Преосмисляне на грузинското литературно поле през втората половина на XIX век: ролята на европейските културни трансфери
Rethinking the Georgian Literary Field in the Second Half of the 19th Century: The Role of European Cultural Transfers

Summary/Abstract: The present work questions the logic and the functioning of the flows of importation in the field of literature in the second half of the 19th century, using the concept of cultural transfers, as developed by Michel Espagne and Michael Werner, along with Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of the literary field. These methodological perspectives allow us to relativize the canonical vision of Georgian literature and to illuminate the role played by the importation of European works in the organization and evolution of the internal literary field. My analysis of critical discourse and of paratexts reveals how much literary transfers enabled Georgian literature to renew itself and actively participated in the configuration of the host system, while at the same time contributing to the reinforcement of the positions that structure the Georgian intellectual field of the time. This field has witnessed the arrival of a new conception of literature conveyed by the reformist intelligentsia that relegates traditional practices to the periphery of the system, and and has become divided between literature in conformity with aesthetic norms and current ideologies and the “sub-field.” By clarifying the motivations that have led to the selection and interpretation of European texts and authors, I hope to offer a better comprehensive perspective on the different facets of this field and on the power relations that constitute it.

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