Faculty of Arts

Intercultural Literary Studies

About the research programme 

The research programme Intercultural Literary Studies (Research programme number: P6-0265) brings together researchers from a wide range of humanities disciplines, including English, German, French, translation and interpreting studies, Slovene and Slavic studies as well as comparative literature. The programme focuses on intercultural contact from interdisciplinary – linguistic, literary and cultural – perspectives primarily in the English, German, French, Slovene and South Slavic-speaking areas but also including other, less studied languages, literatures and cultures.

The programme’s research addresses new scientific questions and the reinterpretation of existing findings in the light of new knowledge, rapid technological change (e.g. digitality and AI) and current developments in society. The focus of our research is on the following three fundamental areas of inquiry:

1. Intercultural literary-historical studies: historical and sociocultural perspectives,
2. The reading and dissemination of literature in an intercultural space,
3. Literature and globalisation.

The research programme Intercultural Literary Studies (P6-0265) is funded by the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency (ARIS) from the national budget funds.

Research achievements 

Selected projects involving members of the research programme:

1. Project name: History of Doctoral Dissertations by Slovene Candidates in the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1872–1918)
Project type: ARIS basic research project
Duration: 01/01/2016–31/12/2018
Project leader: Prof. Tone Smolej (University of Ljubljana)
Description: This interdisciplinary research project on the history of Slovene doctoral candidates’ dissertations in the Austro-Hungarian Empire analysed and evaluated on three different levels the role and significance of intellectuals from the Slovene ethnic area who studied in Vienna, Graz (Charles and Francis University) and Prague (the Czech Charles and Ferdinand University, from 1882) in the late 19th century. The project assessed all available materials on approximately 150 doctoral students who graduated from the humanities faculties there. On the basis of the diverse sources analysed, including the available primary and secondary literature, archival materials in Graz, Ljubljana, Prague and Vienna as well as eyewitness accounts (diaries, notes, letters, prefaces and press reports), the project examined a) how Slovenian intellectuals interacted with each other as well as with intellectuals from other cultural environments within and outside the empire, in cultural centres and on the periphery; b) how they found their place in the cultural and scientific space of the Austro-Hungarian Empire; c) how they represented the Slovene lands abroad; and how they contributed to the intellectual development of various disciplines and fields in Slovenia.

2. Project name: The Beginnings of Slovenian Secular Drama and Theatre (1670‒1848)
Project type: ARIS basic research project
Duration: 01/10/2023–30/09/2026
Project leader: Luka Vidmar, PhD (ZRC SAZU, Institute of Slovenian Literature and Literary Studies)
Project leader at the University of Ljubljana: Prof. Tone Smolej
Description: The project involves a systematic study and comprehensive historical survey of the beginnings of secular drama and theatre in Slovenian: from the first known translations of secular drama into Slovenian (c. 1670) to the performances (1848) that marked the beginning of a continuous tradition of secular theatre in Slovenian. The project goes beyond the previous partial treatment of this subject, which, partly due to the influence of national ideology, has focused on the plays Županova Micka (1789) and Matiček se ženi (1790) by Anton Tomaž Linhart. The project sheds new light on the heterogeneous beginnings of Slovenian secular drama and theatre: the different genres (opera seria, Lustspiel, comedy, tragedy), audiences (noble, urban and peasant), models (Italian, German, French and English literature), influences (e.g., local theatre in Latin, Italian and German), methods (translation, adaptation) and the goals of the artistic creation (e.g., entertainment, moral education).

3. Project name: Slovenian Writers and Imperial Censorship in the Long Nineteenth Century
Project type: ARIS basic research project
Duration: 01/09/2020–31/08/2024
Project leader: Marijan Dović, PhD (ZRC SAZU, Institute of Slovenian Literature and Literary Studies)
Project leader at University of Ljubljana: Prof. Tanja Žigon
Description: The project addressed an under-researched topic that had not hitherto received systematic scholarly attention. The project has provided an insight into the hidden yet constitutive nature of censorship practices by conducting the first systematic survey of the phenomenon in the long nineteenth century (1789–1914), including an investigation of new primary sources, carrying out numerous detailed case studies and proposing a new conceptualisation of the modern institution of censorship. Rather than continuing to apply the term ‘censorship’ to highly heterogeneous practices, the project has proposed a more comprehensive, overarching concept of censorship, which has enabled a more nuanced understanding of the actual, relatively specific areas of its legal regulation and implementation. In the literature of the period, the areas affected were periodicals, book publishing and the theatre. The geographical scope was limited to the Slovenian territories within the Habsburg Monarchy (mainly Carniola, but also Carinthia and Styria).

