Challenges of Albanian Literary Historiography - International Scientific Journal Monte (ISJM)

Gazmend Krasniqi¹

¹Faculty of Education Sciences, Aleksandër Moisiu University, Durrës, Albania

Vjollca Osja²

²Faculty of History and Philology, University of Tirana, Albania

ABSTRACT

Can our literary historiography remain hostage to the atypicality of Albanian literary developments? This is a question that can be less and less avoided. The way in which Albanian literature continues to be studied in our schools (see the historical wording itself: Renaissance Literature) encourages the need for a methodological discussion, which we can begin with the following statement: The study of everything related to history (of civilization), actually overshadows literary studies. Thus, the differences between what is and what is not literature are hidden; extra-literary criteria begin to be applied to literature and, consequently, literature will be considered valuable insofar as it draws conclusions about this or that discipline, which is close to it because the identification of literature with history (of civilization) is a denial of the specific field and methods of studying literature. This paper aims to answer this question, but also others that arise during the discussion.

Keywords

Teaching literature, literary historiography, atypia, literary criteria/historical criteria, Albanian romanticism

Introduction

The fact that the challenges of our literary historiography are numerous is also indicated by the issues that arose when it faced the literature of the so-called National Renaissance. This period, the way it is studied in our schools and universities, seems at first sight, to some extent, more consolidated in terms of the list of its writers, than other literary periods – this is also debatable – but in terms of the way it is conducted, many questions continue to arise.

The main concern is that historiography continues to be completely related to history. It often seems that literary texts are closer to history than purely literary texts. Moreover, this mode of interpretation is used for all our literary periods, even though they are not in the vein of romanticism, by causing disorientation to the true knowledge of literature.

After the new literary works, previously banned in Albania for non-literary reasons or those literary works that have the aesthetic value to be (re)read by current generations, became part of the dynamic system of the tradition, the history of literature cannot be immutable data. The state of development of literary studies in the world and in the country constitutes a new starting point, once we agree that another tradition is created in this period of freedom to pursue theoretical studies since we neither use the exclusionary ideological criterion nor attempt to explain the history of literature with social history.

Volume 7.No.1(2023): April – (Humanities Session)

ISSN 2661-2666 (Online) International Scientific Journal Monte (ISJM)
ISSN 2661-264X (Print)

DOI : 10.33807/monte.20232810

DOI URL: https://doi.org/10.33807/monte.20232810