Literature forms the dominant domain in the Iranian cultural sphere. The history of literature has played a prominent part in the articulation of Iranian self-perception and the formation of a national identity. The current widely accepted narrative of literary history took shape in the twentieth century and coincided with the rise of modern Persian literature. Both from an inner- and extra-Iranian perspective, it suggested a rather homogeneous and linear process culminating in the development of modern Persian literature. This approach takes no account of the complexity of the phenomena constituting and contributing to literary change. In recent years, certain assumptions, such as the notion of a unilateral flow of influences from west to east, have been contested in various domains of cultural studies. These shifts in perception notwithstanding, a paradigmatic change in the understanding of the evolution of modern Persian literature has yet to take place.
The 2009 S.I.E. mid-term conference will be dedicated to a survey of the “state of the art” and an in-depth discussion of new theoretical approaches to modern literary history. The analysis of Persian literary history may draw on theoretical concepts current in the general discipline. The range of topics to be discussed will comprise issues like the role of literary tradition, the formation of a canon of modern literature, reception theory, intertextual relations, the interaction of literary production and literary criticism, the dynamic between synchronical sections and diachronical processes, and the contemporaneity of various “non-comtemporary” literary phenomena.
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