Slavic studies

Summary

Slavic (American English) or Slavonic (British English) studies, also known as Slavistics, is the academic field of area studies concerned with Slavic peoples, languages, literature, history, and culture. Originally, a Slavist or Slavicist was primarily a linguist or philologist researching Slavistics. Increasingly, historians, social scientists, and other humanists who study Slavic cultures and societies have been included in this rubric.

In the United States, Slavic studies is dominated by Russian studies. Ewa Thompson, a professor of Slavic studies at Rice University, described the situation of non-Russian Slavic studies as "invisible and mute".[1]

History

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Slavistics emerged in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, simultaneously with Romantic nationalism among various Slavic nations, and ideological attempts to establish a common sense of Slavic community, exemplified by the Pan-Slavist movement. Among the first scholars to use the term was Josef Dobrovský (1753–1829).

The history of Slavic studies can be divided into three periods. Until 1876 the early Slavists concentrated on documentation and printing of monuments of Slavic languages, among them the first texts written in national languages. At this time the majority of Slavic languages received their first modern dictionaries, grammars, and compendia. The second period, ending with World War I, featured the rapid development of Slavic philology and linguistics, most notably outside of Slavic countries themselves, in the circles formed around August Schleicher (1821–1868) and around August Leskien (1840–1916) at the University of Leipzig. At this time, Slavonic scholars focused on dialectology.

After World War II, centers of Slavic studies were created at various universities around the world, with much greater expansion into other humanities and social science disciplines. This development was partly due to political concerns in Western Europe and the North America arising from the Cold War. Slavic studies flourished in the years from World War II into the 1990s, though university enrollments in Slavic languages have declined since then.

Subfields

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Following the traditional division of Slavs into three subgroups (eastern, southern, western), Slavic studies are divided into three distinct subfields:

  • East Slavic studies, encompassing the study of East Slavic peoples and their linguistic, literary, and other cultural and historical heritages.
  • South Slavic studies, encompassing the study of South Slavic peoples and their linguistic, literary, and other cultural and historical heritages.
    • Bosniac studies, or Bosniacistics (Latin: Bosniacistica);[4]
    • Bulgarian studies, or Bulgaristics (Latin: Bulgaristica);
    • Croatian studies, or Croatistics (Latin: Croatistica);
    • Macedonian studies, or Macedonistics (Latin: Macedonistica);
    • Montenegrin studies, or Montenegristics (Latin: Montenegristica);
    • Serbian studies, or Serbistics (Latin: Serbistica);
    • Slovene Studies, or Slovenistics (Latin: Slovenistica);
    • Yugoslav studies, or Yugoslavistics (Latin: Iugoslavistica);
  • West Slavic studies, encompassing the study of West Slavic peoples and their linguistic, literary, and other cultural and historical heritages.

Slavic countries and areas of interest

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Notable people

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Historical
Contemporary

Journals and book series

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Conferences

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Institutes and schools

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Academic
University
Others

Organisations

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Thompson, Ewa M. "Slavic but not Russian: Invisible and Mute" (PDF). Porównania. 16: 9–18. doi:10.14746/p.2015.16.10857. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  2. ^ "Gordey (2011): Morphonology in Belarusian lingvistics: The formation period, p. 142" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-08-26. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
  3. ^ Kassianova (2002), p. 1001[permanent dead link]: "Rusinistica, or Carpatho-Rusyn studies - a social science discipline focusing on the history of an Eastern Slavic people inhabiting the northern and southern slope of the Carpathian mountains and living within the borders of several Eastern and Central European countries."
  4. ^ Greenberg 2004, p. 151.

Sources

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  • Greenberg, Robert D. (2004). Language and Identity in the Balkans: Serbo-Croatian and its Disintegration. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-151455-5.
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  • Canadian Association of Slavists (in English and French)
  • List of Journals in Russian, Eurasian, and East European Studies at Slavic Review Archived 2009-02-26 at the Wayback Machine
  • Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES)
  • Slavistik-Portal The Slavistics Portal (Germany)
  • André, Mazon (November 1946). "Slavonic studies in France". The Slavonic and East European Review. 25 (64).
  • Maslenikov, Oleg A. (April 1947). "Slavic studies in America, 1939–1946". The Slavonic and East European Review. 25 (65).
  • Association of Slavists POLYSLAV
  • Slavic Linguistics Society

Library guides

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  • Slavonic and East European studies: a guide to resources (British Library) Archived 2015-11-14 at the Wayback Machine
  • "Russian & East European Studies Research Guides". New York, USA: Columbia University Libraries. Archived from the original on 2017-06-21. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
  • Slavic Studies Guide (Duke) Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine
  • Slavic Studies: A Research Guide (Harvard) Archived 2017-02-22 at the Wayback Machine
  • Slavic and East European Resources (University of Illinois)
  • "Slavic and East European Studies". Resources by Subject. USA: Indiana University Bloomington Libraries. Archived from the original on 2014-06-04. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
  • University Library. "German, Russian and Slavonic Studies". UK: University of Leeds.
  • Slavic Studies Guide (NYU) Archived 2009-03-14 at the Wayback Machine
  • "Slavonic, Central and Eastern European Studies". Oxford LibGuides. Oxford, UK: University of Oxford, Bodleian Libraries. Archived from the original on 2015-10-04. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
  • "Slavic/East European/Eurasian Studies Research Guides". Princeton LibGuides. USA: Princeton University Library.
  • University Libraries. "German, Slavic, & East European Languages & Literatures". Research Guides. New Jersey, USA: Rutgers University.
  • Guides to Resources. University College London, School of Slavonic & East European Studies
  • Slavic & East European Collections (Yale) Archived 2006-12-09 at the Wayback Machine