Slavic studies

Slavic (American English) or Slavonic (British English) studies, also known as Slavistics, is the academic field of area studies concerned with Slavic areas, 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 area cultures and societies have been included in this rubric.

In North America, 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

Slavistics emerged in late 18th and early 19th century, simultaneously with Romantic nationalisim 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 circle 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 there were developed centers of Slavic studies, and much greater expansion into other humanities and social science disciplines in various universities around the world. Indeed, partly due to the political concerns in Western European and the United States about 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

Following the traditional division of Slavs into three subgroups (eastern, southern, western), Slavic studies are also divided into three distinctive 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

Notable people
Historical
Contemporary

Journals and book series
Main article: List of journals about Slavic studies

Conferences

Institutes and schools
Academic
University
Others

Organisations

See also

References
  1. Thompson, Ewa M. "Slavic but not Russian: Invisible and Mute" (PDF). Porównania. 16: 9–18. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  2. Gordey (2011): Morphonology in Belarusian lingvistics: The formation period, p. 142.
  3. Kassianova (2002), p. 1001: "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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Library guides
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