DFG congress "Diversidad" – Cultural diversity in Spanish-language texts

How does literature deal with the topic of diversity? At the congress "Diversidad cultural – ficcional – ¿moral?", which was held at the University of Passau from 31 January to 3 February 2018, researchers sought to answer this question by analysing Spanish-language texts. The event was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Cultural studies are heavily invested in the debate on diversity. However, as yet there are no underlying theories to evolve this theme from the relationship between fiction and reality. Text analyses can help to show up how literature shapes, reflects, and preserves cultural diversity.

This is where the Passau congress "Diversidad cultural – ficcional – ¿moral?" under the supervision of Professor Susanne Hartwig, who holds the Chair of Romance Literatures and Cultures, takes the initiative. Researchers from Spain and Germany examined how and in which frames of reference the theme was dealt with in texts of the 20th and 21st centuries.

The discussion centred on the following:

• diversity theories and the notion of literary studies
• gender diversity
• disability studies
• "status diversity" (e.g., exile as the becoming aware of cultural diversity)
• "diversity of milieu" (e.g., experiences of migration in the globalisation age)
• history of diversity

This was the second time that the research groups InGenArte (Estudios de Género en Industrias Culturales y Artes Escénicas, CSIC/Madrid) and GEXEL (Barcelona) had come together with German researchers. The congress was held in Spanish. Plans are to have papers presented at the congress published by a publisher with international reach.

The congress is one of an ongoing series of events held at the University of Passau on the complex theme of Literature and Ethics. Two previous events in 2012 and 2015 were devoted to the literary portrayal of a “Culture of Evil” and ethical dilemmas, respectively.

Principal Investigator(s) at the University	Prof. Dr. Susanne Hartwig (Lehrstuhl für Romanische Literaturen und Kulturen)
Project period	31.01.2018 - 03.02.2018
Source of funding	DFG - Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft > DFG - Internationales > DFG - Internationales - Internationale wissenschaftliche Veranstaltungen