Bulgarian Academic Books

"A model of academic praxis." - Public Books Elena Ferrante as World Literature is the first English-language monograph on Italian writer Elena Ferrante, whose four Neapolitan Novels (2011-2014) became a global phenomenon. The book proposes that Ferrante constructs a theory of feminine experience which serves as the scaffolding for her own literary practice. Drawing on the writer's entire textual corpus to date, Stiliana Milkova examines the linguistic, psychical, and corporeal-spatial realities that constitute the female subjects Ferrante has theorized. At stake in Ferrante's theory/practice is the articulation of a feminine subjectivity that emerges from the structures of patriarchal oppression and that resists, bypasses, or subverts these very structures. Milkova's inquiry proceeds from Ferrante's theory of frantumaglia and smarginatura to explore mechanisms for controlling and containing the female body and mind, forms of female authorship and creativity, and corporeal negotiations of urban topography and patriarchal space. Elena Ferrante as World Literature sets forth an interdisciplinary framework for understanding Ferrante's texts and offers an account of her literary and cultural significance today.

The book traces the history of communist Bulgaria from 1944 to 1989. A detailed narrative-cum-study of the history of a political system, it provides a chronological overview of the building of the socialist state from the ground up, its entrenchment into the peaceful routine of everyday life, its inner crises, and its gradual decline and self-destruction. The book is the definitive and the most complete guide to Bulgaria under communism and how the communist system operates on a day-to-day level.

This is the first comprehensive textbook teaching English-speakers to read, write, and speak contemporary Bulgarian. The text is designed to be adaptable for students of varying skill levels and can be taught at a gradual or intensive pace. It is also a much-needed reference grammar of Bulgarian, incorporating the latest research and theories on Bulgarian grammar in accessible layman’s language. Volume 2 contains Lessons 16-30 and introduces more complex points of grammar and syntax than Volume 1. It also includes a cumulative Bulgarian-English glossary covering both volumes. Like many popular language textbooks, the dialogues in Intensive Bulgarian form a continuing dramatic narrative that gradually introduces students to both language and culture. Throughout the text, Bulgarian constructions and phrases are compared with English ones to clarify grammar and idioms. Lessons include: o dialogues and sample sentences o exercises and translation sentences o basic and supplemental grammar sections o reading selections o a glossary for the lesson o cultural notes. Together, Volumes 1 and 2 of Intensive Bulgarian provide all the materials necessary for teachers and students to learn lively, modern colloquial Bulgarian, to become familiar with Bulgarian cultural life, and to thoroughly understand Bulgarian grammar. Slavic scholars will also find in Volume 2 both a thorough presentation of the Bulgarian verb system, as traditionally conceived, and a new analysis of this system.

"Explores Bulgarian literature's advent from the standpoint of its internal relations to the world"--

The History of the Great Academic Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language is a monograph dedicated to The Great Academic Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language. It is an introductory volume to the entire set, thoroughly examining this exclusive lexicographical toil which has documented the Bulgarian language for more than two centuries. The Great Academic Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language is a normative dictionary with encyclopedic and historical elements, making it unmatched in world lexicography. The History of the Great Academic Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language unveils all theoretical and practical details of dictionary making art and science.

This innovative survey of Byzantium's relations with pre-Christian Bulgaria in the late eighth and early ninth century offers an entirely new framework for understanding the developments that shaped one of the most turbulent periods in the history of the early Medieval Balkans. Unlike previous studies, it integrates the surviving literary sources with the ever-growing archaeological record to construct a comprehensive narrative account of the Byzantine-Bulgar conflict for political mastery in the region. Moreover, the analysis of the changing socio-political structures of Bulgaria provides a basis for understanding its transformation from a loose tribal confederation into a stable monarchy. While this is primarily a regional study, focusing on the territories and peoples controlled by the two competing powers, it is also of interest to students of the Frankish, Arab and steppe-nomad worlds, since the relations between Byzantium and Bulgaria are put into a wider international context.