Taja Kramberger
Encyclopedia
Taja Kramberger is a Slovenia
n poet
, translator, essayist and historical anthropologist.
She was born in Ljubljana
, Slovenia
. She has finished undergraduate studies of history at the University of Ljubljana, where she studied also archaeology (absolved 4 years), but left it out when she became engaged in the literary field (1995) and postgraduate history studies. She obtained her PhD from history/historical anthropology at the University of Primorska with a thesis entitled Memory and Remembrance. Historical Anthropology of the Canonized Reception (Case Study of a Review and Publishing House Modra ptica [Blue Bird], 1929-1941. Bartol with Vidmar), 1241 pp. [URL: http://share.upr.si/fhs/PUBLIC/doktorske/Kramberger-Taja.pdf]
She was an initiator and still is Editor-in-Chief of Monitor ISH-Review of Humanities and Social Sciences (2001–2003), in 2004 renamed to Monitor ZSA-Review for Historical, Social and Other Anthropologies(2004–2010) (http://oskarserver.upr.si/monitor/indexslo.html). Between 2004 and 2007 she was a president of the TROPOS-Association for Historical, Social and Other Anthropologies and for Cultural Activities (Ljubljana, Slovenia).
She publishes monographs in the areas of epistemology of social sciences and historiography
, history
and historical anthropology of various subjects for the period between 18th to mid 20th Centuries. She is also a writer, she writes literary books, literary studies and essay
s. She translates texts from all fields mentioned from English, French, Italian and Spanish to Slovenian language. She lives in Koper, where she is employed as university teacher at the University of Primorska.
She earned some scientific and literary fellowships abroad at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales
and Maison des sciences de l'homme in Paris
, Collegium Budapest in Budapest
, Edition Thanhaeuser in Ottensheim
, Austria
. She also publishes scientific
and literary
articles, essays and translations. She participates at international scientific and literary conferences and also collaborates in the organizations of them, as for example in the case of international conferences Territorial and Imaginary Frontiers and Identities from Antiquity until Today, accent on Balkans (2002 in Ljubljana) or international scientific conference of the Francophonie (AUF)
entitled Histoire de l’oubli/History of Oblivion (2008 in Koper).
Fields of her work and research are: epistemology of historiography
and social sciences
, historical anthropology http://cem.revues.org/index8862.html, contemporary history from Enlightenment
to mid 20th century, transmission and politics of memory
/oblivion, intellectual history
and cultural transfers in Europe
, anti-intellectualism
, dimensions of the Dreyfus Affair
in Slovenian social Space and in Trieste, mechanisms of social exclusion
, anthropology
of sex and gender
, constitution of (national and transnational) literary fields http://www.fabula.org/atelier.php?Champ in Europe in 19th and 20th Centuries, studies of province
and provincialism as a specific socio-historical phenomenon
.
. She has finished there 4 years of primary school (Pinko Tomažič), and then moved with a family to Ljubljana
, where she has finished primary and secondary school Gimnazija Bežigrad
. She obtained BA from history at the University of Ljubljana
(1997), and took the position of a postgraduate young researcher at the Institutum Studiorum Humanitatis (abr. ISH) in Ljubljana. After the transition changes, when lucrative and socially applicable science was placed in the first plan at the ISH, she has left the institution (2004), and moved to Koper-Capodistria, where a new University of Primorska has started its route. She still lives and works in Koper. She is married to Drago Braco Rotar, Slovenian sociologist, historical anthropologist and translator.http://bracorotar.wordpress.com/
Beside in literature and historical anthropology she was/is engaged in civil actions and confrontations against clientelism and corruption
in the scientific domain in the frames of Slovenia (in May 2000 she co-directed together with Sabina Mihelj a big public manifestation in Ljubljana against corrupted politics of the Ministry of Science and Technology; in 2004 she fought against illegal takeover of the institution ISH; in 2010 she again was a militant contra the total neoliberalization
, venalization and degradation of the university
as an autonomous institution and against the decomoposition of its fundamental scientific disciplines at the Faculty of Human Sciences Koper, University of Primorska; for the later see web:-site Save the University: http://resimouniverzo.blogspot.com/ ).
The same changes occurred also in the literary field in Slovenia. In 2004 when a writer and translator Iztok Osojnik
as a director of the Vilenica International Literary Festival http://www.vilenica.si/ENG/vilenica_en.html was ousted from the position of Vilenica's director at the Slovenian Writers’ Union (SWU) http://www.drustvo-dsp.si/si/drustvo_slovenskih_pisateljev/drustvo/default.html, she was among the minority who supported him against mostly State maintained elite and regime supported writers and authors, meanwhile majority of writers remained quiet – also around two ardently debated subjects of growing nationalism and humiliation of women writers and translators in the frames of the SWU. (Polemics, which lasted the whole summer and autumn of 2004, was published in the review Apokalipsa, no. 84/85, 2004.) After that she distanced herself from the SWU’s network and writes literature by her own vocation and ethical standards.
, based on Halbwachsian instrumentarium (for his workd see: http://classiques.uqac.ca/classiques/Halbwachs_maurice/halbwachs.html) and numerous later improvements, in its theoretic aspect and epistemic conceptualization into Slovenian public, mostly composed of linear descriptive social sciences and humanities, in 2000/2001 (a course of lectures Conceptualization of the collective memory on Maurice Halbwachs
, Frances Amelia Yates
and Pierre Nora
at the Institutum Studiorum Humanitatis in Ljubljana) and 2001 (she wrote an extensive introduction to the Maurice Halbwachs' Slovenian translation of La mémoire collective). Not many scholars followed the utterly important distinction between memory (mémoire) and remembrance (souvenir) – still some are (Drago Braco Rotar, Marija Jurič Pahor, Samuel Friškič) - , and were able to grasp the crucial categorical differences between memory and history, but her works expose her incontestably broad knowledge, highly pertinent argumentation and subtle discursive skills, which are not easy to contest.
in the field of history in Slovenia, and has released many angry reactions in the history field, but mostly she left the historians - unable to confront its own shadows from the past - silenced. Although polemic
, which would definitely clarify the discipline’s past erratic wanderings and amnesias and an almost total theoretic oblivion in the field of history in Slovenia, is not a usual tool of scientific communication in these regions, it is nevertheless clear that Taja Kramberger has opened (among some other researchers, such as Drago Braco Rotar, Rastko Močnik
, Maja Breznik, Lev Centrih, Primož Krašovec, in a small, theoretically much less pertinent part also Marta Verginella
and Oto Luthar
) an important segment of future debates, which are needed to elucidate some of the neglected and spontaneously transmitted chapters of the Slovenian (distinctly ethnocentric and Sonderweg) history.
in the Slovenian social space :fr:Espace (sciences sociales). She has opened up a complex theme strangely neglected and connected to the categories and imaginary :fr:Imaginaire structure of anti-Semitism
in the country with not many Jewish people
, but nonetheless with strong mechanisms of social exclusion
. In the frames of this theme she directed – together with her students in 2007/2008 – an ample exhibition on the Dreyfus Affair (1894–1906), showing its entangled European context, its highly important civic extensions, and its specific reception in the continental Slovenian space and in Trieste, mostly based on spontaneous anti-Semitism. The exhibitions was set up and shown to the public in Koper (2008), Trieste
(2009) and Maribor
(2010).
Apart from many fresh intellectual ideas and innovations (for the Slovenian circumstances and intellectual coordinates, but very likely also in a wider sense) Taja Kramberger has written many critical articles on various aspects of Slovenian history, cultural life, but also on broader European History and culture, e. g. on Spanish Civil War
, different models of Enlightenment
in Europe and the recurrent Enlightenment features in the works of Anton Tomaž Linhart
, on epistemic divergence between Enlightenment's and Historismus's :de:Historismus (Geschichtswissenschaft)paradigm
s of historiography
, on anthropology
of translation
, history of university and the formation of university habitus :fr:Habitus (sociologie), on literary and cultural fields :fr:Pierre Bourdieu#La théorie des champs in the thirties in Slovenia (by then partially covered by the administrative unit of Dravska banovina) and on the role of women in the constitution of these fields etc.).
