site.btaNew Project to Study Development of Literary History as Academic Discipline in Bulgaria

A team from the St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia (SU) with members from New Bulgarian University (NBU) and Ghent University, Belgium, won a project for fundamental research on the topic "Education and Literary History. Literary History in the 21st Century and New Ways of Studying It in Secondary School and Higher Education" from the Scientific Research Fund of the Ministry of Education and Science, said the University of Sofia press centre on Tuesday.

According to the press release, the project addresses one of the most significant challenges facing the humanities today - the question of how literary history can be both scientifically rigorous, relevant and understandable to today's young people.

The team is led by Assoc. Prof. Noemi Stoichkova from the Faculty of Slavic Studies (FSS) at Sofia University. The members of the team are: Prof. Milena Kirova (SU, FSS), Assoc. Prof. Ognyana Georgieva (NBU), Assoc. Prof. Miglena Dikova-Milanova, PhD (Ghent University), Senior Assistant Prof. Kristina Yordanova, PhD (SU, FSS), and PhD students Ekaterina Kaleva, Preslava Peneva, and Vesela Bozova, also from the Faculty of Slavic Studies.

The project is based on a large-scale study of the development of literary history as an academic discipline in Bulgaria, from the Liberation to the present day and in comparison with leading international trends of the last 25 years. By systematically researching and thematically arranging all significant literary histories created in Bulgaria, the team will highlight new approaches that have emerged since the 1990s, examining them in the context of contemporary global practices. Particular focus will be given to the role of literary historiography in preserving and interpreting national identity.

This scientific interpretation is linked to the project's second key focus: attempts to renew the teaching of literary history in secondary and higher education. Based on sociocultural analysis and surveys of Bulgarian language and literature teachers, the team will develop a model hypothesis for contemporary teaching, tailored to the mindset and educational needs of students. This model will then be tested in a real school environment and discussed with students of Bulgarian philology who specialize in pedagogy. It will also be presented at specialized seminars for teachers from different regions of the country.

The project's scope extends beyond the national context to focus on teaching Bulgarian literary history abroad, in centres for Bulgarian studies at universities and in Bulgarian schools overseas. Following direct observation and analysis of teaching conditions in Ukraine, Moldova, Italy, Belgium and other countries, the team will propose a modernized approach tailored to the cultural environment and profile of foreign students. Within this framework, the team will create a methodological guide titled "Bulgarian Literature for Foreigners" (levels B1–C2), developed under the programme of the Ministry of Education and Science and intended for use in Bulgarian schools abroad. It will be published in both print and digital formats.

All project activities and results will be available in real time via a website featuring digital storage and an open-access database. The team's scientific contributions will be published in a series of studies and articles in authoritative scientific journals (including those indexed in Scopus and Web of Science), as well as in a collective monograph titled "Bulgarian Literary History: Traditions, Present," and an electronic collection of materials from the planned national roundtable dedicated to the current state of literary historiography in Bulgaria.