slovenski raziskovalni inštitut, 2019.
● TOROŠ, Ana. O zemlja sladka: kamen, zrno, sok : Alojz Gradnik ter romanski in germanski svet. Ljubljana: Slovenska matica, 2013. 186 str., ilustr. Razprave in eseji, 65.
● TOROŠ, Ana. Podoba Trsta in Tržaškega v slovenski in italijanski poeziji prve polovice 20. stoletja. V Novi Gorici: Univerza, 2011.

Znanstvni članki (Scientific articles):
● TOROŠ, Ana. Teaching minority literature : the case of Trieste. Razprave in gradivo : revija za narodnostna vprašanja. Dec. 2019, št. 83, str. 83-93.
● TOROŠ, Ana. The role of migrations and cultural hybridity in literary systems : studying the case of Alojz Gradnik in Argentina. Annales : anali za istrske in mediteranske študije. Series historia et sociologia. 2018, vol. 28, no 1, str. 65-76.
● TOROŠ, Ana. Slovene-Friulian-Italian literary connections at the beginning of the 20th century : the case of Alojz Gradnik and select Friulian and Italian authors. Interlitteraria. 2017, vol. 22, no. 2, str. 386-396.
● TOROŠ, Ana. Minority writing : the case of Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Italy), Goriška and Coastal-Karst regions (Slovenia). Slavia Centralis. [Tiskana izd.]. 2017, letn. 10, št. 2, str. 50-65.