43rd Seminar of Slovene language, literature and culture
Stereotypes in Slovene Language, Literature and Culture
(25. 6. - 14. 7. 2007)
The Seminar of Slovene Language, Literature and Culture is a summer event for students, researchers, translators, journalists and others who are professionally engaged abroad with the Slovene language and who transmit knowledge of Slovene culture. Due to the specific interests of this public the seminar differs from other foreign language summer schools: the teaching aim goes beyond the deepening of general language knowledge to embrace the broadening of the participants' cultural capabilities through a carefully considered programme of courses, lectures, workshops, practical classes, afternoon or evening events, and educational outings. The seminar's decades of tradition mean that it has the organisational experience required and has reached a high level of quality. But excellence is not only dependent upon capable teachers, eminent lecturers, well qualified organisers and well prepared teaching assistants – to a large extent it is the result of the curiosity of the seminar participants themselves, who bring to the offered activities their enthusiasm and help to shape the whole atmosphere of the event. Through interaction and the exchange of experience, active study vacations in the Slovene capital become more than a mere optional gathering with strangers, but rather something more relaxed and pleasant than our usual academic or professional activities. At the end of the day it also represents an opportunity to get to know others with similar interests, to exchange views and to form new friendships.
To a certain extent the seminar is shaped by an overriding theme, which this year is stereotypes. Through the process of socialisation we all encounter stereotyped subjects, phenomena and groups, and are able to more or less consciously recognise and make use of them, to deal with them and through active thought processes to undermine their reductive truth, but we cannot extirpate them entirely as they are too deeply rooted in tradition, collective memory and everyday life. These predetermined, schematically simplified, polarised, ossified judgements, views or images will be presented within the contaxt of the environment in which they arise, operate, strengthen, adapt and come to life. In addition to stereotypes about ourselves (autostereotypes), there are also some very questionable and potentially dangers stereotypes that evaluate and thus categorise members of different ehtnic, national, linguistic, religious, racial, sexual and professional groups (heterostereotypes). These reveal the ideological construction of both the object and the subject of stereotypification. As they appear in the mass media and in political discourse, in visual characterisation and literary imagining, in sayings, jokes and the products of popular culture, in everyday conversation and in historical reference books, stereotypes are the subject of many disciplines in the social sciences and the humanities. Thus we shall invite to the debate Slovene culturologists, ethnologists, literary historians, historians and linguists. It would be utopian to think that we could do away with stereotyped evaluation once and for all, but even an awareness of how they function and of their potentially destructive effects is a step towards a better understanding of one's self (and one's own) and the ineradicable differences between us and the foreign, the other and the different.
Associate Professor Dr. Irena Novak Popov
President of rhe 43rd SSJLK
The organizer
The seminar is organized by the Centre for Slovene as a Second/Foreign Language at the Department of Slovene Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Kongresni trg 12, SI-1000 Ljubljana.
The participants
Participants in the seminar – about 130 each year – are foreign Slovenicists, Slavicists, literary writers, EU and other translators, experts in comparative linguistics and literature, and others who research or teach Slovene, translate, or include Slovene in any other way in their life and work: teachers, researchers and students of Slovene and Slavonic Studies at universities and research institutes abroad and in ethnic Slovene areas, etc. They attend the seminar with the desire to deepen and enrich their knowledge, to learn about the latest findings and to have genuine contact with the Slovene language, literature and culture.
The venue
The morning programme takes place entirely at the Faculty of Arts, the University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva 2, Ljubljana, while the afternoon and evening programme is organized at different locations in Ljubljana.
The lecturers and lectors
The lecturers, lectors and other teaching staff at the seminar are established experts and researchers from the Department of Slovene Studies, the Department of Slavonic Studies, other departments of the Faculty of Arts, other Faculties of the University of Ljubljana, or other Slovene universities and leading research and national institutions.
THE PROGRAMME
Three-week seminar (25 June – 13 July, 2007)
Beginners are invited to take part in a preliminary week immediately preceding the 2-week seminar. In this period the emphasis is on intensive practical classes in small groups with experienced teachers and on phonetics classes in the language laboratory. During this week there are also some afternoon/evening activities, e.g. an afternoon excursion,
visits to museums or a creative workshop.
Two-week seminar (2 July – 13 July, 2007)
The two-week seminar features a busy morning programme of practical classes, lectures, round table discussions or creative workshops, special courses, phonetics classes and conversation classes, and is accompanied by a rich afternoon and evening programme.
Practical classes
These classes comprise about 15 hours a week, with a total of 30 hours in the 2-week seminar and 60 hours in the 3-week seminar. Classes are organized in 3 beginners’ groups, 6 intermediate and 3 advanced groups. According to their interests, participants can choose among linguistic, literary-historical and general groups. Individual participants are assigned to an appropriate group on the basis of a language test completed before arrival at the seminar, and oral testing carried out at the beginning of the 2-week/ 3-week seminar.
Lectures, round table discussions and creative workshops
Lectures, round table discussions and creative workshops (approximately 20 hours), which are meant primarily for those at a more advanced level, present and discuss the latest ideas about Slovene linguistic, literary and cultural creative work. As always, the results will appear in the seminar proceedings.