, translated some of their texts (as a guest editor of the journal Družboslovne razprave, no. 43, 2003), and in 2006 edited a monograph entitled Principles of Reflexive Social Science and for a Critical Investigation of Symbolic Dominations (Načela za refleksivno družbeno znanost in kritično preučevanje simbolnih dominacij) (in Slovenian, together with Drago Braco Rotar). She held lectures – among other subjects – on Bourdieuian approach, instrumentarium and methodology at the University of Primorska in Koper.
. Her poems have been translated in more than twenty-five languages and published in different literary journals, anthologies in Slovenia and abroad. Book selections of her poetry came out in Hungarian (Ezernyi csend : válogatott versek, Pannónia könyvek, Pécs, Pro Pannonia Kiadói Alapítvány, 2008, ISBN 978-963-9893-07-8) http://books.google.si/books?id=7FGF2sVn6XMC&dq=Ezernyi+csend+:+v%C3%A1logatott&source=gbs_navlinks_s http://www.propannonia.hu/konyvhtml/vers.html and Croatian language (Mobilizacije, Naklada Lara, Zagreb, 2008, tr. Ksenija Premur, ISBN 978-953-7289-31-7) http://www.naklada-lara.com/naklada.html. She has been an invited guest of around 100 international literary meetings and festivals in Europe (Belgium, England, Lithuania, Portugal, Croatia, Latvia, France, Hungary, Italy, Austria, Germany, Croatia, Macedonia, France, Lithuania, Finland, Ireland etc.) and Canada (Quebec and Ontario).
Taja Kramberger, as the committee of »Veronika Award« (2007) http://www.veronikini-veceri.si/ for the best poetry collection of the year 2006 wrote, is one of the strongest and most accomplished poetic voices in the contemporary Slovenian poetry; a voice which introduces many innovations »so in the poetic proceedings as in the audacity of the of chosen subjects, but also in the courage to tell things in an intelligent and a deeply-moving way, which does not follow the predominant poetry models, but supplies itself outside of them, in a everyday situations ...«. Simple words, entangled with highly elaborated intellectual comprehensions - another benefit of Kramberger's poetic language, in Taja Kramberger’s poems change themselves into »multilayered compositions« and subtle messages. These are »able to reach out to the world, and are surely not here for the intimacy of the poet« and neither for sentimental grounds of the reader. And still this poetry is deeply moving, at the same moment emotionally charged and brightly intellegible, light-coloured in spite of breathtaking »gestuary of crime« denuded by the Kramberger's verses, as Osojnik observed in her later poetry book in which the poet is narrating the Dreyfuss Affair through the cycle of poems (Opus quinque dierum, 2009). These features, together with poet’s precious »poetically-analytical mind«, which is able to convert a »stale literary canon and criticism into an inspiration for the highest level of poetry«, so says the »Veronika Award« committee, are innovations, which »give her poetry a seal of world importance and actuality« (Explanation for the Veronika Award 2007) http://www.veronikini-veceri.si/veronikina-nagrada-2007.
Jad Hatem
, a French poet himself and a professor of philosophy and literature :fr:Jad Hatem, in an original way also noticed that a privileged topos in Taja Krambeger’s poetry is her outstanding ability of a simultaneous theoretic reflection, inscribed along with the poetic thought of her poems (La Poésie slovène contemporaine : l’écriture de la pierre, 2010) http://www.chapitre.com/CHAPITRE/fr/BOOK/hatem-jad/la-poesie-slovene-contemporaine-l-ecriture-de-la-pierre,28779584.aspx. From a very different angle Slovenian poet Iztok Osojnik
sees this rare privilege, that is the poet’s critical ability to transform ideologically contaminated and narrow representations of reality in a poetic way into more bearable representations of reality, which bring us much closer to the core of events, as a tool of the political poetry http://www.pemmicanpress.com/articles/daggett-political-poetry.html in its best and noble sense (Apokalipsa, no. 134/135)http://www.kud-apokalipsa.si/.
for a book Vertikalna poezija (Vertical Poetry - with her introduction, ŠZ, Ljubljana, 2006, ISBN 961-242-035-1), a book of Gao Xingjian
(Ribiška palica za starega očeta/Buying a Fishing Rod for My Grandfather, 1986–1990, from French together with Drago Braco Rotar) (Didakta, Radovljica, 2001, ISBN 961-6363-62-X), a book of poetry written by Lithuanian poet Neringa Abrutyte (Izpoved, CSK, Aleph, Ljubljana, 2004, ISBN 961-6036-50-5) and a book of fairy-tails for kids by Lucy Coats
(100 grških mitov za otroke/Atticus the Storyteller, 2004; MK, Ljubljana, 2004, reprinted in 2009, ISBN 978-86-11-16964-4.).
At the ISH – Graduate School of Humanities in Ljubljana Taja Kramberger arranged exhibition place for fine arts and between 2000 and 2003 organized five exhibitions of Slovenian and of foreign figurative artists (painters, photographic artists, designers, installation artists).
In 2002 Taja Kramberger directed and coordinated international project of poets’ and translators’ (22 from 10 countries) »Linguaggi di-versi / Different Languages / Različni jeziki / Langages di-vers« in a seaside town of Ankaran near Koper in Slovenia. Project established a series of translation workshops between 1999 and 2004 in Central-European States (Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy and Austria). In 2004 the publication Različni jeziki / Linguaggi di-versi / Different Languages / Langages di-vershttp://www.libris.si/index.php?page=posamezna_knjiga&book_id=9789619083390# in 10 languages came out of the project (published by the Edition Libris Koper) and it was edited by T. Kramberger and Gašper Malej. Anne Talvaz http://poezibao.typepad.com/poezibao/2005/12/anne_talvaz.html http://kulturni-klub.si/citalnica/Anne_%20Talvaz_jan-2008.pdf, a French writer and translator, and Bulgarian translator Stefka Hrusanova have broadened the scope of the workshop and organized in 2008 and 2010 its presentations in Spain (Barcelona) and Italy (Milan).
Another bigger international project Taja Kramberger conducted in 2006 was a Slovenian segment of the international project »Sealines / Morske linije / Linee di mare« which through one-month’s literary residences in 6 European bilingual ports (Cardiff, Galway, Helsinki, Koper, Riga, Valetta) connected writers from 6 European states http://www.lit-across-frontiers.org/projects_detail.php?id=1. Project was supported by the program Culture 2000 of the European Union http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/culture/l29006_en.htm, and was led by the LAF – Literature Across Frontiers office in UK, Manchester http://www.lit-across-frontiers.org/what.php. In Slovenia it was executed by the Association Tropos and its then president Taja Kramberger.
From 2007 to 2009 Kramberger was a president of the Collegium artium
(abr. CA) – an association of teachers and students at the Faculty of Human Sciences Koper, University of Primorska, aimed at organizing different cultural and social events at the faculty (literary readings, music concerts, theater and film performances, round tables, conferences, commemorations, exhibitions of figurative arts, other specialized exhibitions etc.). In the frames of the institution CA more than 150 cultural events took place in less than two years.
