Zakład Indianistyki Instytutu Orientalistyki UJ

zaprasza wykłady monograficzne: dr Tatiana Dubyanskaya (visiting professor)

Bengali Literature: a Monograph Lecture-course

Bengali literature belongs to one of the most developed, syncretic, acclaimed and elaborate cultural traditions of India. A significant and prosperous socio-cultural region in the Middle-Ages, Bengal became a dominant politico-economic force in pre-/colonial Eastern India; with the growth and development of Calcutta, its new capital after 1772, in the colonial era, Bengal, arguably, became the harbinger of cultural transition and various reform- movements in the public sphere in India. Open to modernity and Western education, the Bengali elite, at the same time, demonstrated a great interest towards indigenous Indian traditions—the combination of values which, given the unique intensity and diversity of intellectual life in 19th-century Bengal, created a very special cultural phenomenon, commonly known as the “Bengal Renaissance”. During the British Raj and after Independence, Bengali culture fathered a number of world-famous writers, poets, socio- religious reformers, film/theatre-directors, actors, scientists, philosophers et al, such as Ram Mohan Roy, Bankimchandra Chattopadhyaya, Rabindranath Tagore, Saratchandra Chatterjee, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay, Satyajit Ray and many others, whose creative works reveal a few signature-tunes of Bengali culture: rational intellectualism combined with sophisticated humour and wit, devotional and both ritualistic and mystical depth and exploration, elaborate manner of expression and elegance of style. The suggested course of lectures offers an overview of great literary heritage in Bangla, with an emphasis on the colonial period and the literary heritage of Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Bankimchandra, Rabindranath, Saratchandra et al. In order to create a framework for the central topics of description, we will reserve time to study and discuss late- mediaeval tradition of devotional and love poetry in Bānglā, historical events of the Mughal and Colonial periods, the rise of print-culture and academic institutions in and around Calcutta, the development of a modern educational system in 19-century India and related cultural-historical developments. Even a very sketchy picture of Bengali literature and culture will be incomplete without discussing the principle literary and cultural figures of 20th-century West Bengal and Bangladesh. As a useful addition to this course, which could help to visualise the theoretically- taught material and create a brighter and more lively impression of the intellectual and artistic achievements of Bengali culture, one would recommend the occasional organisation of a few extra-curricular seminars, dedicated to Indian “art-house” cinema, featuring Bengali film- classics, based on acclaimed literary texts.