Monographic Seminar on Literary Studies 3020-BB2K-L

The classes "Vilnius in the 20th Century: A Panorama of the city's social, literary and cultural life" intended to:

• deepen the knowledge acquired during courses in Polish history, literature and culture (in the field of regional versions of modernism, avant-garde and directions of development of literature of the second half of the 20th century);

• show the role of literature in building and perpetuating qualitatively different images of Vilnius in within the multicultural space of the current capital of Lithuania;

• synthetically show the similarities and differences in the treatment of the above-mentioned issues in the literature (and contextually the culture) of different nations, resulting from the genre, style, type of narrative, literary direction or historical conditions.

Class participants will learn the role and place of "themes with Vilnius in the background" based on a selection of literary works written in Polish, Lithuanian and Yiddish in the 20th century (texts written in languages ​​other than Polish are available in translation). The following will be analyzed and interpreted: images of Vilnius and its inhabitants recorded in literature, personal relationships and art, the multiculturalism of the city (interference of motifs, areas of conflict), mythical and symbolic spaces, generic and genre implementations of the city's vision (circular and original), geopoetics as a way capturing cultural images of Vilnius.Urban issues will be discussed against a broader historical and social background, taking into account the history of the development of the local cultural press and the most interesting phenomena of theatrical and artistic life in both high and popular culture of the past century.

While analyzing selected works, students will improve their skills in critical interpretation of texts and learn about the possibilities of applying concepts from other areas of the humanities useful in assessing literary phenomena. In addition, participants will become acquainted with basic (classic) and new studies in the field covered by the subject of the classes, with particular emphasis on comparative research.

Student workload:
- participation in classes - 1 ECTS
- current preparation for classes - 2 ECTS
- reading scientific articles in Lithuanian - 1 ECTS
- preparation of a paper - 1 ECTS
TOTAL 5 ECTS

As a result, the student gains knowledge of the following issues:

1. methodology of research on urban issues in literature and culture, methods of geopoetics in contemporary literary theories and practices, applicable to the cities of Vilnius established in the 20th century (state and prospects of research, new studies, methods of analysis, description and interpretation of phenomena important for development of several cultures coexisting in one space);

2. ways of functioning of various images of Vilnius in literature, ego-documents and art of the 20th century (the role of means of expression, strategies of description, tools of artistic persuasion),

as well as the directions of modification of the tradition of urban discourse in the light of the evolution of the worldview and aesthetic assumptions of modernism, avant-garde and postmodernism;

3. the role of the close relationship between literature and art (painting, theater, photography) in shaping the specific local cultural space of Vilnius in the 20th century.

List of topics:
1. Vilnius at the threshold of the 20th century (leading to the issues)
2. Vilnius living rooms and suburbs (M. Jałowiecki, Wł. Gutowski)
3. Modernism(s) in Vilnius (general characteristics, artists, representative works)
4. Towards beauty: local art press („Żórawce”, „Tygodnik Wileński”, „Vaivorykštė”)
5. Vilnius laughter Belle Époque (cabaret "Ach", satirical press of the early 20th century)
6. Vilnius – literary circles (regionalism in the poetry of the "Żagary" group)
7. Vilnius jokers in the interwar period
8. Artistic life of interwar Vilnius (photography, Reduta theater, painting)
9. Lithuanian literature and culture in Vilnius in the interwar period
10. Jewish literature and culture in Vilnius in the interwar period
11. The image of the city and people of Vilnius in poetry of the 1950s-1990s
12. The image of the city and people of Vilnius in satire of the 1950s-1990s
13.In the footsteps of the local artistic bohemia (J. Kunčinas „Tula”, poetry about Vilnius end of the 20th century)
14. The topic is proposed by the course participants (final presentations)