International Conference supported by Fritz Thyssen Stiftung
Cooperation of Institutes of Romance and Slavic Studies of University of Leipzig

The conference will study Slavic and Ibero-American literatures of the 21st century and pursue questions about how historical experiences in family narratives are functionalized for a collective’s own formation of identity.

The conference draws on three main conceptual axes: What these narratives have in common is that they each construct specific constellations of the historical imagination and of family, whereby “family” is here conceived not so much as an organic micro-unity, but rather as changing, multiple relations between individual members, godparents, first- and second-degree relatives, non-blood-related family members, present and absent members, adopted children, etc. It seems, therefore, that these novels are only insufficiently characterized as “family novels,” and are in need of different typological rubrics and interpretive frameworks.
Furthermore, what characterizes these historically grounded novels of both areas is that they often are post-generational: They are written by members of a generation which, as a rule, did not directly experience these historical events, which are still seen as constitutive for the interpretation of the present and present identities. It is also significant that these narratives are no longer conceived as representing national identities, but paradigmatically speak for a collective that defined itself as detached from national frames and boundaries, be they regional, ethnic, religious, or ideological. At the same time, the comparative confrontation between Ibero-American and Slavic literatures promises fruitful discussions regarding the differences and similarities (experiences of war, political ideologies, post-dictatorship) across a spectrum of contemporary works of literature.

We are delighted that two keynote speakers will be joining us and pursue this complex of questions within the framework of this comparative conference, taking especially note of the conceptual parallels between the respective literary productions: Prof. Dr. Tamara Hundorova (Institute of Literature, National Academy of Sciences in Kyiv, Ukraine) and Prof. Dr. Maria de Fátima de Marinho, (Institute for Portuguese and Romance Philology, University of Porto, Portugal).

The conference is open to the public. The conference will be held hybrid – in case of being interested please contact Dr. Ángela Calderón for the link (angela.calderon@uni-leipzig.de).