Baroque and Enlightenment in the Slovenian Literature

This course is part of the programme
Master in Slovene Studies - Literary Science

Objectives and competences

The student gets to know the selected chapters of Slovenian literature in the era of the Catholic Renewal, the Baroque, and finally the Enlightenment. In contrast to the first level of study, the student now has direct contact with primary sources. Reading and commenting on texts in primary sources equips the student for the first steps of independent research work with older literature. The student learns to work with primary sources: old prints and manuscripts. The student learns in particular about hitherto under-researched areas of Slovenian Baroque and Enlightenment literature and is trained to pass on his knowledge to others.

Prerequisites

The course builds most closely on the basic knowledge acquired at a lower level, at the course Slovene Literature 1.

Content

  • The literature of the Catholic Renewal and the European context. The literary currents of the renewed post-Tridentine Catholic Church and the Slovenian space. The historical context of the literary space.
  • Preserved and destroyed or lost Slovenian books from the era of the Catholic Renewal: Paherneker's Catechism, Ingenerius' Catechism, the question of Hren-Chandek's Large Catechism. The problem of Hren's "literary programme" - the boundary between data and hypotheses; open questions.
  • Scalar's manuscript, 1643. Meditative prose in the context of the Catholic Renewal. The beginning of Slovenian asceticism in two translations and one original work by Skalar. Skalar's European grammatical horizon. Adam Skalar as a pioneer of the Slovenian meditative prose. Baroque features of Skalar's texts - composition, structure, style. Transcending Hren's literary programme; intermediate position between Hren and Kastelec.
  • Matija Kastelec and the beginning of the Slovenian Baroque literature. The development of meditative prose in Kastelec's works. His use of literary genres. Kastelec's reception of the Slovenian Protestant literature.
  • Kastelec's literary legacy; its traces in the archives. Lost manuscripts. Kastelec and later word-writers.
  • The Kolobrzeg manuscript and the Slovenian church song. Stržinar's, Foglar's and other manuscript songbooks. Forms, themes, motifs of the Slovenian church song until the Enlightenment.
  • The Slovenian Baroque sermon. Known and unknown authors. Printed books and manuscripts. Janez Svetokriški, Rogerij Ljubljanski, Jernej Basar. Their sources, compositional principles, style.
  • Passion Processions and Passion Plays in Slovenia. The Škofjeloški Passion and the Passion tradition in Loško. Problems of the ŠP manuscript and dating problems.
  • Marko Pohlin and his oeuvre. Pohlin as an original devotional writer; Pohlin as a translator; bibliographical data and problems with the precise identification of Pohlin's oeuvre; prints and manuscripts.
  • Janez Damascen Dev as the first Slovenian Baroque poet; Belin; Dev's European literary background; cultural significance of Pisanice.
  • Zois circle - selected themes: pro-Roman initiatives; Zois's influence on Linhart, Vodnik, Kopitar; Horace and the Slovenian Enlightenment poetry.

Intended learning outcomes

  • Deepening the understanding of older Slovenian literature, including in the European context.
  • Ability to analyse, interpret and evaluate individual religious and literary texts.
  • Ability to study specialist literature independently and to deepen the knowledge of older Slovenian literature.

Assessment

Preparation of the seminar thesis and defence in the seminar.

Lecturer's references

Barbara Pregelj is Associate Professor of Literature at the University of Nova Gorica. Her research focuses on various aspects of the reception of Spanish literature in Slovenian literature, traductological issues, youth literature and literary interpretation, and she has designed and led a number of international and national projects in the field of motivation for reading.
She is a regular participant in congresses, symposia, round tables, lectures at home and abroad, and has organised several visits of foreign authors to Slovenia and literary studies symposia. She also works as a translator and an editor.

PREGELJ, Barbara. Podoba mladinske književnosti španskega govornega področja skozi njihove prevode v slovenščino. Hieronymus : revija o prevajalstvu. 2011, letn. 5, št. 1/2, str. 65-81.
PREGELJ, Barbara. Še o slovenski književni krajini. Sodobnost. jul. 2019, letn. 83, št. 6, str. 1-8.
PREGELJ, Barbara, ŠIFRAR KALAN, Marjana. From reading promotion strategies to the interactive book. V: STOJANOVA, Nadežda (ur.). Literatura i tehnika : sbornik s dokladi ot naučna konferenciya, provedena v Sofiskiiya Universitet "Sv. Kliment Okhridski", 9-11 mart 2018 g. 1. izd. Sofija: Universitetsko izdateljstvo "Sv. Kliment Okhridski", 2018. Str. 317-324.
PREGELJ, Barbara. Prevajanje kot oblika interpretacije = Translation as a form of interpretation. V: DUŠA, Zdravko (ur.). Pahoriana 2013 : prispevki z znanstvenega srečanja ob stoletnici Borisa Pahorja, 18. aprila 2013 v Cankarjevem domu v Ljubljani. 1. izd. Ljubljana: Cankarjeva založba, 2014. Str. 57-68. ISBN 978-961-231-968-7.
PREGELJ, Barbara. Zgledno omledno : trivialno v slovenski postmoderni književnosti. Ljubljana: Slavistično društvo Slovenije, 2007. 209 str. Slavistična knjižnica, 12.
PREGELJ, Barbara (urednik). Bela knjiga o prevajanju 2018 : premiki na področju prevajanja, tolmačenja, podnaslavljanja in lektoriranja v Sloveniji. Ljubljana: Društvo slovenskih književnih prevajalcev, 2019. 179 str., ilustr. ISBN 978-961-6515-07-8. http://www.belaknjigaoprevajanju.si.
PREGELJ, Barbara (avtor, urednik, prevajalec), TOMSICH, Francisco (avtor, urednik, ilustrator). Bivališča Branislave Sušnik : dokumenti, besedila, podobe, pričevanja = Moradas de Branislava Sušnik : documentos, textos, imágenes, testimonios. 1. natis. Medvode: Malinc, 2020. 239 str., ilustr.