Finno-Ugric literatures: interlinked viewpoints Peoples and nations speaking Finno-Ugric languages share a common linguistic origin. For most of them, identity has up to now been focused mainly on language, this giving a significant value to the abovementioned common origin, both historically and emotionally. About this reported FennoUgria Asutus.
However, one must also take into account the fact that all of them have been in an isolated or minority position in regard to the surrounding populations or to the dominant power in their area. For long periods in their history, all of them have been subordinated to foreign powers and some are still integrated into countries in which they are a minority.
Are these common experiences reflected in their literatures? Do these literatures share similar features? Do or did these literatures have a privileged interrelationship? How have translation and personal contacts influenced literatures in different languages? How important are nowadays the movement of ethnofuturism and other tendencies thanks to which relations have been developed between Finno-Ugric writers?
These questions have been tackled in recent times from different points of view by researchers as Franco Moretti (Atlas du roman européen ; Graphs, Maps, Trees), Pascale Casanova (La république mondiale des lettres), Piotr Piotrowski (Toward a Horizontal History of the European Avant-Garde) et Pirjo Lyytikäinen (research on genres, national literature and foreign influences).
Still, they have been but marginally elaborated in studies about Finno-ugric literatures, which pick out a single literature either per se or in its relationship to the dominant cultures of the area, synchronically or diachronically.
In the conference organised by Paris III (CIEH&CIEFi) and INALCO, with the support of ADEFO, we wish to have a debate about these issues with researchers and writers from different horizons, who will present both internal and external views on Finno-Ugric literatures.
We intend to assess how these literatures look at one another and at themselves in connection with others. We hope to be able to gather enough material to understand how much Finno-Ugric kinship remains, beyond its strict linguistic meaning, a relevant factor for the understanding of literary phenomena in the cultures based on these languages.
The conference will take place in the Finnish Institute in Paris (60, rue des Ecoles, 75005 Paris), on March 26th and 27th 2011. The languages of the conference will be French and English. Those who consider offering a proposal are required to send, before October 31st 2010, an abstract of less than 500 words to the selection committee which makes its choice before December 21st 2010.
Please assign your abstract to each of the following addresses:
Association pour le développement des études finno-ougriennes: adefo at adefo dot org
Judit Maar: judit dot maar at univ-paris3 dot fradefo at adefo dot org
Judit Maar: judit dot maar at univ-paris3 dot fradefo@adefo.org
Judit Maar: judit.maar@univ-paris3.fr
Eva Toulouze: evatoulouze at gmail dot comevatoulouze at gmail dot comevatoulouze@gmail.com
Harri Veivo: harri dot veivo at helsinki dot fiharri dot veivo at helsinki dot fiharri.veivo@helsinki.fi
CIEH – Centre interuniversitaire d’études hongroises
CIEFi – Centre interuniversitaire d’études finlandaises
INALCO – Institut des langues et civilisations orientales
ADEFO – Association pour le développement des études finno-ougriennes
