Acasă Articole RTR Transnational Routes and National Constraints of Transylvanian Comparatism: A Portrait of Grigore...
Transnational Routes and National Constraints of Transylvanian Comparatism: A Portrait of Grigore Silași
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Abstract: This portrait focuses on Grigore Silașiʼs educational background and institutional activity, aiming to delineate the influence of the socio-political context of Transylvania prior to and following the 1867 Austro-Hungarian Compromise on comparative practices. The article primarily covers the documentary restitution of Silașiʼs intellectual biography, moving beyond the oversized clichés that shaped his place in Romanian cultural memory, as the first university professor of Romanian language and literature in Transylvania and as an advocate for Romanian rights within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In order to attain a more nuanced comprehension of Silașiʼs turn to comparative literature, this biographical restitution examines the influence of the Greek-Catholic Church in nineteenth-century Transylvania, the academic profile of the University of Cluj/ Kolozsvár/ Klausenburg, and the political initiatives employed by the cultural organizations largely supported by young Romanian Transylvanians.
Keywords: Grigore Silași, Greek-Catholic church, University of Cluj, Kolozsvár, Klausenburg, national identity, multiconfessional Transylvania.
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