4. Project name: Training Interpreters in Languages of Lesser Diffusion
Project type: European Commission (JUST/2013/JPEN/AG/4594)
Duration: 01/03/2014–29/02/2016
Project leader at the University of Ljubljana: Asst. Prof. Amalija Maček
Description: The TraiLLD project focused on research and pilot projects in training ad hoc or certified legal interpreters for LLDs, languages with fewer speakers and no (or insufficient) accredited court interpreters in the EU, in accordance with Articles 5 and 6 of the European Convention, the European Charter and Directives 2010/64/EU (on the right to interpretation and translation), 2012/13/EU (on the right to information) and 2012/29/EU (on victims’ rights). The University of Ljubljana and SIGV Association of Court Interpreters from Amsterdam conducted a pilot research as well as Arabic-Slovenian interpreter training in 2015. 

5. Project name: TransStar Europe: Raising transcultural, digital and multitransnational competences
Project type: European Commission LLP (530880-LLP-1-2012-1-DE-KA2-KA2MP)
Duration: 01/01/2013–31/12/2015
Project leader: Prof. Schamma Schahadat (University of Tübingen)
Project leader at the University of Ljubljana: Prof. Tanja Žigon
Description: The aim of the TransStar Europe project was to contribute to the dissemination and exchange of lesser-used languages and cultures in order to provide a more nuanced background knowledge of these languages and cultures and to stimulate dialogue through a variety of research and events in order to reduce stereotypes. The project involved the research and development of transcultural, digital and multilingual translation skills and enabled participants to acquire knowledge in the field of culture management.

An overview of all publications by research programme members:

SICRIS.


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21st International Comparative Literature Colloquium as part of the 38th Vilenica International Literary Festival (September 2023)

The 21st International Comparative Literature Colloquium, themed “Literature and Psyche”, took place on 7 and 8 September 2023 at the Cultural and Congress Centre Cankarjev Dom, as part of the 38th Vilenica International Literary Festival.

During the colloquium, the participants explored several key topics, including the contemporary understanding of the psyche in literature, how writers in the past perceived the psyche, and how these views are reflected in their literary works. The discussions also covered the relationship between literature and the emotions, the types of psychological content in children’s literature and how it is presented, the phenomenon of feeling pain while reading, and whether reading literature can be beneficial to our mental health.

The book of abstracts is available here.

International conference Beyond Otherness: Living and Learning in Dissimilitude without Dissonance (September 2022)

In the autumn of 2022, the Faculty of Arts at the University of Maribor hosted the conference Beyond Otherness: Living and Learning in Dissimilitude without Dissonance, organised by the research programme Intercultural Literary Studies.

The aim of the conference was to explore the impact of globalisation and digitalisation – as the principal momenta of the current socio-historical context – on the attitudes to, representations of and the very notions of Other and Otherness in literature, and to present the research findings of the Intercultural Literary Studies research programme.

The book of abstracts is available here.

International conference Encounters with the Other: Alterity and Contemporary German-language Literature (June 2021)

In June 2021, research programme member Andrea Leskovec organised the international conference Encounters with the Other: Alterity and Contemporary German-language Literature (Fremdbegegnungen: Alterität und deutschsprachige Gegenwartsliteratur). The opening lecture was given by Bernhard Waldenfels, one of the most prominent representatives of contemporary phenomenology in the German-speaking world. Andrea Leskovec presented her contribution Responsives Erzählen at the conference.

More information about the conference and the book of abstracts can be found here.

In 2021, research programme member Amalija Maček was awarded the German-Slovenian Fabjan Hafner Translation Award for her translation of the novel by Nobel laureate Peter Handke Mein Jahr in der Niemandsbucht (My Year in the No-Man’s-Bay) into Slovene (Moje leto v Nikogaršnjem zalivu).

In 2021, research programme member Tone Smolej was awarded the national Prometheus of Science Award for Excellence in Communication for the year 2020 for his endeavours in commemorating and promoting the achievements of past Slovenian scientists and scholars.

In 2020, research programme member Johann Georg Lughofer received the prestigious Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art (Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen und Österreichisches Ehrenkreuz für Wissenschaft und Kunst) for the organisation of events connected to the research programme, which were also supported by the Embassy of the Republic of Austria and the Austrian Cultural Forum.

