“Revis(it)ing the Romanian Cultural Heritage” during Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej’s Regime. Th e Role of Literary Critics in the Battle for the Canon as a Form of Preserving the Cultural Memory of a Community
“Revis(it)ing the Romanian Cultural Heritage” during Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej’s Regime. Th e Role of Literary Critics in the Battle for the Canon as a Form of Preserving the Cultural Memory of a Community
Author(s): Ruxandra CâmpeanuSubject(s): History, Cultural history, Local History / Microhistory, History of Communism
Published by: Zeta Books
Keywords: literary canon; literary criticism; Communism; Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej; Romania
Summary/Abstract: As an instrument of preserving the cultural memory of a community, the literary canon is usually a highly stable structure in its core elements. However, with the advent of the Communist regime after the Second World War, the Romanian literary canon underwent a drastic process of reconstruction. As early as the 1940s, what was euphemistically dubbed “revisiting our cultural heritage” actually equated to a radical revision—a purge of the literary canon through the filter of Marxism-Leninism. Not only writers of literature, but literary critics themselves were subjected to this process. In this paper, I aim to discuss the role played by literary critics active during Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej’s regime in rehabilitating their predecessors. My focus will be on the press debate surrounding Titu Maiorescu’s rehabilitation in 1963.
Journal: History of Communism in Europe
- Issue Year: 2015
- Issue No: 6
- Page Range: 21-38
- Page Count: 17
- Language: English
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