Peripheral Autonomy?

Longitudinal analyses of cultural transfer in the literary fields of small language communities

The project ‘ Peripheral Autonomy? Longitudinal analyses of cultural transfer in the literary fields of small language communities ’ was initiated by Petra Broomans and financed by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), started in 2006 and was one of the spin offs of the project ‘Scandinavian literature in Europe: the influence of language politics, gender and aesthetics’, itself part of the research programme ‘Autonomy and the “new” Independence in the Arts’, which was undertaken by the Groningen Research School for the Study of the Humanities (GRSSH).

Three universities are involved in the project: Ghent, Groningen and Uppsala.

Workshop Ghent: Reflection on theoretical and methodological point of departure

The first workshop ‘Reflection on theoretical and methodological points of departure’, was held in Ghent in December 2006. Selected papers from the workshop were published on the project’s website , which was developed to function as a scholarly environment favourable to intellectual exchange concerning the ‘Peripheral Autonomy’ programme. The website contains several forums and a database where previous and upcoming papers are presented, edited and discussed. Only registered users can fully participate.

Workshop Groningen: The Development of Literary Fields and the Influence of Foreign Literature from the Late Nineteenth Century until 1950

In December 2007 the second workshop ‘The Development of Lit erary Fields and the Influence of Foreign Literature from the Late Nineteenth Century until 1950’, was held in Groningen. Scholars belonging to various disciplines from Belgium, the Netherlands and Scandinavian countries participated in the workshop, which focused on cultural transfer from the late nineteenth century until 1950. Attention was paid to the institutional conditions of cultural transfer, the social role of cultural transmitters and the functions of transferred literature. Gender aspects of cultural transfer were also studied, as well as the connection between changing national identities and varying definitions of national literatures. Selected papers were published in Series on Cultural Transfer and Transmission: In the Vanguard of Cultural Transfer Cultural Transmitters and Authors in Peripheral Literary Fields (eds. Petra Broomans and Marta Ronne).

Workshop Uppsala: The Invasion of Books. The Influence of Foreign Literature on Small Language Communities 1950 – present day

The third workshop ‘The Invasion of Books. The Influence of Foreign Literature on Small Language Communities 1950 – present day’ was held in Uppsala in October 2008, and focused on cultural transfer from 1950 until the present day, even regarding the status of minority literatures in the Swedish and Dutch speaking areas. The proceedings of this workshop will be edited by Petra Broomans and Ester Jiresch.

Closing conference Groningen

The closing conference was held in Groningen in November 2010. The proceedings of the conference will be edited be Petra Broomans and Sandra van Voorst.

This project is financed by NWO (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research)