With the essay entitled Similis simili gaudet. Ali o kerkopski literarni kritiki v slovenskem literarnem polju (Similis simili gaudet. On the Kercopian Literary Criticism in the Slovenian Literary Field)http://bracorotar.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/kerkopska-kritika.pdf, written with a rare combination of fine irony
and piercing analytical style, on drastically unrefexive criticism
in Slovenian literature she has shown how important it is for a critic
to be disposable and open to the artistic work and at the same time able to produce analytical distances in relation to the work read and evaluated, and in the next step to compound both experiences into a certain perspective
, which can come out as his/her own distinctive approach and a singular way of seeing things and works of art
. Without that (minimal) cognitive engagement, so Taja Kramberger, there can be no artistic criticism, but only an unconscious
and ritual
ized activity - she calls it a Kercopian literary criticism - that is a (grinning) mimesis
of common sense
and stereotype
s about literature and authors.
In her interview
s she talks about cognitive dimensions
of literature
and their transformational
potential in a society. Transformational discourses and discursive practices, which are open to changes and interventions, as the opposite of the transfirmational discourses with closed semantic structure and clear signs of mental immobility are original analytical categories of her conceptualization and apparatus. In scholary texts (cf. her article Doxa et fama, 2003, her dissertation, or her interview for the journal Literatura in 2006) Taja Kramberger further identifies transfirmational discourses as the systemic feature of the longue durée provincial mental structure, unable to subdue itself to changes and open to the external/outer world). Taja Kramberger is without any doubt among those few Slovenian writers (Iztok Osojnik
, Miklavž Komelj, in a way also Barbara Korun) which are studiously oriented, and do not recognize (pure) inspiration as a sufficient cause for creative artistic work. In their artistic work there’s a strong component of social sensitivity and a constant ethical reference to attain the equilibrium
of social justice
.
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, translator, essayist and historical anthropologist.
She was born in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
. She has finished undergraduate studies of history at the University of Ljubljana, where she studied also archaeology (absolved 4 years), but left it out when she became engaged in the literary field (1995) and postgraduate history studies. She obtained her PhD from history/historical anthropology at the University of Primorska with a thesis entitled Memory and Remembrance. Historical Anthropology of the Canonized Reception (Case Study of a Review and Publishing House Modra ptica [Blue Bird], 1929-1941. Bartol with Vidmar), 1241 pp. [URL: http://share.upr.si/fhs/PUBLIC/doktorske/Kramberger-Taja.pdf]
She was an initiator and still is Editor-in-Chief of Monitor ISH-Review of Humanities and Social Sciences (2001–2003), in 2004 renamed to Monitor ZSA-Review for Historical, Social and Other Anthropologies(2004–2010) (http://oskarserver.upr.si/monitor/indexslo.html). Between 2004 and 2007 she was a president of the TROPOS-Association for Historical, Social and Other Anthropologies and for Cultural Activities (Ljubljana, Slovenia).
She publishes monographs in the areas of epistemology of social sciences and historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and historical anthropology of various subjects for the period between 18th to mid 20th Centuries. She is also a writer, she writes literary books, literary studies and essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
s. She translates texts from all fields mentioned from English, French, Italian and Spanish to Slovenian language. She lives in Koper, where she is employed as university teacher at the University of Primorska.
She earned some scientific and literary fellowships abroad at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales
École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales
The École des hautes études en sciences sociales is a leading French institution for research and higher education, a Grand Établissement. Its mission is research and research training in the social sciences, including the relationship these latter maintain with the natural and life sciences...
and Maison des sciences de l'homme in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Collegium Budapest in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Edition Thanhaeuser in Ottensheim
Ottensheim
Ottensheim is a municipality in the district of Urfahr-Umgebung in Upper Austria, Austria. In July 2008 it hosted the World Rowing Championships.- History :...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. She also publishes scientific
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and literary
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
articles, essays and translations. She participates at international scientific and literary conferences and also collaborates in the organizations of them, as for example in the case of international conferences Territorial and Imaginary Frontiers and Identities from Antiquity until Today, accent on Balkans (2002 in Ljubljana) or international scientific conference of the Francophonie (AUF)
Agence universitaire de la francophonie
The Agence universitaire de la Francophonie , French for the "Association of Universities of the Francophonie", is a global network of French-speaking higher education and research institutions....
entitled Histoire de l’oubli/History of Oblivion (2008 in Koper).
Fields of her work and research are: epistemology of historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
and social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
, historical anthropology http://cem.revues.org/index8862.html, contemporary history from Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
to mid 20th century, transmission and politics of memory
Collective
A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together on a specific project to achieve a common objective...
/oblivion, intellectual history
Intellectual history
Note: this article concerns the discipline of intellectual history, and not its object, the whole span of human thought since the invention of writing. For clarifications about the latter topic, please consult the writings of the intellectual historians listed here and entries on individual...
and cultural transfers in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, anti-intellectualism
Anti-intellectualism
Anti-intellectualism is hostility towards and mistrust of intellect, intellectuals, and intellectual pursuits, usually expressed as the derision of education, philosophy, literature, art, and science, as impractical and contemptible...
, dimensions of the Dreyfus Affair
Dreyfus Affair
The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal that divided France in the 1890s and the early 1900s. It involved the conviction for treason in November 1894 of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer of Alsatian Jewish descent...
in Slovenian social Space and in Trieste, mechanisms of social exclusion
Social exclusion
Social exclusion is a concept used in many parts of the world to characterise contemporary forms of social disadvantage. Dr. Lynn Todman, director of the Institute on Social Exclusion at the Adler School of Professional Psychology, suggests that social exclusion refers to processes in which...
, anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
of sex and gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
, constitution of (national and transnational) literary fields http://www.fabula.org/atelier.php?Champ in Europe in 19th and 20th Centuries, studies of province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
and provincialism as a specific socio-historical phenomenon
Phenomenon
A phenomenon , plural phenomena, is any observable occurrence. Phenomena are often, but not always, understood as 'appearances' or 'experiences'...
.
Biography
Born in Ljubljana, but lived in her childhood (between age 4 and 11) at the seaside – in the bilingual town of Koper-Capodistria near TriesteTrieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
. She has finished there 4 years of primary school (Pinko Tomažič), and then moved with a family to Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, where she has finished primary and secondary school Gimnazija Bežigrad
Bežigrad Grammar School
Bežigrad Gymnasium is a selective coeducational state secondary school for students aged between 15 to 20. It is named after the Bežigrad district in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where it is located...
. She obtained BA from history at the University of Ljubljana
University of Ljubljana
The University of Ljubljana is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. With 64,000 enrolled graduate and postgraduate students, it is among the largest universities in Europe.-Beginnings:...
(1997), and took the position of a postgraduate young researcher at the Institutum Studiorum Humanitatis (abr. ISH) in Ljubljana. After the transition changes, when lucrative and socially applicable science was placed in the first plan at the ISH, she has left the institution (2004), and moved to Koper-Capodistria, where a new University of Primorska has started its route. She still lives and works in Koper. She is married to Drago Braco Rotar, Slovenian sociologist, historical anthropologist and translator.http://bracorotar.wordpress.com/
Beside in literature and historical anthropology she was/is engaged in civil actions and confrontations against clientelism and corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
in the scientific domain in the frames of Slovenia (in May 2000 she co-directed together with Sabina Mihelj a big public manifestation in Ljubljana against corrupted politics of the Ministry of Science and Technology; in 2004 she fought against illegal takeover of the institution ISH; in 2010 she again was a militant contra the total neoliberalization
Neoliberalism
Neoliberalism is a market-driven approach to economic and social policy based on neoclassical theories of economics that emphasizes the efficiency of private enterprise, liberalized trade and relatively open markets, and therefore seeks to maximize the role of the private sector in determining the...
, venalization and degradation of the university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
as an autonomous institution and against the decomoposition of its fundamental scientific disciplines at the Faculty of Human Sciences Koper, University of Primorska; for the later see web:-site Save the University: http://resimouniverzo.blogspot.com/ ).
