Chapter 11 Theorising Central European Postcoloniality: a Postcommunist Reading of 21st Century Literature from Slovakia
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Abstract
This reading of three recent literary texts from Slovakia – the novel Határeset (2008) by Péter Hunčík, the play Holokaust (2012) by Viliam Klimáček, and the collective play Povstanie (2014) by eight authors – utilises postcolonial approaches to explore how the trope of colonialism might be used to analyse Central European identities. It suggests that postcolonialism contributes new methods and instruments to Comparative Literature, not only expanding comparative opportunities but also reframing the questions around which literature is discussed. Postcolonialism is seen as the most important development in Comparative Literature over the last 25 years, bringing new ways for conceptualising literariness, interliterary relations, and literary history, as well as culture and identity. It is argued that contemporary literature from Slovakia self-consciously performs postcoloniality, claiming a place in the field of postcolonial literature and overcoming a national paradigm towards both local and European identifications.