Affect Studies

In der vorliegenden Abhandlung skizzieren wir die groben Konturen eines philosophischen und interdisziplinär-kulturwissenschaftlichen Forschungsprogramms, mit dem wir das Ziel verfolgen, Affektivität als ein konstitutiv relationales und damit hochgradig soziales und insofern auch politisch bedeutsames Phänomenfeld zu erschließen.  Wie lässt sich die menschliche Affektivität am besten begrifflich aufschlüsseln, damit ein adäquater Zugriff auf diese komplexen interpersonalen Dynamiken und ihre vielfältigen Wirkungen ermöglicht wird? Ausgangspunkt der folgenden Überlegungen ist, dass wir es bei Affektivität mit einem dynamischen Bezugsgeschehen zu tun haben, das sich nicht nur zwischen menschlichen Individuen abspielt und sie verbindet oder trennt, sondern selbst ein konstitutiver Faktor für Individuen – genauer: für menschliche Subjekte – ist. Affektivität ist eine Subjektivierungsinstanz par excellence.

The ability to express and feel empathy has long been presented as one of the defining traits of what it means to be human. Although this ability is increasingly being recognised in non-­‐human entities, this very act of identification roots the empathetic response further in a " natural " bodily automatism that is involved in mediating social experience and the way we relate to others. This workshop will complicate the immediacy of the feeling of empathy – our ability to really feel " it " , be moved and reach out to the other – by foregrounding that the expression of empathy also hinges on " specific " cultural knowledge and experience, which shapes our perception of and responses to others. If we accept that empathy is not merely a " universal " human phenomenon, but one that is also situated, at work in different ways in different places and situations, then empathy also reveals a fractious potential. Rather than making us merely reach out to others, empathy also immunises an " us " against those for whom no such feelings are felt. Whilst feeling empathy we inevitably also have the impression of " understanding " the other, which embeds the other's pain in our own experience and system of values, even though these values may not be universally shared. Here the genuine expression of empathy can end up entrenching stereotypes, power-­‐relations and cultural ignorance because the other's situation seems so immediately understood and obvious. Empathy can also lead to moral catharsis, which vents emotional tensions and doubts to give one the impression of " caring " and " sharing " the other's pain. As such, it can act as a disincentive to scrutinise one's own behaviour and might lead to inaction and the sanitation of the violence of social exclusion and structural injustices. The very fact that a wide range of cultural practices – from adverts, political speeches, TV-­‐soap operas, museum exhibitions to music and sentimental literature – routinely seek to elicit empathetic responses, alerts us to the political and mediated nature of this feeling. When we all cry at the same time in a Hollywood movie, is this really an expression of our shared humanity, or are other forces at work here also? The participants of this workshop will have the opportunity to engage in a day long discussion about the construction and role of empathy in the sphere of cultural politics. Key points of discussion will include cultural translation, empathy and international geo-­‐politics, postcolonialism, critical race studies, feminist and gender studies, national identity, class and memory studies and the connected questions of the politics of representation and technological mediation, especially in the context of digital media, literature and the arts. The overarching aim of the day is to raise awareness of the multiple ways in which empathy intersects with cultural politics, and to help participants gage how questions of cultural politics intersect with their own work. As such, this workshop will be useful for researchers and practitioners from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds. The programme (overleaf) is designed to combine a thematic overview of the field with workshops and presentations by participants. Deadline for Application / Registration: 30 th of April, 2017 To set the ground for the discussions, participants are asked to register for the event by preparing a short (300-­‐400 word) narrative about their own research and how this touches on empathy. These narratives will be circulated in advance to all participants and will form the basis for introductions and workshops on the day. Some foundational reading has also been recommended. Please send your application to: MullerCJ@cardiff.ac.uk and andreamaria.zimmermann@unibas.ch

Traditions and Transitions: this double volume features selected papers presented at a conference of the same name, organized by the Department of English and American Studies at St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia in September 2018. The conference aimed to celebrate a double anniversary: 90 years since the study of English was established as an autonomous degree subject within the Germanic Studies Department in 1928, and 130 years since the founding of the University of Sofia in 1888, the first higher academic institution in Bulgaria, opened shortly after the country’s liberation from Ottoman rule.

The conference brought together more than eighty academics from different generations, countries, and theoretical backgrounds. It offered a rich spectrum of topics and invited stimulating interdisciplinary and intergenerational exchanges. A year later, these two volumes present some of the most interesting and thought-provoking papers delivered in 2018.

Preserving traditions and honouring the past, but also looking into the future and embracing transition and change, the forty papers in the two volumes offer a wide range of theoretical and methodological perspectives. They have been organised into four parts. While strict boundaries between disciplines and themes are not easy to draw, multiple internal connections and shared themes are evident within each category.

Part I and Part II of the current Volume One follow the exact title of the conference: Traditions and Transitions. Part I is called TRADITIONS, HISTORY AND CHANGE and traces the historical development of the two major branches of the English department – Literature and Linguistics, a more recent one – Culture Studies, as well as the fruitful exchange programme with Leeds University amidst the Cold War era. The last two papers look at current issues from the field of Applied Linguistics and Semiotics. All papers in this part come from distinguished professors emeriti who have worked at the English Department at Sofia University, or have had a long-term connection with it.

Part II, TRANSITIONS, TRANSGRESSIONS AND PERFORMANCE, transgresses the often rigid disciplinary boundaries and explores trans-national, trans-lingual, trans-cultural, trans-human, and other aspects, well beyond the traditional scope of English Studies. Combining various interdisciplinary approaches and drawing on translation studies, culture studies, film and theatre studies, this part offers something of a counterpoint to the first part, focused on specific disciplines and historical development. It also serves as a kind of transition to the second volume, where Language and Literature are the two organising categories, although the boundaries between them are often fluid and permeable.