Meridian Critic

Extremism – Texts & Contexts

 

To most of us - literary scholars or critics, theorists or professors of cultural studies, cinematography or visual arts, linguists, sociologists, philosophers, writers or readers, extremism is, more often than not, a definition in a dictionary, a form of fiction, the title of or a character in a book, a study or a theory, a scene in a film, a line in a song or a piece of news. We tend to think that it happens to others, somewhere else; but it happens here, too. Extremism does not emerge in an empty space or in a fictional one, it is not a concept that exists and manifests in a vacuum. Though relative and often elusive, the perilous and slippery rhetoric of extremism has always been part of the human experience, exploring and exploiting the confusing and contradictory connections between marginal spaces and mainstream culture. Today, it has surfaced into mainstream culture and openly challenges, shakes, alters and (re)shapes our societies. Extremist literature, film and music, dissenting propaganda, political radicalism, electoral ephemera, leaflets, posters, online channels, they are all instruments that attempt to remodel and redefine our lives. While trying to counter the damaging effects of the narratives of extremism, we also seem to learn, perhaps too easily, to adapt to a new reality and a new world, where radicalism and terror and lack of security are a distinct and (ever)growing component.

Extremist narratives have been divided into five main categories - political, historical, socio-psychological, instrumental, and theological/moral, but no theoretical or investigative approach can avoid the simple or the difficult questions. What is extremism in contemporary society? Where, how and why does it manifest? Is today’s hyperactive extremism just a transitory phase? Is its nature ephemeral or is it here to stay? Could it be predicted or anticipated? Are there geocultural spaces, societies, mentalities, stereotypes that are more likely to generate extremist manifestations? Is there solid evidence on the relationship between education and radicalization of individuals? Who are the authors, directors, readers, viewers, enthusiasts, disseminators of extremist texts? Are they the ”useful idiots” of extremist movements? And who are the critics of such narratives? Last but not least, where does literature stand? Has it become a channel that easily propagates extremism? Or is it a tool of prevention, defense and resistance? The contributions expected for the Critical Dossier of issue #2/2023 of Meridian Critic will answer these questions and/or propose original points of view related to the emergence, development, spread, reception, interpretation, prevention and countering of extremism.

 

Contributions for the other sections of the journal will also be considered.

 

Articles can be written in Romanian, English, French or German. 

 

Papers (maximum 7000 words), accompanied by abstracts in English (maximum 200 words) and a short presentation of the author (a biographical note of no more than 400 words) should be sent to codrutserban@litere.usv.ro and meridian.critic.flsc@gmail.com. 

 

For details of the rules and style of writing, please refer to the guidelines on the journal's website: Instructions for Authors

 

Deadline for full article submission: October 20, 2023.

 

Graphic Novel

 

A child of the (post)modern world, a hybrid genre, transgressive, defiant, lacking tradition, recognition or firm conceptual validation - as things are still in the process of being legitimised - the graphic novel is undoubtedly a challenge for the simple reading enthusiast and the specialist alike. The growing, undeniable impact it has on the book market, however, is undermining the need to rethink and refine definitions, explanations and illustrations that make it easier to understand, validate or circumscribe the concept of a literary work, or even of an artistic work in general. Both the critic and the ordinary reader can feel irritated by this "impostor", half text, half drawing (comic strip), who also claims, quite often, the celebrity of the original he "parasitizes". The graphic novel would then be, some would say, nothing but kitsch, generated by the need for vulgarisation, simplification, for a public that no longer has the time or the inclination for intellectual activities that are too demanding; it would not be surprising, say the same voices, that it proliferates mainly in hyper-industrialised societies. At the opposite pole, others believe that the species is more a reflection of the complex process of interpreting a text, of appropriating it by rewriting it and graphically imposing hermeneutic boundaries. But beyond these contested views, the graphic novel is a creation in its own right, born precisely out of a desire to open up, to harness the mutual empowerment of the arts, of generations of reader-readers with extremely varied profiles. In the contemporary cultural context, the species also takes up the debates and controversies that have always accompanied the novel, in its modern form, from the beginning of its appearance to the present day: the same difficulty in defining it, the same theoretical impasse in which it places its interpreters, the same dependence on actuality, which forces it, as it were, into a perpetual metamorphosis, into a continuous adaptation to the cultural and civilisational rhythms (and specificities) of the moment.

However, despite all the difficulties mentioned above, no theoretical or investigative approach can avoid the hard questions. What are graphic novels? Are they really novels? Can they be classified? If so, according to what criteria, based on what concepts? Who are their authors, readers, critics? Does the spread of graphic novels alter (amplify or undermine) the impact of eponymous books or films, does it lead to mutations in the conceptual apparatus of the various arts? Are there societies, mentalities, stereotypes that particularly stimulate the production of graphic novels? Does the future of graphic novels depend on the evolution of technology, does it belong to artificial intelligence? The contributions expected for the Critical Dossier of issue 1/2023 of Meridian Critique will answer these questions and/or propose original points of view related to the creation, development, reception and interpretation of graphic novels. Contributions for the other sections of the journal will also be considered.

Articles can be written in Romanian, English, French or German.

Papers (maximum 7000 words), accompanied by abstracts in English (maximum 200 words) and a short presentation of the author (a biographical note of no more than 400 words) should be sent to ioan.farmus@usm.ro, simonamanolache@litere.usv.ro and meridian.critic.flsc@gmail.com.

For details of the rules and style of writing, please refer to the guidelines on the journal's website: Instructions for Authors

Deadline for full article submission: 10 May 2023.