Special courses
Three elective courses of 5 hours each look in depth at current issues relating to the Slovene standard language and literature, translation, Slovene culture and Slovene as a second/foreign language. Classes take the form of workshops. The lecturers’ contributions are published in the seminar proceedings. Participants in the intermediate and advanced groups must attend one of the three courses. Alternatively, they may attend a series of afternoon lectures, known as the “parade of youth”, that offers an insight into the research and other activities of the youngest generation of Slovene specialists and researchers.
Phonetics classes
These classes are divided into two parts: (a) beginners classes are obligatory and start with an introductory presentation of the Slovene spoken language and its special phonetic features, using examples from texts. This is followed by practical exercises to improve pronunciation and listening skills necessary for more efficient learning and use of the language. The exercises are adjusted to the participants’ level of knowledge and to their mother tongue;
(b) intermediate classes are optional and primarily intended for those who wish to improve their spoken Slovene. The work is organized in small groups and adjusted to the individual.
Conversation classes
These classes are aimed at improving communication skills, extending vocabulary, internalizing communication patterns and eliminating mistakes. They will deal with themes taken primarily from everyday life, with an emphasis on practical communication and on extending acquaintance with Slovenia and its culture. The conversation classes are obligatory for beginner and lower intermediate groups.
Individual conversation
During the seminar the participants will have an opportunity to engage in a few hours of free conversation (i.e. no fee) with students from the Ljubljana Department of Slovene Studies. Such individual conversation provides genuine contact with native speakers and was very well received by seminar participants in previous years.
The accompanying programme
The seminar also offers a rich afternoon-evening programme, which generally includes the showing of a Slovene film, a theatre performance, visits to museums, galleries and libraries, musical and literary evenings, guided tours of Ljubljana, etc. This additional programme includes a whole-day study excursion, which will take place this year on
Saturday, 7 July 2007.
The library
The library of the Departments of Slovene/Slavonic Studies keeps an open door for seminar participants. Throughout the duration of the seminar they can borrow books and turn for advice to the friendly librarians. The library also prepares an exhibition every year, presenting recent professional literature, the best works of Slovene literature, and translations into foreign languages. The participants will visit the exhibition during their practical classes.
Mentorship
All those who attend the seminar for the first time can get a mentor to guide them through the seminar programme, helping them to select the most appropriate lectures, special courses and accompanying events. Our desire is that participants will gain as much as possible from the seminar. So we shall approach for assistance those who have attended the seminar several times, who therefore know it well and also know how to find their way around its extensive programme. In this way, we expect the participants will get to know each other even better and form useful links.
Internet access
Participants have access to the Internet on all floors of the Faculty of Arts and also in their accommodation.
Accommodation
Accommodation is organised at the Vič hostel (Dijaški dom Vič), Gerbičeva 51/a, which is between the Svoboda sports ground and the Murgle housing development. It is 15 minutes walk to the faculty. Accommodation is in twin rooms or single rooms (at additional charge). A self-service breakfast is provided. More information is available on the website http://www.dd-vic.si.
Participants of the 3-week seminar should arrive at the hostel on Sunday, 24 June 2007.
Participants of the 2-week seminar should arrive at the hostel on Sunday, 1 July 2007; the programme begins according to the timetable on Monday, 2 July 2007 at the Faculty of Arts.
The departure date is Saturday, 14 July 2007, around noon.
The Seminar of Slovene Language, Literature and Culture is a central event through which the Republic of Slovenia promotes Slovene language, literature and culture throughout the world, by granting financial support on the basis of international contracts and co-operation programmes for ethnic Slovene organizations and researchers who are professionally engaged in Slovene, and for students at foreign universities who study Slovene. In allocating these
grants, priority is given to Slovenicists and Slavonicists.
In addition to these scholarships available abroad, some are also granted by the seminar committee (either for the professional and accompanying programmes, together with bed-and-breakfast accommodation, or for the professional and accompanying programmes only). Applications will be accepted up to 10 April 2007 at the seminar address. The seminar committee will decide on the scholarships in April.
The number of scholarships varies each year, depending on the available funds.
Arrivals/departures
Grants
Certificates
Participants at the Seminar of Slovene Language, Literature and Culture receive a certificate of attendance if they take regular part in the obligatory section of the programme. The certificate states the group and the course attended. On request, an additional certificate can be issued, stating the exact number of hours of attendance.
Credits in ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) could be obtained after successful completion of the course. The details will be available on our web page after April 15.
All participants are recommended to obtain a certificate of medical insurance in their own countries before leaving, otherwise they must pay the expenses of medical care and medication themselves.
The tuition fee must be paid in full no later than 15th June 2007.
You can send your payment receipt to our e-mail address [email protected], fax + 386 (0)1 241 86 44 or to our postal address no later than 15th June 2007. Please bring along a copy of the receipt when you join the course in order to help clarify possible misunderstandings.
When we have received the payment receipt we will send you the letter of acceptance as well as information material on the Seminar.
Medical insurance
Payment (for participants who pay the fee and costs of accommodation themselves)
Application
E-mail address: [email protected]
www.centerslo.net/seminar
Contact address:
The registration form for the 43rd Seminar of Slovene Language, Literature and Culture should be sent by 31 May 2007.
