Literary Production in a Foreign Language Environment

The course highlights:

-the fundamental issues of migrant literature and, more broadly or more generally, of literary creation in a foreign linguistic and cultural environment
-the question of the (personal/ intimate and creative) identity of the writer who is part of a foreign cultural code
- the attitude of institutions towards immigrant authors (e.g. Slovenian Writers' Association, Slovenian PEN Centre, Ministry of Culture)
-the position of immigrant authors within the literary canon of their homeland and the ‘new’, ‘acquired’ homeland, namely, within the domestic and the ‘acquired’ (‘new homeland’) literary system

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Students learn about the work of Slovenian authors abroad and the work of foreign authors in Slovenia.
The course will focus on the issue of creation in a foreign language environment and of identity, especially in the context of hybrid identities (Slovenian-American, Slovenian-French, Bosnian-Slovenian author, etc.).
The course will also highlight the historical, cultural and social context of (expatriate/immigrant) literature. Students will be introduced to the political, social and cultural circumstances that characterize creativity in a foreign language environment, as well as to the historical structure and evolution of the literary canon and its (non-)reception of immigrant literature or literature by authors who come from a different background.
The issues of exile (voluntary and forced), dissidence, the notion of national culture, national literature and the national artist (writer), the limits of national literature, language as a linguistic, aesthetic and ideological constant that defines literature will be highlighted.
The focus will therefore be on the literary and extra-literary contexts of creation in a foreign language environment. From the point of view of literary studies, it will focus on empirical literary science and systemic theories that conceive of literary discourse as part of a broader social discourse.
Such research requires an interdisciplinary methodological framework, as it involves different theoretical approaches and methodologies - from discourse analysis, to cultural studies, sociology of literature, psycholinguistics, reception aesthetics and theories of migration studies.
We will study specific works by selected authors in which we will identify and analyse the thematic premises mentioned above.

Knowledge and understanding:

(Student...)

• acquires an understanding of literature as a system in different linguistic and cultural contexts
• becomes familiar with the issue of hybrid identities of literary artists and the impact of such identities on their literary production
  -learns or becomes familiar with the terminology of literary studies as well as intercultural and migration studies
• develops the ability to understand and make sense of (artistic) work in a foreign language environment

Skills:

-the ability to identify the problems/themes associated with working in a foreign language environment in selected literary works by foreign authors in Slovenia and Slovenian authors abroad
-the ability to work independently on a seminar paper and present the seminar paper focusing on a chosen topic from covered issues.

Literary works:

• Adamič, Louis. Vrnitev v rodni kraj. Ljubljana: Cankarjeva založba, 1962.
• Burić, Ahmed. Ti je smešno, da mi je ime Donald. Novo mesto : Goga, 2020 Catalogue
• Charney, Noah. Slovenologija : življenje v najboljši deželi na svetu in popotovanje po njej. Ljubljana : Beletrina, 2019 Catalogue
• Dimkovska, Lidija. Non-oui. Ljubljana : Modrijan, 2019. Catalogue
• Johnson Debeljak, Erica. Prepovedani kruh: spomini. Ljubljana: Modrijan, 2010. Catalogue
• Krese, Maruša. Vsi moji božiči. Novo mesto: Goga, 2008.
• Kveder, Zofka. Njeno življenje. Ljubljana, DZS, 2005. Catalogue
• Pascual, Carlos. O služkinjah, visokih petah in izgubljenih priložnostih. Ljubljana : LUD Šerpa, 2016 Catalogue
• Praček Krasna , Anna. Med dvema domovinama: črtice in članki. Koper: Lipa, 1978.
• Moja ameriška leta. Koper: Lipa, 1980.
• Švigelj Merat, Brina. Con brio. Ljubljana, Cankarjeva založba, 2007. Catalogue

Theory:

• Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. London: Routledge, 1994. Catalogue
• Drnovšek, Marjan. Pot slovenskih izseljencev na tuje: od Ljubljane do Ellis Islanda – Otoka solza v New Yorku: 1880 – 1924. Ljubljana: Mladika, 1991.
• Flis, Leonora. Družbeni angažma v literarnem novinarstvu Louisa Adamiča. V: DAUGUL, Larisa (ur.). Strpnost ni dovolj: prispevki s konference Iz mnogih dežel: ob 120. obletnici rojstva Louisa Adamiča, (Borec, ISSN 0006-7725, letn. 70 (2018), št. 751-753). Ljubljana: Sophia. 2018, [Letn.] 70, št. 751/753, str. [140]-149, 217-218. Catalogue
• Kalc, Aleksej. Poti in usode. Selitvene izkušnje Slovencev v zahodne meje. Koper – Trst: Knjižnica Annales Majora, 2002. Catalogue
• Lukšič-Hacin, Marina. Ko tujina postane dom: resocializacija in narodna identiteta pri slovenskih izseljencih. Ljubljana: Znanstveno in publicistično središče, 1995.
• Lukšič-Hacin, M., Mlekuž, J., Altshul, P., Skubic, B., Vah Jevšnik, M. Go girls!: when Slovenian women left home. Ljubljana: Založba ZRC, ZRC SAZU, 2009. Catalogue
• Mihurko Poniž, Katja. Drzno drugačna: Zofka Kveder in podobe ženskosti. Ljubljana: Delta, 2003. Catalogue
• Milharčič-Hladnik, Mirjam. In - in : življenjske zgodbe o sestavljenih identitetah. Ljubljana : Založba ZRC, ZRC SAZU, 2011 E-version
• Rushdie, Salman. Imaginary Homelands. Essays and Criticism. 1981-1991. London: Granta Books, 1991. Catalogue
• Žitnik, Janja. Večkulturna Slovenija. Ljubljana: Založba ZRC, 2008. Catalogue
• Žitnik, Janja. Pogovori o Louisu Adamiču. Ljubljana: Prešernova družba, 1995.

