News
2024.05.22
On March 12, 2024 (Tuesday), the Research Center for Textual Scholarship held a symposium entitled “An Introduction to Comparative Textual Scholarship - Poland, Taiwan, Germany, Japan” in Room 321, Building 3 of Seijo University. At this event, the current research state and prospects about the editing of texts by representative writers from different countries and regions were discussed in detail.
At the symposium, four scholars reported on the history and current state of the editing of Czeslaw Miłosz, Lu Xun, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Soseki Natsume.
Dr. Mateusz Antoniuk (Jagiellonian University) discussed Miłosz’s poem “Seasons” from the perspective of the genetic criticism (critique génétique), which has developed mainly in France, and psychoanalysis. He highlighted the need for a “genetic edition” to share the interpretation of the reading of his manuscripts.
Next, Dr. Yi Peng (National Central University, Zhongli) gave a presentation on the theoretical consideration of genetic criticism, particularly focusing on avant-texte and Œuvre, on which the 78-volume “The Collected Manuscripts of Lu Xun”, published in 2021, is based on in its editing. He also discussed the position of the edition and the direction that editions should take in the future.
Dr. Katrin Henzel (Kiel University) reported on the importance of the digital (historical-critical) edition of Goethe’s “Faust”, showing the actual writing process of the work. She noted the imperfection of this edition, arguing that it is necessary to keep track of current trends in textual scholarship in other countries for editing methods and practices that take even greater account of the users.
Finally, Dr. Kiyoko Myojo (Seijo University) gave an overview of the research state and difficulties in the practice and discussion of editing in Japan, using the publication history of Soseki’s “Kokoro” as a case example. Dr. Myojo discussed the importance of the critical acceptance of textual scholarship developed mainly in the West for the development of literary studies in Japan. She also stated that discussions on textual scholarship should be developed internationally for the development of literary studies and humanities in Japan and worldwide, further emphasising the significance and purpose of this symposium.
In the following Q&A session, the participants discussed various aspects of textual editing and publication, including the specific circumstances in each country, such as societal demands, the relationship with publishers, the differences between editing in the classical and medieval periods based on manuscripts, such as Dante and Plato, and editing of authors and works, for which handwritings have been preserved, and how these can be discussed and exchanged without dividing the discussion. Discussions also included the differences between French-style genetic editions and German-style historical-critical editions, and the need for co-existence of multiple edition concepts.
There was a coffee break between the presentations and the Q&A session, and a reception (in Lounge #08, Building 8) was held after the symposium.
The Research Center for Textual Scholarship will continue to host events related to textual scholarship regularly. Details of such events will be announced on our university’s website, so those interested are encouraged to participate.