A selection of media appearances by members of the research programme:

Mateja Pazdirc Bartol's article Going Beyond Gender Stereotypes in Contemporary Slovenian Comedy (Ditka – Milena – Bogdana) published in the Amfiteater magazine was a base for the Radio programme Oder on the Ars programme (RTV SLO, Radio Ars, 4 March 2025).

Alojzija Zupan Sosič presented her poetry debut Drevo delfin [Tree Dolphin] (Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, 19 December 2024).

ZUPAN SOSIČ, Alojzija (interviewee), KORUN, Barbara (interviewer). Alojzija Zupan Sosič, Drevo delfin: Besedna postaja v Knjigarni FF. [COBISS.SI-ID 224527363]

Alojzija Zupan Sosič participated in the radio programme Literarna matineja (Radio Slovenia, 4 July 2024) discussing Ivan Cankar’s evaluation of literary texts.

ZUPAN SOSIČ, Alojzija (interviewee), KOZIN, Tina (interviewer). Kako je Ivan Cankar vrednotil leposlovje?: s prof. dr. Alojzijo Zupan Sosič. Ljubljana: Radiotelevizija Slovenija javni zavod, 2024. [COBISS.SI-ID 201854467]

Johann Georg Lughofer took part in a TV programme on Joseph Roth Što je klasik? Joseph Roth (What is a classic? Joseph Roth) on HRT (Hrvatska radiotelevizija, 10 December 2024.)

Saša Jazbec took part in the round table Vse materinščine naše šole: okrogla miza na sejmu knjige Liber.ac: “Poučujem. Prihodnost oblikujem.” [All the Mother Tongues of Our School: Round Table at the Academic Book Fair Liber.ac: “I Teach. I Shape the Future.”] (Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, 21 May 2024).

VOJNOVIĆ, Goran, JAZBEC, Saša, LESAR, Irena, AUTOR, Sabina, ERMENC, Klara S. (discussants). Vse materinščine naše šole: okrogla miza na sejmu knjige Liber.ac: “Poučujem. Prihodnost oblikujem.”: UL Faculty of Arts, Ljubljana, 21 May 2024. [COBISS.SI-ID 196421635]

Adriana Mezeg took part in the youth-oriented TV show Krompir (RTV SLO, TV SLO1, 30 March 2024) and spoke about the translation of poetry as part of the Sing-a-Vision project.

FILAČ, Gaja, KOVAČIČ, Klemen (interviewers), ŠKORJAK, Matej, MEZEG, Adriana, VIRC, Benjamin (interviewees): Zavižaj vizijo. [COBISS.SI-ID 205488643]

Vesna Kondrič Horvat moderated a literary event with Andreas Unterweger (Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor, 20 March 2024).

UNTERWEGER, Andreas (author, interviewee). Literarno branje Andreasa Unterwegerja: Filozofska fakulteta UM, Maribor, 20. marec 2024. [COBISS.SI-ID 189765123]

Adriana Mezeg took part in the TV programme Jutro na Planetu (PLANET TV, 23 October 2023) and spoke about the music-translation project Sing-a-Vision.

KOZEL, Suzana, KRMELJ, Igor (interviewers), ŠKORJAK, Matej, MEZEG, Adriana (interviewees). Predstavitev projekta Sing-a-Vision (Zavižaj vizijo). [COBISS.SI-ID 204988675]

Oliver Currie gave a public lecture on the role of translation in the collection of folktales as an introduction to a round table discussion on world folktales and fairy tales at the Pranger festival of literary translation, (Maribor, 11 October 2023).

Alojzija Zupan Sosič in the radio programme Literarna matineja (RTV SLO, 27 September 2023) discussing the state of original Slovenian short fiction and its popularity among writers, publishers and readers.

HARLAMOV, Aljoša, MALEŽIČ, Jedrt, TRATNIK, Suzana, ZUPAN SOSIČ, Alojzija, KOZIN, Tina (discussants). V kakšni kondiciji je sodobna slovenska kratka pripoved? [COBISS.SI-ID 166816003]

Mateja Pezdirc Bartol took part in the presentation of the book 40 let sem delal. Dramatizacije in priredbe Cankarjevega Hlapca Jerneja [I Worked for 40 Years. Dramatisations and Adaptations of Cankar’s The Bailiff Jernej]. (Slovenian Theatre Institute, 16 March 2023).

MILOHNIĆ, Aldo, DIVJAK, Žiga, PEZDIRC BARTOL, Mateja, KREFT, Lev (interviewees), DOBOVŠEK, Zala (interviewer). [COBISS.SI-ID 210678531]

Mateja Pezdirc Bartol took part in the presentation of the book by Blaž Lukan entitled Gledališka sinteza [Theatrical Synthesis] (Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, 2023).