Oral exam 50 %
Seminar paper (precondition to take the exam) 50 %

Pridr. prof. dr. Leonora Flis se pri svojem delu osredotoča na literarno teorijo, sodobno angleško in ameriško književnost, film (zlasti v odnosu do literature), grafične romane ter na literarno novinarstvo. Ukvarja se tudi s pisanjem knjižnih in filmskih recenzij in s prevajanjem tako strokovne literature kot leposlovja. Piše tudi kratke zgodbe. Izdala je zbirko Upogib časa (2015), 2022 pa je izšla njena druga knjiga kratkih zgodb z naslovom Enakozvočja. Leta 2011 je prejela Fulbrightovo štipendijo za raziskovalno delo na univerzi Columbia v New Yorku. Je tudi prevajalka, pisateljica, ustvarjalka radijskih oddaj in voditeljica pogovorov o literaturi, filmu in kulturi v širšem pomenu besede. Objavila je znanstveno monografijo Factual Fictions: Narrative Truth and the Contemporary American Novel (2010) in dve zbirki kratkih zgodb: Upogib časa (2015) in Enakozvočja (2022). Redno objavlja znanstvene in strokovne članke v slovenskih in tujih revijah in zbornikih.

Izbor del:

FLIS, Leonora. Nan Shepherdʹs holistic world - an intimate triangle : nature, body and mind in the living mountain. V: DUŢU, Carmen (ur.). Representations, scenes and scenarios of intimacy in women’s writing. Bucureşti: Pro Universitaria, 2023. Str. 81-95. ISBN 978-606-26-1415-7. https://repozitorij.ung.si/IzpisGradiva.php?id=8312. [COBISS.SI-ID 159100419]

FLIS, Leonora. The narrative of social (in)justice, feminism, and migration in Slavenka Drakulić's selected works. Dve domovini : razprave o izseljenstvu. [Tiskana izd.]. 2023, [št.] 58, str. 127-144. ISSN 0353-6777. https://ojs.zrc-sazu.si/twohomelands/article/view/13203/11576, http://www.dlib.si/details/URN:NBN:SI:doc-VFRV4BE6, DOI: 10.3986/2023.2.07. [COBISS.SI-ID 160461571], [SNIP, Scopus]

FLIS, Leonora. Factual fictions: narrative truth and the contemporary American documentary novel. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars, 2010. XII, 254 str. ISBN 9781-4438-24130-2. ISBN 1-4438-2413-5. [COBISS.SI-ID 44359522].

FLIS, Leonora. Med leposlovjem in poročanjem. Sodobnost. okt. 2021, letn. 85, št. 10, str. 1279-1292. ISSN 0038-0482. [COBISS.SI-ID 84567555]

FLIS, Leonora. Social engagement and multiculturalism in Louis Adamic's literary journalism and documentary prose. Dve domovini : razprave o izseljenstvu. [Tiskana izd.]. 2020, št. 51, str. 59-75. ISSN 0353-6777. DOI: 10.3986/dd.2020.1.04. [COBISS.SI-ID 45984557].

FLIS, Leonora. Grafične pripovedi in pripovednost. Primerjalna književnost. [Tiskana izd.]. maj 2020, letn. 43, št. 1, str. 51-74, ilustr. ISSN 0351-1189. DOI: 10.3986/pkn.v43.i1.03. [COBISS.SI-ID 18156803].

FLIS, Leonora. Družbeni angažma v literarnem novinarstvu Louisa Adamiča. V: DAUGUL, Larisa (ur.). Strpnost ni dovolj: prispevki s konference Iz mnogih dežel: ob 120. obletnici rojstva Louisa Adamiča, (Borec, ISSN 0006-7725, letn. 70 (2018), št. 751-753). Ljubljana: Sophia. 2018, [Letn.] 70, št. 751/753, str. [140]-149, 217-218. [COBISS.SI-ID 36010333].

FLIS, Leonora. Joe Sacco in literarno novinarstvo v podobi stripa - žanrski preplet literature, stripa, novinarstva in zgodovine. V: ZORMAN, Barbara (ur.), et al. Literatura in gibljive slike : tematski sklop = Literature and moving images : thematic section. Ljubljana: Slovensko društvo za primerjalno književnost, 2014. Letn. 37, št. 2, str. 195-225, [245], ilustr. Primerjalna književnost, letn. 37, št. 2. ISSN 0351-1189. [COBISS.SI-ID 55123042].

FLIS, Leonora. Profiling war : managing trauma in reporting horror : the case of Boštjan Videmšek. V: JOSEPH, Sue (ur.). Profile pieces : journalism and the "human interest" bias. New York; London: Routledge, cop. 2016. Str. 226-239. Routledge research in journalism, 13. ISBN 978-1-138-93805-2. [COBISS.SI-ID 4114171]