Literary Representation of the Self in Medieval Arabic Autobiographies and the Cultural Barriers to Self‑Cognition: The Literacy Theory Perspective.

• Authors: Bożena Prochwicz-Studnicka

Title variants

PL

Literacka reprezentacja „ja” w średniowiecznych autobiografiach arabskich a kulturowe bariery samopoznania w perspektywie teorii piśmienności.

• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

This article addresses the problems associated with the relationship between the influence of writing on cognitive processes and the features of the cul­ture within which writing appears. Classical literacy theory, with the modi­fications that were introduced over the course of time, was embraced as the research perspective. According to these modifications, the change in the cog­nitive processes and content which occurs under the influence of writing is not automatic. Every culture has at its disposal a specific array of factors which influence writing and literacy and which determine the extent to which the potential of writing will be used. The aim of this article is to demonstrate the most important cultural norms and values which, by being practiced socially, could have limited the influence of writing on self-cognitive pro­cesses-the consequences of such processes can be found in the literary rep­resentation of the self in medieval Arabic autobiographies of the 12th–15th centuries. These features were referred to as traditionalism, the domination of collective awareness over individual awareness, the acceptance of social hierar­chical structure, and a Quranic vision of the limits to man’s freedom.

PL

Artykuł podejmuje problematykę związku pomiędzy wpływem pisma na pro­cesy poznawcze a cechami kultury, w obrębie której przyjęcie pisma nastę­puje. Jako perspektywę badawczą przyjęto klasyczną teorię piśmienności, sprofilowaną wprowadzonymi do niej z czasem modyfikacjami. Zgodnie z nimi zmiana procesów i treści poznawczych następująca pod wpływem pisma nie ma charakteru automatycznego. Każda kultura dysponuje określo­nym zasobem czynników oddziałujących na pismo oraz piśmienność i decy­dujących, w jakim stopniu potencjał pisma zostanie wykorzystany. Celem artykułu jest wskazanie najistotniejszych kulturowych norm i wartości, które – będąc obecne w praktyce społecznej – mogły ograniczyć możliwości oddziały­wania pisma na procesy samopoznawcze, a których konsekwencje obecne są w literackim obrazie „ja” w średniowiecznych arabskich autobiografiach XII– XV wieku. Cechy te określono jako: tradycjonalizm, przewagę świadomości zbiorowej nad indywidualną, akceptację dla hierarchiczności oraz koraniczną wizję granic wolności człowieka.

Keywords

EN

Arabic medieval literature; autobiography; literary representation of the self; medieval Arab-Islamic culture; literacy theory

PL

autobiografia; literacka reprezentacja „ja”; średniowieczna kultura arabsko-muzułmańska; średniowieczna literatura arabska; teoria piśmienności; autobiografia; literacka reprezentacja „ja”; średniowieczna kultura arabsko-muzułmańska; średniowieczna literatura arabska; teoria piśmienności

• Publisher: Akademia Ignatianum w Krakowie
• Journal: Perspektywy Kultury
• Year: 2020
• Volume: 30
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 135-150

Dates

published

2020-12-20

Contributors

author

Bożena Prochwicz-Studnicka

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Identifiers

DOI

10.35765/pk.2020.3003.010