A New History of Latvian Literature: The Long 19th Century

Funded by: Latvian Council of Science

Project No: lzp-2020/2-0020

Project leader: Dr. philol. Benedikts Kalnačs

Project implementation: 01.12.2020.–30.12.2021.

Project team: Dr. philol. Pauls Daija, Dr. philol. Ingūna Daukste-Silasproģe, Dr. hist. Mārtiņš Mintaurs, Dr. art. Kristiāna Ābele, Mg. philol. Aiga Šemeta, Mg. philol. Ginta Pērle-Sīle.

Project description: This project will elaborate a theoretical and methodological framework that enables an interpretation of 19th-century Latvian literary culture from an interdisciplinary and comparative perspective. Its principal aim is to write an innovative history of Latvian literature. Instead of a continuous chronological narrative the proposed volume, written for an international audience in English, will employ the nodal concept of literary history that combines a discussion of the traditional concepts of literary history such as genre, period, and movement, crucial date clusters, main personalities, and institutional innovations. The team of scholars will scan 19th-century literary and cultural scene from various angles and intersecting perspectives taking into account the complex interactions among social transformations, changes in reading practices and the book market, different aesthetic traditions, as well as important links between literature, folklore, and art. The project will also look beyond the traditional confines of national literary histories stimulating the recognition of close interaction among different ethnic communities and their cultural creativity. As a result of the project, an innovative and internationally applicable approach to the dynamics of literary and social processes will be created.