The same changes occurred also in the literary field in Slovenia. In 2004 when a writer and translator Iztok Osojnik
Iztok Osojnik
Iztok Osojnik is a Slovenian poet and essayist.He was born in Ljubljana. He studied comparative literature at the University of Ljubljana under the supervision of the famous literary historian and philosopher Dušan Pirjevec...
as a director of the Vilenica International Literary Festival http://www.vilenica.si/ENG/vilenica_en.html was ousted from the position of Vilenica's director at the Slovenian Writers’ Union (SWU) http://www.drustvo-dsp.si/si/drustvo_slovenskih_pisateljev/drustvo/default.html, she was among the minority who supported him against mostly State maintained elite and regime supported writers and authors, meanwhile majority of writers remained quiet – also around two ardently debated subjects of growing nationalism and humiliation of women writers and translators in the frames of the SWU. (Polemics, which lasted the whole summer and autumn of 2004, was published in the review Apokalipsa, no. 84/85, 2004.) After that she distanced herself from the SWU’s network and writes literature by her own vocation and ethical standards.
Conceptualization of the collective memory and its distinctions from remembrance and history
Taja Kramberger introduced studies of collective memoryCollective memory
Collective memory refers to the shared pool of information held in the memories of two or more members of a group, and was coined by the philosopher and sociologist Maurice Halbwachs. Collective memory can be shared, passed on and constructed by groups both small and large...
, based on Halbwachsian instrumentarium (for his workd see: http://classiques.uqac.ca/classiques/Halbwachs_maurice/halbwachs.html) and numerous later improvements, in its theoretic aspect and epistemic conceptualization into Slovenian public, mostly composed of linear descriptive social sciences and humanities, in 2000/2001 (a course of lectures Conceptualization of the collective memory on Maurice Halbwachs
Maurice Halbwachs
Maurice Halbwachs was a French philosopher and sociologist known for developing the concept of collective memory.Born in Reims, Halbwachs attended the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. There he studied philosophy with Henri Bergson, who influenced him greatly. He aggregated in Philosophy in 1901...
, Frances Amelia Yates
Frances Yates
Dame Frances Amelia Yates DBE was a British historian. She taught at the Warburg Institute of the University of London for many years.She wrote extensively on the occult or Neoplatonic philosophies of the Renaissance...
and Pierre Nora
Pierre Nora
Pierre Nora is a French historian of Jewish descent. Elected to the French Academy on June 7, 2001, he is known for his work on French identity and memory. His name is associated with the study of new history...
at the Institutum Studiorum Humanitatis in Ljubljana) and 2001 (she wrote an extensive introduction to the Maurice Halbwachs' Slovenian translation of La mémoire collective). Not many scholars followed the utterly important distinction between memory (mémoire) and remembrance (souvenir) – still some are (Drago Braco Rotar, Marija Jurič Pahor, Samuel Friškič) - , and were able to grasp the crucial categorical differences between memory and history, but her works expose her incontestably broad knowledge, highly pertinent argumentation and subtle discursive skills, which are not easy to contest.
Critical Reflexivity of the Slovenian Historiography
Kramberger has also started with the extensive categorical critical reflexivityReflexivity (social theory)
Reflexivity refers to circular relationships between cause and effect. A reflexive relationship is bidirectional with both the cause and the effect affecting one another in a situation that does not render both functions causes and effects...
in the field of history in Slovenia, and has released many angry reactions in the history field, but mostly she left the historians - unable to confront its own shadows from the past - silenced. Although polemic
Polemic
A polemic is a variety of arguments or controversies made against one opinion, doctrine, or person. Other variations of argument are debate and discussion...
, which would definitely clarify the discipline’s past erratic wanderings and amnesias and an almost total theoretic oblivion in the field of history in Slovenia, is not a usual tool of scientific communication in these regions, it is nevertheless clear that Taja Kramberger has opened (among some other researchers, such as Drago Braco Rotar, Rastko Močnik
Rastko Mocnik
Rastko Močnik is a Slovenian sociologist, literary theorist, translator and political activist. Together with Slavoj Žižek and Mladen Dolar, he is considered one of the co-founders of the Ljubljana school of psychoanalysis....
, Maja Breznik, Lev Centrih, Primož Krašovec, in a small, theoretically much less pertinent part also Marta Verginella
Marta Verginella
Marta Verginella is a Slovenian-Italian historian from Trieste, and one of the most prominent contemporary Slovene historians.- Biography :She was born in Trieste, Italy, where she attended Slovene language schools...
and Oto Luthar
Oto Luthar
Oto Luthar is a Slovenian historian. Since 1992, he has served as the director of the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Ljubljana, the largest research institution in Slovenia....
) an important segment of future debates, which are needed to elucidate some of the neglected and spontaneously transmitted chapters of the Slovenian (distinctly ethnocentric and Sonderweg) history.
Representations and aspects of the Dreyfus Affair in the Slovenophone World
Taja Kramberger was also the first Slovenian historian who had written with a great perspicacity about various dimensions of the Dreyfus AffairDreyfus Affair
The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal that divided France in the 1890s and the early 1900s. It involved the conviction for treason in November 1894 of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer of Alsatian Jewish descent...
in the Slovenian social space :fr:Espace (sciences sociales). She has opened up a complex theme strangely neglected and connected to the categories and imaginary :fr:Imaginaire structure of anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
in the country with not many Jewish people
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, but nonetheless with strong mechanisms of social exclusion
Social exclusion
Social exclusion is a concept used in many parts of the world to characterise contemporary forms of social disadvantage. Dr. Lynn Todman, director of the Institute on Social Exclusion at the Adler School of Professional Psychology, suggests that social exclusion refers to processes in which...
. In the frames of this theme she directed – together with her students in 2007/2008 – an ample exhibition on the Dreyfus Affair (1894–1906), showing its entangled European context, its highly important civic extensions, and its specific reception in the continental Slovenian space and in Trieste, mostly based on spontaneous anti-Semitism. The exhibitions was set up and shown to the public in Koper (2008), Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
(2009) and Maribor
Maribor
Maribor is the second largest city in Slovenia with 157,947 inhabitants . Maribor is also the largest and the capital city of Slovenian region Lower Styria and the seat of the Municipality of Maribor....
(2010).
Apart from many fresh intellectual ideas and innovations (for the Slovenian circumstances and intellectual coordinates, but very likely also in a wider sense) Taja Kramberger has written many critical articles on various aspects of Slovenian history, cultural life, but also on broader European History and culture, e. g. on Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, different models of Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
in Europe and the recurrent Enlightenment features in the works of Anton Tomaž Linhart
Anton Tomaž Linhart
Anton Tomaž Linhart was a Slovene playwright and historian, best known as the author of the first comedy in Slovene, Županova Micka...
, on epistemic divergence between Enlightenment's and Historismus's :de:Historismus (Geschichtswissenschaft)paradigm
Paradigm
The word paradigm has been used in science to describe distinct concepts. It comes from Greek "παράδειγμα" , "pattern, example, sample" from the verb "παραδείκνυμι" , "exhibit, represent, expose" and that from "παρά" , "beside, beyond" + "δείκνυμι" , "to show, to point out".The original Greek...
s of historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
, on anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
of translation
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
, history of university and the formation of university habitus :fr:Habitus (sociologie), on literary and cultural fields :fr:Pierre Bourdieu#La théorie des champs in the thirties in Slovenia (by then partially covered by the administrative unit of Dravska banovina) and on the role of women in the constitution of these fields etc.).
Bourdieuian Studies in the frames of Slovenia
Her intellectual trajectory is partly connected to the Bourdieuian perspective and apparatus in social sciences. She has written about Pierre Bourdieu and Loïc WacquantLoïc Wacquant
Loïc Wacquant is a sociologist, specializing in urban sociology, urban poverty, racial inequality, the body, social theory and ethnography....
