Search

This study describes the Transylvanian literary ecosystem by analysing the relationships between the actors present in literary life. The authors seek the answer to the question whether the oeuvre and perception of writers and poets were defined by their relationships, or rather, whether their relationships were formed by their grouping along common ideas and attitudes. The research investigated the following: how writers and poets related to each other, in which journals they published together, and to which literary societies they belonged. As a data source, the authors used the 5 volumes of the Hungarian literary lexicon in Romania. This study analyses the compiled network using network theory procedures. By calculating the degree of closeness centrality and betweenness centrality, the research concludes whether there are dominant actors, journals, societies in the Transylvanian literary life that were progressive constituents of the development of intellectual life. This research is interdisciplinary and groundbreaking, because it approaches the sociological topic from the perspective of network analysis. It is the first research to formally describe the social structure, whose basic unit, in the present case, is the group of Hungarian writers and poets in Transylvania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the title "'In states unborn and accents yet unknown': Shakespeare and the ISEA", this essay first appeared as a chapter in ISEA, 1964-2014: A South African Research Institute Serving People, edited by Monica Hendricks (Grahamstown: NISC, 2016). The Institute for the Study of English in Africa (ISEA) was founded by Guy Butler at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, in 1964. Among its many undertakings were several development projects for the Shakespeare Society of Southern Africa, established in 1986. The article describes the context in which the Society was formed and provides an overview of key activities undertaken in collaboration with the Institute during the course of its first three decades. The piece also reflects more generally on the social, cultural, educational and political history of Shakespeare in South Africa, asking: "Will Shakespeare continue to thrive in South Africa?" The piece has been lightly revised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents as a case study a discussion pertaining to a peculiar approach that some US scholars have applied to texts of ancient Greek literature, as a response to a specific reality that for decades has been afflicting American society: the timeless experience of war and its aftermath. It is a type of reading and re-usage of some ancient texts that can be regarded as a case of Classical Reception, which also, and almost inevitably, involves Outreach: it in fact provides a service beyond conventional limits to reach out to particular segments of the community. The analysis will be articulated into two parts: the first one will consist of (i) a theoretical overview of the status of Classical Reception Studies with a survey of a few cases as a sample of 'how it works', and (ii) an introduction to the above mentioned approach to classical texts to respond to the reality of modern war, such an approach that turns Classics into an important tool of outreach and therapy. The second part (forthcoming in Acta Scientiarum v.36, n.3) will consist of a detailed discussion of the 'case study' in terms of reception, outreach, and therapy, with an attention to the pedagogical discourse, and with a conclusion on a personal note of the author of this paper, based on a related personal experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the ‘outsider’ status of late-nineteenth-century women writers by exploring the experiences of Anglo-Indian novelist Flora Annie Steel and her responses to authorial sociability infin-de-siècleLondon. Androcentric literary societies are viewed as influential sites which marginalised women writers, containing their incursion into masculine clubland and denying them access to some of the symbolic and practical benefits of professional authorship. Through the lens of Steel's experience, the discussion considers how women writers attempted to transcend exclusion through the establishment of female, literary counterpublics. Such counterpublics fostered a gendered literary consciousness that empowered women and matured in Steel's case into a political prospectus in the service of women's suffrage. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In 1902 both the Order of Merit and the British Academy came into being. As David Cannadine has noted, Gladstonian liberals including Lord Rosebery, John Morley and Sir G.O. Trevelyan occupied a key segment of the newly formed elite with several others who were admitted to one or both of the new groups, belonged to the Club, the private society founded by Samuel Johnson and Joshua Reynolds in 1764. In fact several members took a leading part in the negotiations leading to the establishment of the Academy. The article seeks to demonstrate the significance of the Club in promoting what Cannadine terms 'liberal and literary culture' in the later nineteenth century. A detailed examination of the membership shows a broad array of high achievers in the arts and sciences, as well as many individuals who held important public office. In particular, the Club elected a remarkable group of distinguished Victorian historians, including Macaulay, Grote, Froude, Lecky, Acton, Maine, Stubbs and Creighton. At the end of the century, several members had served in Gladstone's administrations, and as a solid phalanx of liberal politician/writers they provided the base from which the new recipients of the Order of Merit and Fellows of British Academy would be chosen. My conclusion is that the group held a central place in the intellectual and literary world of Britain around 1900, with its extensive connections to the political power base, and understandably provided a nucleus of members for both the Order of Merit and the British Academy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the history of the Bernard Shaw Society of Japan (BSSJ) as of its 40th anniversary in 2011. It notes the role of scholar Matahiko Ichikawa in facilitating Shaw's 1933 visit to Japan and in forming the society, originally called the Shaw Society of Japan (SSJ), in 1971. Other topics include the society workshops, its biannual meetings that include international lecturers, and its publication of the paperback book series "Bernard Shaw Studies." The society has also published the guidebook "Welcome to the Shavian World" in order to introduce Shaw to the Japanese public.

The article offers information on the Society for Textual Scholarship. It is an organization founded in 1979 which is devoted to providing a forum, in its journal "Textual Cultures: Texts, Contexts, Interpretation" and in its biennial conferences, for the discussion on the implications of current research in various textual disciplines. Some updates on the society's activities are provided, including its web site, membership, and future conferences.

Examines the international exchange of publications of two Finnish learned societies: the Finnish Literature Society and the Finnish Antiquarian Society from their foundation until the outbreak of the First World War. The exchange of publications had two purposes: it was a means of acquiring international literature for the libraries of the societies and a way of distributing results of research to foreign scholars. In spite of the availability of texts written in the Finnish language and on Finnish subjects, the Finnish societies received many foreign exchange proposals. Relevancy of the received publications was usually not criticized and all the offers were accepted. These two societies trusted in the exchange as a means of distributing their studies internationally, and did not seriously endeavour to find commercial distribution channels for their publications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an essay which examined the proliferation of individual author societies. Reasons for establishing a Society for the Study of Constance Fenimore Woolson; History of Kate Chopin studies; Information on the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature.

The authors announce the establishment of the John Galt Society. The effort is aimed at promoting the appreciation and study of the life and works of writer John Galt. They cite the contributions made by Galt to the Scottish literature. They note that the society's planning activities should include a day symposium on Galt.