[KS] Workshop Korean Literature and Korean Studies

[Schirmer Andreas]

Dear list members, even though it comes much too short notice to trade under the name of “invitation” I would still like to make you aware of the simple fact that this workshop will take place tomorrow in Vienna and trust that some of you will be interested in the abstracts.
Fiction and poetry vs. reality and truth?
Contesting Korean literature’s place within Korean Studies

The promotion of practical knowledge and its utility within area studies programs in the cultivation of “experts” has given literature a rather diminutive standing. At best, literature is seen to mirror or respond to social reality and truth—while its rival mediums, the media, and supra-literary prose forms, are perceived to be much more reliable and concrete. The notion that literature is a window into realities that are inaccessible through other media is not widely acknowledged or embraced. Yet literary writing continues to generate awareness of otherwise unexamined dimensions of reality and the human condition surrounding us.
The underlying premise of our workshop on Korean literature is thus that, while fiction may say much about the realities that make up the purview of other disciplines, most notably sociology and socio-cultural anthropology, it picks up things that they miss. As scholars of Korean fiction, we come together to reflect on developments in modern and contemporary Korea, to reflect on “tales that are telling” and worth retelling.
And on yet another level of analysis, we will attempt to deepen our understanding of how literature imparts a sensibility of observation and self-insight that complements other ways of apprehending the world. The invited speakers will focus on the relationship between (Korean) fiction and (Korean) realities, sharing their very concrete examples with the audience.
Date: Saturday, June 13, 2015, 9:30‒18:00
Location: Korean Studies, Department of East Asian Studies, University of Vienna, Spitalg. 2, Campus Hof 5, 1090 Wien, Austria
Main sponsor: Academy of Korean Studies, Korean Studies Promotion Service
Originator & Coordinator: Andreas Schirmer
Speakers:
Antonetta Bruno (Università di Roma “La Sapienza”)
Anders Karlsson (SOAS, University of London)
Grace Koh (SOAS, University of London)
Miriam Löwensteinová (Charles University Prague)
Ekaterina Pokholkova (State Linguistik University, Moscow)
Andreas Schirmer (Universität Wien)
Jerome de Wit (Universität Tübingen)

Interested students and members of the general public are welcome to participate. A small lunch buffet, sponsored by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, will be served.

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