LUKAN, Blaž, DOBOVŠEK, Zala, PEZDIRC BARTOL, Mateja (discussants). Blaž Lukan, Gledališka sinteza (Znanstvena založba FF in AGRFT): Besedna postaja v Knjigarni FF. [COBISS.SI-ID 210708483]

Vesna Kondrič Horvat moderated a literary event with Zora del Buono (Goethe-Institut, Ljubljana; Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor; Gornja Radgona Library, 21 and 22 November 2022).

KONDRIČ HORVAT, Vesna (interviewer). Literarno branje Zore del Buono: pogovorni večer v Ljubljani, Goethe-Institut, 21 November 2022, v Mariboru, Filozofska fakulteta, 22 November 2022, v Knjižnici Gornja Radgona, 22 November 2022. [COBISS.SI-ID 146039043]

Đurđa Strsoglavec gave a public lecture on translations from South Slavic literatures (Ljubljana City Library, 10 October 2022).

STRSOGLAVEC, Đurđa. Moramo se pogovoriti o južnoslovanskih književnostih. [COBISS.SI-ID 167513603]

Vesna Kondrič Horvat interviewed Swiss-Romanian writer Dana Grigorcea (Center poezije Tomaža Šalamuna, Ljubljana, 6 October 2022).

KONDRIČ HORVAT, Vesna (interviewer). Literarno potovanje pisateljice Dane Grigorcea v Sloveniji: pogovorni večer s švicarsko-romunsko pisateljico. [COBISS.SI-ID 146037251]

Alojzija Zupan Sosič took part in the radio programme Literarna matineja (RTV SLO, 1 June 2022) on different ways of evaluating literature.

ZUPAN SOSIČ, Alojzija, KOZIN, Tina. Tudi klasiki so lahko uspešnica: s prof. dr. Alojzijo Zupan Sosič o literarnem vrednotenju. [COBISS.SI-ID 110930947]

Tone Smolej took part in the TV programme Dobro jutro (RTV SLO, 29 November 2021) on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel Humiliated and Insulted on the bicentenary of Dostoevsky’s birth.

MOČNIK, Špela, URANKAR, David (interviewers), MAROLT, Erika, SMOLEJ, Tone (interviewees). Knjiga meseca novembra: Fjodor M. Dostojevski: Ponižani in razžaljeni. [COBISS.SI-ID 204523267]

Tone Smolej took part in the TV programme Panoptikum (RTV SLO, TV SLO1, 6 January 2021) on the legacy and relevance of Josip Jurčič.

JERMAN, Nina (author, interviewer), KOS, Janko, SMOLEJ, Tone, PERENIČ, Urška, RIGLER, Barbara (interviewees). Josip Jurčič danes. [COBISS.SI-ID 46153987]

Lilijana Burcar took part in the radio programme Ars humana (Radio Slovenia, Third Programme, 17 September 2020) presenting Silvia Federici’s book Kaliban in čarovnica [Caliban and the Witch] for which she also wrote the foreword.

GOLJA, Marko (interviewer), BURCAR, Lilijana (interviewee). Silvia Federici: Kaliban in čarovnica: Dr. Lilijana Burcar o študiji o strukturnem izkoriščanju žensk na prehodu iz fevdalizma v kapitalizem (ter pozneje). [COBISS.SI-ID 35118083]

Research programme members took part in an online round table on the centenary of the first doctorate awarded at the University of Ljubljana (15 July 2020).

SMOLEJ, Tone, PEJOVNIK, Stane, KRAMBERGER, Petra, PERDIH, Franc, SAMIDE, Irena, ŽIGON, Tanja (discussants). Dr. Anka Mayer, njene predhodnice in naslednice (19111931). [COBISS.SI-ID 38401539]

Mateja Pezdirc Bartol and Alojzija Zupan Sosič participated in the radio programme Ars Humana (Radio Slovenia, Third Programme, 16 December 2019) presenting their co-authored book Ivan Cankar, literarni revolucionar [Ivan Cankar, Literary Revolutionary], published on the 100th anniversary of Ivan Cankar’s death.

NOVAK-POPOV, Irena, PEZDIRC-BARTOL, Mateja, ZUPAN SOSIČ, Alojzija (interviewees). Ivan Cankar, literarni revolucionar. [COBISS.SI-ID 70882658]

Tone Smolej took part in the TV programme Kulturni fokus (RTV SLO, First Programme, 17 January 2020) on the history of the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana.

