Portretul intelectualului la maturitatea deplină: Ștefan Borbély și meritele investigației comparatiste
The Portrait of the Intellectual at Full Maturity: Ștefan Borbély and the Merits of Comparative Investigation

Summary/Abstract: This particular issue of Vatra is dedicated (but not limited to) to the works of Ștefan Borbély, an emblematic personality in the field of comparative literature – in my opinion, one of the most accomplished literary figures in the critical landscape after 1989. Thus, my article focuses on two aspects of Ștefan Borbély’s activity: mainly, his work in the field of comparative literature, which has been extremely well-received, given the fact that his contributions are highly original, brilliantly researched and, last but not least, exciting and inspired. Secondly, an equally important aspect of his work is conveyed by the fact that, in a cultural millieu saturated by nationalist discourses, such as the Romanian one, the balanced personality displayed by Ștefan Borbély is, indeed, a form of intellectual warmth and generosity; the kind of rigorous thinking employed by the author is not only a professional trademark, but, most importantly, a human quality which manifests itself as a breath of fresh air in the works of Ștefan Borbély: Experiența externă (2001), De la Herakles la Eulenspiegel. Eroicul (2001), Civilizații de sticlă. Utopie, distopie, urbanism (2013).

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