, translated some of their texts (as a guest editor of the journal Družboslovne razprave, no. 43, 2003), and in 2006 edited a monograph entitled Principles of Reflexive Social Science and for a Critical Investigation of Symbolic Dominations (Načela za refleksivno družbeno znanost in kritično preučevanje simbolnih dominacij) (in Slovenian, together with Drago Braco Rotar). She held lectures – among other subjects – on Bourdieuian approach, instrumentarium and methodology at the University of Primorska in Koper.
Poetry
She has published eight books of poetryPoetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
. Her poems have been translated in more than twenty-five languages and published in different literary journals, anthologies in Slovenia and abroad. Book selections of her poetry came out in Hungarian (Ezernyi csend : válogatott versek, Pannónia könyvek, Pécs, Pro Pannonia Kiadói Alapítvány, 2008, ISBN 978-963-9893-07-8) http://books.google.si/books?id=7FGF2sVn6XMC&dq=Ezernyi+csend+:+v%C3%A1logatott&source=gbs_navlinks_s http://www.propannonia.hu/konyvhtml/vers.html and Croatian language (Mobilizacije, Naklada Lara, Zagreb, 2008, tr. Ksenija Premur, ISBN 978-953-7289-31-7) http://www.naklada-lara.com/naklada.html. She has been an invited guest of around 100 international literary meetings and festivals in Europe (Belgium, England, Lithuania, Portugal, Croatia, Latvia, France, Hungary, Italy, Austria, Germany, Croatia, Macedonia, France, Lithuania, Finland, Ireland etc.) and Canada (Quebec and Ontario).
Taja Kramberger, as the committee of »Veronika Award« (2007) http://www.veronikini-veceri.si/ for the best poetry collection of the year 2006 wrote, is one of the strongest and most accomplished poetic voices in the contemporary Slovenian poetry; a voice which introduces many innovations »so in the poetic proceedings as in the audacity of the of chosen subjects, but also in the courage to tell things in an intelligent and a deeply-moving way, which does not follow the predominant poetry models, but supplies itself outside of them, in a everyday situations ...«. Simple words, entangled with highly elaborated intellectual comprehensions - another benefit of Kramberger's poetic language, in Taja Kramberger’s poems change themselves into »multilayered compositions« and subtle messages. These are »able to reach out to the world, and are surely not here for the intimacy of the poet« and neither for sentimental grounds of the reader. And still this poetry is deeply moving, at the same moment emotionally charged and brightly intellegible, light-coloured in spite of breathtaking »gestuary of crime« denuded by the Kramberger's verses, as Osojnik observed in her later poetry book in which the poet is narrating the Dreyfuss Affair through the cycle of poems (Opus quinque dierum, 2009). These features, together with poet’s precious »poetically-analytical mind«, which is able to convert a »stale literary canon and criticism into an inspiration for the highest level of poetry«, so says the »Veronika Award« committee, are innovations, which »give her poetry a seal of world importance and actuality« (Explanation for the Veronika Award 2007) http://www.veronikini-veceri.si/veronikina-nagrada-2007.
Jad Hatem
Jad Hatem
Jad Hatem is a Lebanese poet and philosopher. He has been a philosophy, literature and religious sciences Professor at the Saint-Joseph University in Beirut since 1976. Hatem has been the Head of Department of Philosophy and the Director of Michel Henry's Study Center within that department...
, a French poet himself and a professor of philosophy and literature :fr:Jad Hatem, in an original way also noticed that a privileged topos in Taja Krambeger’s poetry is her outstanding ability of a simultaneous theoretic reflection, inscribed along with the poetic thought of her poems (La Poésie slovène contemporaine : l’écriture de la pierre, 2010) http://www.chapitre.com/CHAPITRE/fr/BOOK/hatem-jad/la-poesie-slovene-contemporaine-l-ecriture-de-la-pierre,28779584.aspx. From a very different angle Slovenian poet Iztok Osojnik
Iztok Osojnik
Iztok Osojnik is a Slovenian poet and essayist.He was born in Ljubljana. He studied comparative literature at the University of Ljubljana under the supervision of the famous literary historian and philosopher Dušan Pirjevec...
sees this rare privilege, that is the poet’s critical ability to transform ideologically contaminated and narrow representations of reality in a poetic way into more bearable representations of reality, which bring us much closer to the core of events, as a tool of the political poetry http://www.pemmicanpress.com/articles/daggett-political-poetry.html in its best and noble sense (Apokalipsa, no. 134/135)http://www.kud-apokalipsa.si/.
Translations, organizations of cultural events
Next to numerous translated poems and some prose texts of other writers published in journals, she translated into Slovene language a book of poetry of Italian poet Michele Obit (Leta na oknu, ZTT EST, Trieste, 2001, ISBN 88-7174-054-8), a selection of poetry of Argentinian poet Roberto JuarrozRoberto Juarroz
Roberto Juarroz was an Argentine poet famous for his "Poesía vertical" . He published fourteen volumes of poetry in all, numbered successively 1 to 14, under the general title "Poesía vertical", the first appearing in 1958 and the final one posthumously in 1997...
for a book Vertikalna poezija (Vertical Poetry - with her introduction, ŠZ, Ljubljana, 2006, ISBN 961-242-035-1), a book of Gao Xingjian
Gao Xingjian
Gao Xingjian is a Chinese-born novelist, playwright, critic, and painter. An émigré to France since 1987, Gao was granted French citizenship in 1997...
(Ribiška palica za starega očeta/Buying a Fishing Rod for My Grandfather, 1986–1990, from French together with Drago Braco Rotar) (Didakta, Radovljica, 2001, ISBN 961-6363-62-X), a book of poetry written by Lithuanian poet Neringa Abrutyte (Izpoved, CSK, Aleph, Ljubljana, 2004, ISBN 961-6036-50-5) and a book of fairy-tails for kids by Lucy Coats
Lucy Coats
Lucy Coats is an author who writes picture books, poetry, stories and novels for children of all ages. Her specialty is retelling myths and legend from many cultures.-Biography:...
(100 grških mitov za otroke/Atticus the Storyteller, 2004; MK, Ljubljana, 2004, reprinted in 2009, ISBN 978-86-11-16964-4.).
At the ISH – Graduate School of Humanities in Ljubljana Taja Kramberger arranged exhibition place for fine arts and between 2000 and 2003 organized five exhibitions of Slovenian and of foreign figurative artists (painters, photographic artists, designers, installation artists).
In 2002 Taja Kramberger directed and coordinated international project of poets’ and translators’ (22 from 10 countries) »Linguaggi di-versi / Different Languages / Različni jeziki / Langages di-vers« in a seaside town of Ankaran near Koper in Slovenia. Project established a series of translation workshops between 1999 and 2004 in Central-European States (Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy and Austria). In 2004 the publication Različni jeziki / Linguaggi di-versi / Different Languages / Langages di-vershttp://www.libris.si/index.php?page=posamezna_knjiga&book_id=9789619083390# in 10 languages came out of the project (published by the Edition Libris Koper) and it was edited by T. Kramberger and Gašper Malej. Anne Talvaz http://poezibao.typepad.com/poezibao/2005/12/anne_talvaz.html http://kulturni-klub.si/citalnica/Anne_%20Talvaz_jan-2008.pdf, a French writer and translator, and Bulgarian translator Stefka Hrusanova have broadened the scope of the workshop and organized in 2008 and 2010 its presentations in Spain (Barcelona) and Italy (Milan).
