Universität Wien

480106 KO Colloquium on Regional and Cultural Studies: Bulgarian (2022W)

The Bulgarians and die Others (A Chronology of Identity and Alterity)

4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 48 - Slawistik
Continuous assessment of course work
ON-SITE

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: German

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Thursday 06.10. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum 8 Slawistik UniCampus Hof 3 2R-Z1-35
Thursday 13.10. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum 8 Slawistik UniCampus Hof 3 2R-Z1-35
Thursday 20.10. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum 8 Slawistik UniCampus Hof 3 2R-Z1-35
Thursday 27.10. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum 8 Slawistik UniCampus Hof 3 2R-Z1-35
Thursday 03.11. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum 8 Slawistik UniCampus Hof 3 2R-Z1-35
Thursday 10.11. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum 8 Slawistik UniCampus Hof 3 2R-Z1-35
Thursday 17.11. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum 8 Slawistik UniCampus Hof 3 2R-Z1-35
Thursday 24.11. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum 8 Slawistik UniCampus Hof 3 2R-Z1-35
Thursday 01.12. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum 8 Slawistik UniCampus Hof 3 2R-Z1-35
Thursday 15.12. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum 8 Slawistik UniCampus Hof 3 2R-Z1-35
Thursday 12.01. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum 8 Slawistik UniCampus Hof 3 2R-Z1-35
Thursday 19.01. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum 8 Slawistik UniCampus Hof 3 2R-Z1-35
Thursday 26.01. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum 8 Slawistik UniCampus Hof 3 2R-Z1-35

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Recognising one's own identity through the images of others: who are the Bulgarians and is their identity (specific physiognomy) conceivable outside of these parallels? The parallelism that could emerge is quite productive: ) the Bulgarians and the Slavs; 2) the Bulgarians and the Turkic peoples; 3) the Bulgarians and the Byzantines/Greeks; 4) the Bulgarians and the Ottomans; 5) the Bulgarians and the other Balkan people; 6) the Bulgarians and the Russians; 7) the Bulgarians and the Europeans. Admittedly, the series of oppositions could always be extended.
The Other as a foreigner (as an enemy and threatening power) was the foundation in the discourse of the Revival period: consistently postulated in "Istoriya slavyanobalgarskaya" by Paìsiy Hilendаrski, in the poetry of Georgi S. Rakovski, Dobri Chintulov, Hristo Botev, and also relentlessly created in the prose and journalism of Lyuben Karavelov and Hristo Botev. But the Other could also be thought of as a saviour (as a protective power and a Bigger Brother) – the work of Ivan Vazov with his Russophilia would be a striking example here. The Other could, of course, be postulated as a model of unattainable, desirable identity, established as a political pattern (the Bulgarian Constitution of 1879; the lineage of Bulgarian rulers after liberation). Alterity – Ottoman or Oriental in the broad sense of the word was not infrequently used as a cultural mask; in the work of Stoyan Mihaylovski, Pencho Slaveykov it functioned as a kind of customary mystification. But the Oriental as appropriated Other could also be discovered in the mentality of the Bulgarians: What is the infamous hero Bai Ganio by Aleko Konstantinov if not the unmasking of the Other in us, i.e. the shameful, retarded, primitive entity?
Namely, the modern authors of the "Missal" and later "Strelec" circles, the avant-gardists around Geo Milev, strive for the advanced, the highly spiritual. Among the modernists from the various stages of Bulgarian literature, the opposition with the desirable other is abolished, and the specific-own is elevated as a universal cultural norm.
Therefore, it becomes more than necessary to subject the fundamental categories of Other and proper to intensive discussion, that is, to constantly verify them: Only in this way could one trace the Other as appropriated over time, and vice versa - reveal the proper as an imitated Other.
The KO will be held on site if possible.

Assessment and permitted materials

Participation in the discussion; writing a paper on a debatable problem.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

No previous experience is required.

Examination topics

The examination material is determined according to the problems dealt with.

Reading list

Ivan Elenkov. Rumen Daskalov. Zashto sme takiva? V tyrsene na bylgarskata kulturna identichnost. Prosveta: Sofia. 1994

Association in the course directory

B-51-B

Last modified: Mo 19.09.2022 10:50