Article
| Title: | "Aktualisace" in English scholarly literature : interpretation, ignorance, and misunderstanding |
| Author: | |
| Source document: | Theatralia. 2012, vol. 15, iss. 2, pp. 154-167 |
| Extent: | 154-167 |
| ISSN: | 1803-845X (print); 2336-4548 (online) |
| Type: | Article (English) |
| Stable URL: | http://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/124418 |
| License: |
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Abstract(s):
This paper explores the term "aktualisace", one of the key concepts of the Prague Structuralists, and its reception in English scholarly literature. "Aktualisace" (translated to English as "foregrounding", "topicalization" or "actualization") has received varying levels of attention and appreciation in contemporary English scholarly literature. It has tended to be overshadowed by more famous concepts, such as Shklovsky's "ostranenie" and Brecht's "Verfremdung", and some scholars have failed to take notice of it entirely. Nonetheless, "aktualisace" has become a popular concept, and a growing number of scholars consider it a central idea in contemporary literary theory and related disciplines. However, common understanding of the original concept has changed. The goal of my contribution is to investigate problems which have resulted from the shift of "aktualisace" from a Czech context to an international one, in terms of its origin and meaning, translation of the term, and its relation to "ostranenie" and "Verfremdung".
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