Another bigger international project Taja Kramberger conducted in 2006 was a Slovenian segment of the international project »Sealines / Morske linije / Linee di mare« which through one-month’s literary residences in 6 European bilingual ports (Cardiff, Galway, Helsinki, Koper, Riga, Valetta) connected writers from 6 European states http://www.lit-across-frontiers.org/projects_detail.php?id=1. Project was supported by the program Culture 2000 of the European Union http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/culture/l29006_en.htm, and was led by the LAF – Literature Across Frontiers office in UK, Manchester http://www.lit-across-frontiers.org/what.php. In Slovenia it was executed by the Association Tropos and its then president Taja Kramberger.
From 2007 to 2009 Kramberger was a president of the Collegium artium
Collegium Artium
Collegium Artium is an independent, NGO and non-profit foundation promoting excellence in the field of Humanities. It was founded in 2008 and is based in Krakow, Poland....
(abr. CA) – an association of teachers and students at the Faculty of Human Sciences Koper, University of Primorska, aimed at organizing different cultural and social events at the faculty (literary readings, music concerts, theater and film performances, round tables, conferences, commemorations, exhibitions of figurative arts, other specialized exhibitions etc.). In the frames of the institution CA more than 150 cultural events took place in less than two years.
Essays, studies and criticism
Her essays and introductory studies to the other poets (Roberto Juarroz, Michele Obit, Gašper Malej) mark quite different approach from other Slovenian literary critics. They are attentive analyses of poetic language and imaginary constellation behind it.With the essay entitled Similis simili gaudet. Ali o kerkopski literarni kritiki v slovenskem literarnem polju (Similis simili gaudet. On the Kercopian Literary Criticism in the Slovenian Literary Field)http://bracorotar.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/kerkopska-kritika.pdf, written with a rare combination of fine irony
Irony
Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...
and piercing analytical style, on drastically unrefexive criticism
Criticism
Criticism is the judgement of the merits and faults of the work or actions of an individual or group by another . To criticize does not necessarily imply to find fault, but the word is often taken to mean the simple expression of an objection against prejudice, or a disapproval.Another meaning of...
in Slovenian literature she has shown how important it is for a critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
to be disposable and open to the artistic work and at the same time able to produce analytical distances in relation to the work read and evaluated, and in the next step to compound both experiences into a certain perspective
Perspective (cognitive)
Perspective in theory of cognition is the choice of a context or a reference from which to sense, categorize, measure or codify experience, cohesively forming a coherent belief, typically for comparing with another...
, which can come out as his/her own distinctive approach and a singular way of seeing things and works of art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
. Without that (minimal) cognitive engagement, so Taja Kramberger, there can be no artistic criticism, but only an unconscious
Unconscious mind
The unconscious mind is a term coined by the 18th century German romantic philosopher Friedrich Schelling and later introduced into English by the poet and essayist Samuel Taylor Coleridge...
and ritual
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
ized activity - she calls it a Kercopian literary criticism - that is a (grinning) mimesis
Mimesis
Mimesis , from μιμεῖσθαι , "to imitate," from μῖμος , "imitator, actor") is a critical and philosophical term that carries a wide range of meanings, which include imitation, representation, mimicry, imitatio, receptivity, nonsensuous similarity, the act of resembling, the act of expression, and the...
of common sense
Common sense
Common sense is defined by Merriam-Webster as, "sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts." Thus, "common sense" equates to the knowledge and experience which most people already have, or which the person using the term believes that they do or should have...
and stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
s about literature and authors.
In her interview
Interview
An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...
s she talks about cognitive dimensions
Cognition
In science, cognition refers to mental processes. These processes include attention, remembering, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. Cognition is studied in various disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science...
of literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
and their transformational
Transformation of culture
Transformation of culture, or cultural change, to the dynamic process whereby the living cultures of the world are changing and adapting to external or internal forces. This process is occurring within Western culture as well as non-Western and indigenous cultures and cultures of the world...
potential in a society. Transformational discourses and discursive practices, which are open to changes and interventions, as the opposite of the transfirmational discourses with closed semantic structure and clear signs of mental immobility are original analytical categories of her conceptualization and apparatus. In scholary texts (cf. her article Doxa et fama, 2003, her dissertation, or her interview for the journal Literatura in 2006) Taja Kramberger further identifies transfirmational discourses as the systemic feature of the longue durée provincial mental structure, unable to subdue itself to changes and open to the external/outer world). Taja Kramberger is without any doubt among those few Slovenian writers (Iztok Osojnik
Iztok Osojnik
Iztok Osojnik is a Slovenian poet and essayist.He was born in Ljubljana. He studied comparative literature at the University of Ljubljana under the supervision of the famous literary historian and philosopher Dušan Pirjevec...
, Miklavž Komelj, in a way also Barbara Korun) which are studiously oriented, and do not recognize (pure) inspiration as a sufficient cause for creative artistic work. In their artistic work there’s a strong component of social sensitivity and a constant ethical reference to attain the equilibrium
Social equilibrium
In sociology, a system is said to be social equilibrium when there is a dynamic working balance among its interdependent parts . Each subsystem will adjust to any change in the other subsystems and will continue to do so until an equilibrium is retained...
of social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
.
Literary
- September 1997: final circle nomination for the Book Fair Award for the First Literary Book
- November 1998: final circle nomination for the Jenko AwardJenko AwardThe Jenko Award is a literary award in Slovenia awarded each year for the best poetry collection in Slovene published in the previous two years. It has been bestowed since 1986 by the Slovene Writers' Association....
- Spring 2001: Literary Fellowship of the Bibliophilic Edition Thanhäuser in Ottensheim & KulturKontakt Austria
- 2005: State Fellowship (Ministry of Culture, Republic of Slovenia) for the topmost artistic achievements in Slovenia
- 2007: Veronika Award, Celje (for the poetry book Everyday Conversations, 2006)
Scholary
- 1998: Paris (École d’Automne: L’État et le Politique. Histoire et nouveaux modèles)
- 1999: Paris (fellowship of the Ambassade de France en Slovéniehttp://www.ambafrance-si.org/france_slovenie/, EHESShttp://www.ehess.fr/fr/)
- 2001: Budapest (in April: 4th International Winter School at Collegium Budapesthttp://www.colbud.hu/: Multiple Antiquities–Multiple Modernities)
- 2001/2002: Paris (MSH http://www.msh-paris.fr/)
- 2003: Budapest (5 months junior fellow at the Collegium Budapesthttp://www.colbud.hu/-Institute for Advanced Study)
- 2005/2006: Paris (MSH http://www.msh-paris.fr/, EHESShttp://www.ehess.fr/fr/)
Poetry
- Marcipan (Marzipan), 1997 (in Slovene)
- Spregovori morje (The Sea Says), 1999 (in Slovene)
- Gegenstroemung/Protitok (Contra-Courant), 2001 (in German, Edition Thanhaeuser, Ottensheim
- Žametni indigo (Velure Indigo), 2004 (in Slovene)
- Mobilizacije/Mobilizations/Mobilisations/Mobilitazioni in 2004/2005 (in Slovene, French, Italian and English)
- Vsakdanji pogovori" (Everyday Conversations) in 2006 (in Slovene) http://www.emka.si/vsakdanji-pogovori/PR/27491,412
- Opus quinque dierum in 2009 (poetic echos to the Deyfus Affair, in Slovene)
- ♣stava ♣♣publike ♣♣♣♣♣ni♣♣ in 2010 (blackout poetry from a Constitution of RS and some other legal texts, in Slovene).
Literary Studies, Essays and Criticism
- »Aberaciji v slovenski poeziji: ženska in vednost : ali Nekaj tez o reakcionarni kulturni revoluciji, ki smo ji priča« (»Aberrations in Slovenian Poetry: Woman and Knowledge. Some theses on reactionary revolution to which we bear witness«), Literatura, July/August 2003, vol. 15, no. 145/146, 1-9.
