Tema kolokvija / The theme of the colloquium: Literatura v preseku družbe, družba v preseku literature / The Crossroads of Literature and Social Praxis

Program in povzetki / Program and Abstracts: http://sdpk.si/datoteke/Vilenica%202018_Program.pdf

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Maja Murnik: Sodobne slovenske dramske pisave in družbenoangažirane uprizoritvene prakse / Contemporary Slovenian Stage-plays and the Political

Abstract

The paper stems from the awareness that in the recent decades it has no longer made sense to distinguish strictly between drama and theatre as we are dealing with “no-longer-dramatic texts” (Poschmann) and the no-longer-theatre or the postdramatic theatre (Lehmann). In the crisis of representation and the dramatic form, performative dimensions of texts come to the foreground, as texts become Barthesian open texts – heterogeneous, performative structures which are open in terms of meaning.

In the paper, we will analyze examples of “no-longer-dramatic texts” by Simona Semenič in the light of their social engagement and politicality, and we will complement these by tackling their recent socially engaged stagings in Slovenian theatre, where the textual part plays a significant role (e.g. Metamorphoses 4: Black holes, Republic of Slovenia, Odilo. Obscuration. Oratorio) and which range from simple political agitation plays to complex treatments of social themes. Who do these projects address and what are they trying to achieve?

We need to understand the scope and power of their politics and their social commitment in the light of the position of art and theatre in contemporary society, including the context of contemporary postpoliticality. Where are the loci of power today and how are they addressed by contemporary Slovenian drama and theatre; what is their stand towards them? Which strategies and tactics do Slovenian drama and theatre use in the process and what is their message for us?

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Janez Strehovec: Slovenski literarni nacionalizem kot ideološki aparat države / Slovenian Literary Nationalism as an Ideological State Apparatus

Abstract

By applying the researching devices of media studies, art theory, critical theory, philosophy, Marxian theory, cultural anthropology, and cultural studies as a theoretical background, this research paper aims to explore the Slovenian literary nationalism as one of the key Slovenian ideological state apparatuses. The criticism of literary nationalism is not directed towards literary works and the activity of writing, but to institutions that form a literary-ideological, interpretative and propaganda context in which the literary production takes place. Literary nationalism contributes to the Slovenian ideology whose stability is guaranteed by the coexistence of the cultural archaism, and the neoliberal economic and technological modernization. In Slovenian left-wing culture one can encounter political activity of the Janez Janša group of artistic activists who use cultural institutions as an alibi (and financial sponsor) for their application of the subversive affirmation, which is directed to pure political goals. The general conclusion of the analysis of both phenomena demonstrates that in Slovenia occurs cultural extremism which is politicized in its left- as well as right-wing version; its exploration is essential for the understanding of the post-communist Slovenia as well as a novel role of politicized contemporary art and literature in the present.