Inter Cultural Dialogue And Identity In Lithuanian Literature

This book illustrates that the idea of a 'national' literature is profoundly problematic. Chapters on boundaries and crisscrossing show how a nation and its writers' works do not exist in isolation from their history. Stressing migration and (inter)cultural dialogue, authors explore how the characters in the texts establish a sense of belonging both within the context of migrations and within the context of Lithuania since its independence. The final series of essays in this book discusses Lithuanian literature abroad that is in translation.

Teaser Lithuanian literature demonstrates how ideas about nation and culture are not monolithic but always fluid...

This report analyses all aspects of cultural diversity, which has emerged as a key concern of the international community in recent decades, and maps out new approaches to monitoring and shaping the changes that are taking place. It highlights, in particular, the interrelated challenges of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue and the way in which strong homogenizing forces are matched by persistent diversifying trends. The report proposes a series of ten policy-oriented recommendations, to the attention of States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, international and regional bodies, national institutions and the private sector on how to invest in cultural diversity. Emphasizing the importance of cultural diversity in different areas (languages, education, communication and new media development, and creativity and the marketplace) based on data and examples collected from around the world, the report is also intended for the general public. It proposes a coherent vision of cultural diversity and clarifies how, far from being a threat, it can become beneficial to the action of the international community.

This book discusses how public cultural policies can relate to the principle political issue of democracy. Here, democratic cultural policies include ideas and ideologies, institutional structures, agents and interests, power, access and participation and distribution of economic resources. Contributors focus on analysing the relationship between a political system and culture and the arts as an empirical field. They critically consider questions such as: How do different democratic forms affect cultural policy consequences? Can cultural autonomy be combined with cultural democracy? How is cultural policy-making used as a political process and which interests are involved? What position does popular culture have in cultural policies? How does a former Soviet state like Lithuania handle the question of culture and democracy? What does it mean when UNESCO talks about cultural diversity? How did intellectuals act in cultural policy debates in France in the late 19th century? The volume also looks at whether the democratisation of culture is actually possible. This book was originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Cultural Policy.

Identity and Freedom provides a discursive map of Lithuanian liberal nationalism by focusing on the work of three eminent Lithuanian émigré scholars - Vytautas Kavolis, Aleksandras Shtromas and Tomas Venclova. Presenting these critics of society - and also analysing the significant impact of such writers as George Orwell and Czeslaw Milosz on Lithuanian political and cultural dissent - the book elaborates their three models of liberal nationalism as social criticism. Incorporating material which has so far only been available in Lithuanian, Polish and Russian sources, this book will be invaluable for anyone interested in Central and East European politics, culture and society.

This open access book is a result of an extensive, ambitious and wide-ranging pan-European project focusing on the development of children and young people’s cultural literacy and what it means to be European in the 21st century prioritising intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding. The Horizon 2020 funded, 3-year DIalogue and Argumentation for cultural Literacy Learning (DIALLS) project included ten partners from countries in and around Europe with the aim to centralise co-constructive dialogue as a main cultural literacy value and to promote tolerance, empathy and inclusion. This is achieved through teaching children in schools from a young age to engage together in discussions where they may have differing viewpoints or perspectives, to enable a growing awareness of their own cultural identities, and those of others. Central to the project is children’s engagement with wordless picture books and films, which are used as stimuli for discussions around core cultural themes such as social responsibility, living together and sustainable development. In order to enable intercultural dialogue in action, the project developed an online platform as a tool for engagement across classes, and which this book elaborates on. The book explores themes underpinning this unique interdisciplinary project, drawing together scholars from cultural studies, civics education and linguistics, psychologists, socio-cultural literacy researchers, teacher educators and digital learning experts. Each chapter of the book explores a theme that is common to the project, and celebrates its interdisciplinarity by exploring these themes through different lenses.