- »Pesmi, ki (si) jih deliš z dežjem« (»Poems, that you share with rain«), an introductory study to the poetry book of Gašper Malej, in: Gašper Malej, Otok, slutnje, poljub, (Zbirka Lambda, 39). Ljubljana, Škuc, 2004, 110-133.
- »Kjer ni spoznavne realnosti, ne more biti zgodovine (žensk) in ne samozavedajoče se družbe« (»Where there's no cognitive reality, there can be neither history [of women] nor selfconscious society«), Apokalipsa, 2005, no. 90/91/92, 103-119.
- »Kjer pisava okuži pokrajino: spremna študija«, (»Where the writing infects the landscape«) an introductory study to the Slovenian translation of the selected poems of the Argentinian poet Roberto Juarroz, in: Robeto Juarroz, Vertikalna poezija, (Knjižna zbirka Beletrina). Ljubljana, Študentska založba, 2006, 181-222.
- »Strangoliert!«, Apokalipsa, September–November 2007, no. 113/115, 1-23.
- »Similis simili gaudet. Ali o kerkopski literarni kritiki v slovenskem literarnem polju« (»Similis simili gaudet. On the Kercopian Literary Criticism in the Slovenian Literary Field«), Poetikon, no. 19/20, 2008, 150-193.
Literary Editorship
- 2004: Co-editor with Gašper Malej of the collection Različni jeziki / Linguaggi di-versi, publication of the Poets’ and Translators’ Workshop Različni jeziki / Linguaggi di-versi, held in Ankaran, Slovenia, in 2002, project Linguagi di-versi has been going on with a some pauses from 1998 till 2009), Knjigarna Libris, Koper, 221 p.
- 2004: Editor of the public documentation and texts in connection to the literary polemics in summer 2004, concerning many issues, including an Open letter to the Minister of Culture Mrs. Andreja Rihter written by the literary creators on 6 July 2004: Dosjeji I, Apokalipsa, 2004, no. 84/85, 139-182.
- 2006: Editor and Translator of selected poems by the Argentinian poet Roberto Juarroz, Vertikalna poezija, (Knjižna zbirka Beletrina). Ljubljana, Študentska založba, 2006. 224 p. ISBN 961-242-035-1.
- 2008: Literary Editor of the portraits and presentations of a poet Joël Pourbaix, a short-story writer Hiromi Goto and a novelist Dionne Brand, Monitor ZSA, 2008, vol. 10, no. 3/4, 141-151, 153-159, 160-166.
Principal Publications
- Taja Kramberger and Drago Braco Rotar (dir. and co-tr.), Načela za refleksivno družbeno znanost in kritično preučevanje simbolnih dominacij [Principles for a Reflexive Social Science and for a Critical Investigation of Symbolic Dominations], (translations of Pierre Bourdieu’s and Loïc Wacquant’s selected texts), Library Annales Majora, Koper, University of Primorska, Publishing House Annales, 2006, 262 p., ISBN 961-6033-87-5.
- Taja Kramberger, Historiografska divergenca : razsvetljenska in historistična paradigma : o odprti in zaprti epistemični strukturi in njunih elaboracijah (Historiographical Divergence: the Enlightenment and Historismus Paradigm: On an Opened and a Closed Epistemic Structure and Their Elaborations), Library Annales Majora, Koper, University of Primorska, Publishing House Annales, 2007, 384 p., ISBN 978-961-6033-93-0 http://www.zrs.upr.si/sl/annales_majora.htm http://www.buca.si/index.php?nav1=knjigarna&nav2=izdelek&id=1576
- Taja Kramberger, Zgodovinskoantropološko oblikovanje univerzitetnih habitusov (Historico-anthropological Formation of the University Habiti/La formation historico-anthropologique des habiti universitaires), Pedagoški institut, Ljubljana, 2009, 131 p. http://www.pei.si/UserFilesUpload/file/zalozba/ZnanstvenaPorocila/26_09_zgodovinsko_antropoloski_oris_oblikovanja_univerzitetnih_habitusov.pdf
- Taja Kramberger and Drago Braco Rotar, Univerza: kolegij ali dresura. O univerzitetni avtonomiji in njenih nasprotjih (University: Collegium or Training? On the University Autonomy and its Contraries), Univerza v Ljubljani, Ljubljana, 2010. In preparation for print.
- Taja Kramberger and Drago Braco Rotar, Misliti družbo, ki (se) sama ne misli (Think the Society, which does not think (by) itself), Založba Sophia, Ljubljana, 2010. In preparation for print.
Selection of articles
- Taja Kramberger and Drago Rotar, »Pravice vs toleranca. Mentalitetna inkongruentnost: zgodovinskoantropološke marginalije k slovenskemu prevodu Deklaracije o pravicah človeka in državljana z dne 26. 8. 1789« (Rights vs Tolerance. Incongruity of Mentalities: Historico-anthropological Marginalia on Slovenian Translation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen from the 26th August 1789), Šolsko polje / School Field, vol. XXI, no. 3-4, 2010, 36 p.
- Taja Kramberger and Drago Rotar, »Evropa gre v Šanghaj. Vdor neoliberalizma in cerkva v akademski svet« (Europe Goes to Shanghai. Invasion of neoliberalism and churches in the academic world), Sodobna pedagogika, vol. XVI, no. 4, 2010, 31 p.
- Taja Kramberger and Drago Rotar, »Merilska blaznost ali o sprevrženi rabi znanstvenega orodja« (Insanity of Measurement. On the Deteriorated Use of Scientific Tools), Šolsko polje/School Field, vol. XXI, no. 1-2, 2010, 42 p.
- Taja Kramberger, »Naporni itinerarij španske državljanske vojne: kraji memorije na poti slovenskih republikancev v Španijo in vloga Pariza pri mednarodni rekrutaciji španskih borcev« (I faticosi itinerari della guerra civile spagnola: i luoghi della memoria lungo i tragitti dei repubblicani sloveni verso la Spagna e il ruolo di Parigi nel reclutamento di volontari per la Spagna / El estenuante itinerario de la Guerra Civil Española. Lugares de la memoria en el camino a España de los republicanes sloveno y el papel de Paris en el reclutamento internacional de Combatientes Españoles). Zbornik referatov s simpozija 12. februarja 2010, Koper: Zveza borcev Koper-Capodistria, 2010, 100–140. Program of the conference: http://www.cnj.it/INIZIATIVE/volantini/sp-borci-kp.pdf
- Taja Kramberger, »Les lieux d'oubli : repères pour la recherche sur l'affaire Dreyfus dans l'historiographie slovène«, in: VAUDAY, Patrick (ur.), MOČNIK, Rastko (ur.), ZUPANC EĆIMOVIĆ, Paula (ur.), ROTAR, Drago B. (ur.). Histoire de l'oubli en contextes postsocialiste et postcolonial, (Knjižnica Annales Majora). Koper: Université de Primorska, Centre de recherches scientifiques, Maison d'édition Annales: Société d'historie de Primorska Sud, 2009, 189–213. [COBISS.SI-ID 1752275] Program of the conference: http://www.dcam.auf.org/IMG/pdf/Z_Glasnik_ZRS_2008_7_koncna.pdf
- Taja Kramberger, »Iz zgodovine intelektualcev : afera Dreyfus in francoski zgodovinarji« (From the History of Intellectuals : the Dreyfus Affair and French Historians), Monitor ZSA, 2008, vol. 10, no. 1/2, pp. 25–81, ilustr. [COBISS.SI-ID 1592275]
- Taja Kramberger, »Afera Dreyfus in tiskani mediji« (The Dreyfus Affair and Printed Media), Media Watch, 2008. http://mediawatch.mirovni-institut.si/bilten/seznam/33/jezik/
- Taja Kramberger and Drago Rotar, »Prehodi, prevodi, transferji : nekaj refrakcij skozi tekste in kontekste ob prevodih Pierra Bourdieuja in Loïca Wacquanta« (Passages, traductions, transferts : quelques réfractions à travers les textes et contextes à propos des traductions de Pierre Bourdieu et Loïc Wacquant). In: KRAMBERGER, Taja & ROTAR, Drago B. (dir.), BOURDIEU, Pierre, WACQUANT, Loïc, Načela za refleksivno družbeno znanost in kritično preučevanje simbolnih dominacij, (Knjižnica Annales Majora). Koper: Univerza na Primorskem, Znanstveno-raziskovalno središče, Založba Annales: Zgodovinsko društvo za južno Primorsko, 2006, 9–34. [COBISS.SI-ID 1213651]
- Taja Kramberger, Sabina Mihelj and Drago Rotar, »Representations of the Nation and of the Other in the Slovenian Periodical Press before and after 1991: Engagements and Implications«, In: SPASSOV, Orlin (ur.), Quality press in Southeast Europe, (The media in Southeast Europe), 1st ed. Sofia: Südosteuropäisches Medienzentrum, 2004, 276–305. [COBISS.SI-ID 216577280]
- Taja Kramberger, »Možnost in nujnost kritičnega intelektualca : k prevodoma Bourdieuja in Wacquanta« (Possibilité et nécessité de l’intellectuel critique : à propos des traductions de Bourdieu et Wacquant), Družboslovne razprave, August 2003, vol. 19, no. 43, 49–55. [COBISS.SI-ID 595667] Accessible on web-site: http://dk.fdv.uni-lj.si/dr/dr43KrambergerTaja2.PDF.
