The Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters has published a new publication: Stimmen von Banater Schwaben: Narratologische Studien zur deutschen Minderheit im rumänischen Banat in den 1990er Jahren.
The inspiration for the book stemmed from a collaborative effort between the Department of Ethnology at the University of Jyväskylä and the Department of Folkloristics at the University of Szeged, Hungary. The fieldwork was conducted during the years 1997 to 2000, involving a close connection with 36 German informants residing in 13 villages within Banat, Romania.
The book’s academic framework is firmly rooted in cultural anthropology, ethnology, and folklore studies. Its primary focus lies within the realm of narrative exploration: the study of memory, culture and storytelling, speech patterns, and the structural elements of narratives. The core inquiries delve into themes of homeland and language, self-perception and the perception of others, as well as contemplations on the passage of life and the dynamic shifts that occur within the confines of time and space.
Bo Lönnqvist
Commentationes Scientiarum Socialium 82
Helsinki 2023, 268 pp.
The book can be purchased through the bookstore Tiedekirja, Snellmaninkatu 13, 00170 Helsinki.
