Kursinformation

In this seminar, we will focus on theories that emerged from Slavic cultural contexts in the 20th century. We will discuss their reception in European discourse and analyse their development in the context of hegemonic discourses. Among others we will examine Mikhail Bakhtin's theory of dialogism, which came to France via Julia Kristeva's reception and adaptation (her concept of intertextuality) and influenced French poststructuralism. Using Maria Janion as counterexample, we will examine a thinker whose reception hardly extends beyond the borders of Poland, but whose own research demonstrates a comprehensive transfer of knowledge across the Iron Curtain. In addition to a theoretical examination of the European topography of knowledge in the 20th century, the seminar will focus on reading theories by Mikhail Bakhtin, Maria Janion, Yuri Lotman and others, placing them in the historical and cultural context of their respective times.