Wiek teorii

It is a well-known fact that literary theory is not just a static set of categories used to analyze and discuss literary texts, but an academic field with approaches and categories that are constantly changing. Each theory is connected with a specific time in history, and—to a large degree—also with international cultural centers and literary developments of their respective times. There is still, however, not enough work done to recognize that not only does literature have its national variation, but theories, likewise, are connected with national literatures and cultures. In other words, while literature is recognized as one of the most important elements and means of building an imagined community in the form of a nation, there is still very little said about how literary theory, too, has the power to place literary approaches stemming from a national literature on a cultural map of the world—(Russian) formalism and (American) New Criticism stand as but two such examples.Born out of national literary trends of the times, literary theories become an important tool for communication between specialists and a larger community; what is more, they also shape the face of literary works written in many languages and create a network of and a discussion between national literatures. However, while the notion of the history of literature sounds familiar in a variety of languages and cultures, research of such national variations of literary theories still lags behind. This observation applies to both critical notions being a result of theoretical thought related to a national literature and to theoretical approaches influencing national literary production. This is also why Wiek teorii: Sto lat nowoczesnego literaturoznawstwa polskiego [The age of theory: 100 years of modern Polish literary scholarship] is an important contribution not only to Polish studies, but also to literary and cultural studies more broadly. The book consists of three volumes: a monograph and a two-volume anthology that presents important theoretical works by Polish specialists in literary studies.The innovative character of The Age of Theory comes out of its authors’ attempt at studying and analyzing the insufficient presence of Polish theoretical thought, both nationally and internationally, rather than beginning with claims of success despite the very limited recognition (if any). Though in the course of the study the reader learns about the important contribution of Polish specialists in literary studies, the work is geared towards looking at processes rather than achievements, making the study interesting and inspiring in various respects. For example, recognition of the specificity of Polish studies in the area of literature and culture leads the authors of The Age of Theory to attempt a verification of a rhythm of historical processes in literature and literary studies and thereby create the need to work on a new dictionary of critical terminology. This task should be based on historicism and usage, therein leading to a better understanding of the processes involved in establishing and recognizing literary concepts as such. It is also important to mention that the study includes reflections on so-called “inconvenient issues,” usually glossed over in both public and academic discourses. This includes such topics as the political and ideological affiliations of Polish and Central European literary studies or nationalistic and antisemitic premises of some of the concepts or theoretical ideas, versus transnational thinking.Interestingly, the research leading to the publication of the book suggests that it was not so much an academic inferiority of Polish theoretical thought, but rather the insignificant position of Polish émigrés who came in waves that the authors call “a lesser emigration” in the academic circles in countries of their arrival. In this, The Age of Theory, in a novel way, recognizes the migrations of people as a means of the migration of ideas, linking the study to the growing field of migration studies. This is not the only field that the authors of the study bring to their texts and their attempt at reviving and redefining traditional ways of thinking about theories of literature. Danuta Ulicka, the editor of the book and spiritus movens of the project, begins her discussion in the first part of the book with a chapter, or rather “a glance” at modern Polish literary scholarship, thus reviving the very concept of “a glance” as a genre of literary theory. It is not only a historical angle that is added to traditional formulas, but also the recognition that it is literature itself that forms the basis of theoretical thought. Added to this, even a quick look at the table of contents shows terminology seldom used in the context of literary theory. It is thus that thinking in terms of “universal,” “neighborly,” and “local” (in the meaning of our own) not only crosses over a thought-limiting binary of “local” and “international,” but also allows us to see different kinds of influences and mutual connections between what truly is national, regional, and universal. Not only postmodern concepts, such as terminology of a “subject, object, and abject” but also concepts related to the spatial turn in the humanities, the discourse of the body, and a careful consideration of what constructs the story of modern Polish literary scholarship on theory make this study an interesting model for possible similar studies in other languages (or cultural circles). The Principia, spelled out at the beginning of the study, are a set of thoughts that help and guide the reader through these inspiring, though sometimes quite complicated, arguments presented in the consecutive chapters of the book.This introductory volume, consisting of contributions by eight authors, is accompanied by two volumes of selected theoretical studies, characteristic or important for their times, that are integrated with the chapters (and themes) of the theoretical introduction. Though the selection is, as always, arbitrary and one can easily imagine a different set of texts, each of the contributions and all of them together effectively demonstrate the theoretical material, exemplifying ideas noted by the authors of the essays in the introductory volume.The book is published in Polish and one can only hope that there will be an English translation soon. The Age of Theory is an important study, accompanied by a selection of theoretical works spanning a century. The book (or rather the three-volume set) is a must in a library of specialists in Polish literary studies and beyond. It is also an interesting read that should inspire Polish émigrés in academic circles to think about the roles of Polish intellectuals abroad and to take another look at Polish achievements (or the lack of them) in various disciplines. Reexamining the field, breaking out from traditional thinking, and applying new categories to historical material can bring, as in the case of The Age of Theory, interesting and refreshing results

Art · Criticism · Formalism (music) · History of literature · Literary criticism · Literary language · Literary science · Literary theory · Literature · Political science · Scholarship · Sociology · Variety (cybernetics) · Central European Literary Studies · Computer Science · History · Language and Culture · Law · Polish Historical and Cultural Studies