AJLEC, Kornelija, SMOLEJ, Tone (interviewees). Zgodovina Filozofske fakultete v Ljubljani. [COBISS.SI-ID 71023202]

NOVAK-POPOV, Irena, PEZDIRC-BARTOL, Mateja, ZUPAN SOSIČ, Alojzija (interviewees). Ivan Cankar, literarni revolucionar. [COBISS.SI-ID 70882658]

Vesna Kondrič Horvat gave a public lecture on Nobel laureates in Swiss Literature at Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Michigan, USA, 20 November 2019).

KONDRIČ HORVAT, Vesna. Switzerland: a small country of 30 Nobel Laureates – how do they do it? Lecture given as part of the International Education Week at the Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, the World Languages department, November 20, 2019. [COBISS.SI-ID 25080328]

Vesna Kondrič Horvat in a radio programme about visiting America and studying in Slovenia on the Eastern Michigan University radio station (EMU, Michigan, USA, International Education Week, 18 November 2019). Focus On EMU: International Education Week.

Igor Žunkovič participated in the public symposium Stoletje Hlapcev [A Century of The Serfs] (RTV SLO, 13 November 2018).

TOPORIŠIČ, Tomaž, ŽUNKOVIČ, Igor. Stoletje Hlapcev: 1. del. [COBISS.SI-ID 4610907]

Research programme members took part in the radio programme Kulturni fokus (RTV SLO, First Programme, 26 October 2018) presenting the book which they co-edited Frauen, die studieren, sind gefährlich [Women Who Study Are Dangerous] published by Ljubljana University Press.

DEKLEVA, Goran (interviewer), KRAMBERGER, Petra, SAMIDE, Irena, ŽIGON, Tanja (interviewees): Ženske, ki študirajo, so nevarne: knjiga, ki predstavlja naše pionirke znanosti, prve Slovenke z doktoratom. [COBISS.SI-ID 69128290]

Igor Žunkovič took part in the radio programme Ars humana (Radio Slovenia, Third Programme, 6 July 2018) presenting his book Evolucija in literatura: literarni darvinizem v precepu literarne vede [Evolution and Literature: Literary Darwinism at the Crossroads of Literary Science].

DEKLEVA, Goran (interviewer), ŽUNKOVIČ, Igor (interviewee). Kako teorija evolucije lahko pomaga pri preučevanju besedne umetnosti. [COBISS.SI-ID 67170914]

Tone Smolej took part in the radio programme Ars humana (Radio Slovenia, Third Programme, 26 February 2018) discussing the history of doctoral dissertations by Slovene candidates in the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

SMOLEJ, Tone (interviewee). “Balzac naj bi ustvaril 3000 literarnih likov. Pravijo, da jih je samo še Bog ustvaril več.”: Z literarnim zgodovinarjem dr. Tonetom Smolejem o svetovni realistični književnosti, o podobi Slovencev v literaturi drugih narodov in o doktoratih, ki so jih naši prapradedje obranili na avstroogrskih univerzah. [COBISS.SI-ID 54658563]

Tanja Žigon took part in the radio programme Ars humana (Radio Slovenia, Third Programme, 15 January 2018) presenting the scholarly monograph which she co-authored on the translation of textbooks in the 19th century published by the Ljubljana University Press.

KOZIN; Tina (interviewer), ŽIGON, Tanja, ALMASY, Karin (interviewees). Vloga in pomen prevajanja učbenikov v 19. stoletju. [COBISS.SI-ID 66120546]

Research programme members Alojzija Zupan Sosič, Tone Smolej and Igor Žunkovič have been judges for the Kresnik Literary Award. (“Znanih je pet finalistov za Delovo nagrado kresnik” (Delo, 23 May 2012); “Tone Smolej: ‘Brati dobre romane je užitek’” (Delo, 23 June 2018); “Odločitev bo padla v Cankarjevi sobi” (Delo, 18 June 2024).

Current events

15th University of Ljubljana German Studies Department International Poetry Days  (15. Internationale Lyriktage der Germanistik Ljubljana), dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of Rainer Maria Rilke, 7 and 8 April, 2025, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, and in Italy at Duino Castle, organized by Johann Georg Lughofer.

Guest lecture by Prof. Dr. Marija Ivanicka (Kijev/Tübingen) on the 25th and 26th of February 2025 at the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. Invitation.