- Taja Kramberger, »Od Joining the Club h grotesknosti slovenske adaptacije na neoliberalizem« / « From Joining the Club to the Grotesque Slovenian Adaptation to Neoliberalisme » / « De L’adhésion au club à la grotesque adaptation slovène au néolibéralisme», Družboslovne razprave, vol. 19, no. 43, August 2003, 77–95. Accessible on web-site: http://dk.fdv.uni-lj.si/dr/dr43KrambergerTaja1.PDF [COBISS.SI-ID 595923]
- Taja Kramberger, »L'inversion dans l'objectivation. : le mouvement régressif d'une culture provinciale faisant office de la culture nationale« / Inverzija v objektivizaciji : regresivno gibanje provincialne kulture, ki nastopa v vlogi nacionalne kulture - povzetek, Monitor ISH, vol. IV, no. 1–4, 2002, 53–70. [COBISS.SI-ID 21359202]
- Taja Kramberger, »Doxa et fama. O produkciji "javnega mnenja" in strategijah pozabe - elementi za mikroštudijo« / »Doxa et fama. On production of "Public opinion" and Strategies of Oblivion« / « Doxa et fama. Sur la production de "l’opinion publique" et sur les stratégies de l’oubli », Družboslovne razprave, vol. XVIII, no. 41, December 2002, 63–100. [COBISS.SI-ID 20786018] Accessible on web-site: http://dk.fdv.uni-lj.si/dr/dr41KrambergerTaja.PDF
- Taja Kramberger, »Maurice Halbwachs in družbeni okviri kolektivne memorije« (=Maurice Halbwachs and the social frames of collective memory/ Maurice Halbwachs et les cadres sociaux de la mémoire collective); introduction à la traduction slovène de La mémoire collective de Maurice Halbwachs). In: HALBWACHS, Maurice. Kolektivni spomin [v rokopisu prevoda Draga Braca Rotarja pravilno oddano kot Kolektivna memorija, za poznejši neavtorizirani uredniški poseg prevajalec in avtorica spremne besede ne odgovarjata]. Ljubljana: Studia humanitatis, 2001, 211–258. [COBISS.SI-ID 694925]
Scholary Editorship
- 2001–2010: Editor-In-Chef of Monitor ISH (2001–2003), in 2004 renamed to Monitor ZSA – Revue of Historical, Social and Other Anthropologies (34 numbers)
- 2003: Guest-editor for the theme »Deconstruction of neoliberalism« / »Dekonstrukcija neoliberalizma«, Družboslovne razprave [Dissertations in Social Sciences], vol. XIX, no. 43, 2003, pp. 47–95.
- 2006: Co-editor (with Drago braco Rotar) and co-translator in the Slovenian collection of atricles by Pierre Bourdieu and Loïc Wacquant, Načela za refleksivno družbeno znanost in kritično preučevanje simbolnih dominacij [Principles for a Reflexive Social Science and for a Critical Investigation of Symbolic Dominations], (translations of Pierre Bourdieu’s and Loïc Wacquant’s texts), Library Annales Majora, Koper, University of Primorska, Publishing House Annales, 2006, 262 p., ISBN 961-6033-87-5.
- 2009: Member of the Scientific Committee in publication: Patrick Vauday, Rastko Močnik, Paula Zupanc Ećimović, Drago Rotar (dir.), Histoire de l'oubli en contextes postsocialiste et postcolonial, Library Annales Majora, Koper, University of Primorska, Publishing House Annales, 2009, 456 p.
Literary References
- Jean Boase-Beier, Alexandra Bűchler, Fiona Sampson, A Line: New Poetry from Eastern and Central Europe (anthology with a preface by Václav Havel), Arc Publications, UK, 2004, ISBN 1 900072 97 1. URL: http://www.arcpublications.co.uk/biography.htm?writer_id=228
- Vid Sagadin, »Iskanje nezasičenih prostorov«, Literatura, vol. 17, no. 169-170, July/August 2005, 224-229.
- Peter Semolič, »Sensibility and sharp intellect«, Introductory essay of the Poetry International Web, 2005.URL: http://slovenia.poetryinternationalweb.org/piw_cms/cms/cms_module/index.php?obj_id=5026
- Irena Novak Popov, Antologija slovenskih pesnic 3, 1981–2000 [Anthology of Slovenian Women Poets 3, 1981–2000], Založba Tuma, Ljubljana, 2007, 318–329.
- Jad Hatem, « La pierre de l'invisibilité », La Poésie slovène contemporaine : l'écriture de la pierre (Portraites littéraires), Éditions du Cygne, Paris, 2010, 11–24.
- Iztok Osojnik, »Pet dni na ladji norcev« [Five days at the Ship of Fools], Apokalipsa, no. 134/135, 2009, 285–295.
- Colleen Mc Carthy, »Storm in Words: Contemporary Slovenian Poetry in Translation«, Talisman. A Journal of Contemporary Poetry and Poetics, no. 38/39/40, Summer-Autumn 2010, 350–355.
See also
- Slovenian literatureSlovenian literatureSlovene literature, meaning the literature in the Slovene language, starts with Freising manuscripts around 1000. From first printed Slovene religious books in 1550 it is followed by these literary periods and notable authors:-Middle Ages:-Folk poetry:...
- List of Slovenian historians
- Društvo slovenskih pisateljev
External links
- Personal web-site in the form of blog: http://tajakramberger.wordpress.com/
- CV of Taja Kramberger at the Faculty of Human Sciences University of Primorska [Littoral]:
- http://www.fhs.upr.si/sl/organiziranost-fakultete/pedagoski-sodelavci/taja.kramberger
- Poetry International Web: http://slovenia.poetryinternationalweb.org/piw_cms/cms/cms_module/index.php?obj_id=5044
- Interview for the web Journal Transcript (in French & German):
- http://www.transcript-review.org/fr/issue/transcript-19--la-slovenie-/sept-voix-urbaines/taja-kramberger (French)
- http://www.transcript-review.org/de/issue/transcript-19--slowenien-/umgangsdichtung-in-ljubljana/taja-kramberger (German)
- Interview: Brezmejna neumnost province (Infinite stupidity of province), Večer, 19 June 2004, 42