Study on the Literary Representation of Silesia as a Transferential Space

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K00475
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 02040:European literature-related
• Research Institution: Kumamoto University
• Principal Investigator: INOUE Satoko 熊本大学, 大学院人文社会科学研究部(文), 教授 (20599469)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: トランジット性 / 移民 / 空間表象 / 流通 / 移動 / 国境地帯 / ミクロヒストリー / 想起

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Silesia is a region, where since the Middle Ages, various ethnicities, cultures and languages have coexisted. This area has witnessed the movement of people and the exchange of diverse materials, ideas, and images. From the 19th to the 20th century, increased mobility, advanced information networks, and the expansion of popular culture significantly influenced the representation of Silesia in German and Polish literature. The modernization process had a substantial impact on these representations.
A publication on migrant literature, released in 2022, and the Japanese translation of Pawel Huelle's novel, "Weiser Dawidek", published in 2021, highlighted that the micro-histories of people, places, and materials within the borderlands, including Silesia, reveal the region's transferential character. The micro-histories illustrate: Silesia as a multi-layered and intricate microcosm, with its literary texts interwoven with numerous small-scale narratives.

Free Research Field

文学研究

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

単書『語りの断層――ドイツ＝ポーランド国境地帯の文学』(2022)で、シレジア出身のドイツ語作家を含む移民による文学創作、および文化活動について論じた。彼らの故郷であるドイツ＝ポーランド国境地帯は、多層的かつ錯綜したトランジット空間として表象されており、「血と大地」や社会主義リアリズムといったイデオロギーの影響下にあった伝統的なシレジア文学の、定住者中心主義とは異なる描かれ方をしている。移民文学は国別・言語別に研究されることが多く、本研究のように国境地帯の文学として論じた研究は世界的にもまれである。