Literary Studies, History and Popular Culture – the Spaces of Convergence

Summary

Abstract

The aim of the article is to juxtapose literary studies, literature and history as neighboring branches of humanistic knowledge. The author compares the methodologies of history and literary studies in the field of narrativity, and, in accordance with Hayden White, comprehends history as a type of fiction, historio-graphia, and literary artifact. In this optics historiography and literary studies are diagnosed as forming a sisterhood relation-ship. When the opportunity arises it is shown that the idea of postmodern history is no novelty, since up until the decline of the XVIII^th century history and literary studies have not been opposite at all.Actually, the way of thinking about history as an (literary) art has a splendid tradition rooted in antiquity. In the scope of Braudel`s history of the “longue durée” it is the model of history as a (hard) science separated from literary studies as an art and ideographical science that constitutes a methodological aberration. Comparative analysis leads to the conclusion, that both these “scientific” branches developed almost simultaneously (cf.feminism, gender, postcolonialism, posthumanism, animal studies).Moreover literary genres, such as the (post)modern historical novels, alternate histories or historical fantasy, opened the space of convergence between history and the literary, because of mutual fluctuation and the “parasiting” of ideas, topics and poetics. The par-ticipation of popular culture makes the history and literary studies more transgressive, widely open for contemporary forms of communication and more hearable.In this scope, the author presents historical game books, facebook`s historical events, transmedia his-torical stories.

Key words: Literary studies, historio-graphia, popculture, (post)modern historical novels, alternate histories, historical fantasy, new forms of communication

Introduction

Literary and historical studies, ones of the most important and at the same time, neighboring branches of humanistic knowledge, have stayed in close and multilevel contacts from their origins. Their relations could be described as a sisterhood; therefore, it is no wonder that they went through stormy quarrels, hysterical separations and affectionate re-unions… Nowadays, when thanks to deep and various changes in hu-manistic, both literary and historical studies became not even an inter- but a transdisciplinary, holistic science about the human being, it has become obvious that they could be closer than ever before. The narrative turn made historians understand that history as the rerum gestarum is sub-jected to the same creational and interpretational principles as literature stricto sensu.