Literary Studies, History and Popular Culture — the Spaces of Convergation. Introduction Cover Image

Literatura, historia, kultura popularna — przestrzeni konwergencji. Wprowadzenie
Literary Studies, History and Popular Culture — the Spaces of Convergation. Introduction

Author(s): Natalia Lemann
Subject(s): Literary Texts
Published by: Łódzkie Towarzystwo Naukowe
Keywords: literary studies; historio-graphia; popculture; (post)modern historical novels; alternate histories; historical fantasy; new forms of communication

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the article is to juxtapose literary studies, literature and history as neighboring branches of humanistic knowledge. The author compares the methodologies of history and literary studies in the field of narrativity, and, in accordance with Hayden White, comprehends history as a type of fiction, historio-graphia, literary artifact. In this optic historiography and literary studies are diagnosed as forming a sisterhood relationship. When the opportunity arises it is shown that the idea of postmodern history is no novelty, since until the decline of the XVIIIth century history and literary were not opposite at all. Actually, the way of thinking about history as an (literary) art has a splendid tradition rooted in antiquity. In the scope of Braudel`s history of the “longue durée” it is the model of history as a (hard) science separated from literary studies as an art and ideographical science that constitutes a methodological aberration. Comparative analyzes leads to the conclusion, that both these “scientific” branches developed almost simultaneously (cf. feminism, gender, postcolonialism, posthumanism, animal studies). Also the literary genres, such as the (post)modern historical novels, alternate histories or historical fantasy, opened the space of convergation between history and literary, because of the mutual fluctuation and “parasiting” of the ideas, topics and poetic. The participation of popular culture makes the history and literary studies more transgressive, widely open for the contemporary forms of communication and more hearable. In this scope, the author presents historical gamebooks, facebook`s historical events, transmedia historical stories.

  • Issue Year: 55/2012
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 127-152
  • Page Count: 26
  • Language: Polish