Romantyzm industrialny. Studia i szkice

Abstract

The presented academic monograph is the result of the third scientific project that was carried out jointly by scholars from the University of Białystok and the University of Opole. The tradition of cooperation between the researchers of the Romantic period and nineteenth-century literature from the universities in Białystok and Opole dates back to the years 2016 and 2018, when literary theoreticians from both these institutions organised joint academic sessions on Zygmunt Krasiński and literary “journeys to the centre of the Earth”. Both sessions resulted in the publications: Krasiński. Żywioły kultury, żywioły natury. Studia [Krasiński. The elements of culture, the elements of nature. Studies], edited by M. Burzka-Janik, J. Ławski, Białystok–Opole 2019; Literackie podróże do wnętrza Ziemi. Studia [Literary journeys to the centre of the Earth. Studies], edited by M. Burzka-Janik, J. Ławski, Białystok–Opole 2020. Both these sessions took place in Silesia, in the town of Tarnowskie Góry, and, more specifically, in the late-Baroque Palace in Rybna, built in late 18ᵗʰ century. The Polish Scientific Conference “Industrial Romanticism. Artistic transformations of the image of the world: 1795–1864. Man – Technology – Nature” was held at the Palace in Rybna on the first day (27.10). On the second day (28.10.2023) its participants, after a short session, went to Zabrze to visit the adit of the Guido Coal Mine, i.e. to experience first-hand the consequences of civilisational and cultural transformations that they had discussed during the session. The research project was prepared jointly by two academic and cultural institutions from Podlasie and three from Silesia: The Department of History of Literature, Comparative Literary Studies, and Literary Anthropology of the Institute of Literature Sciences of the University of Opole; the Department of Philological Studies “East – West” of the University of Białystok, the Łukasz Górnicki Library Łukasz Górnicki in Białystok, the Adam Mickiewicz Literary Association – Divisions in Opole and Katowice. The patron of the Conference was the Scientific Committee with its chairman – a renowned researcher of Romantic literature from the Silesian University in Katowice, Professor Marek Piechota. The event was prepared by the Organisational Committee under the supervision of the initiators of the project: Professor Jarosław Ławski (University of Białystok), and Małgorzata Burzka-Janik, PhD. (University of Opole). The conference was perfectly prepared thanks to the support of the host of Palace in Rybna – Director Sebastian Markisch and of the Mayor of the city Tarnowskie Góry Arkadiusz Czech. The scholar discussed the following topics and issues: The industry and technology as the topics of literature of the years 1795–1864; Geology, mining, Silesia, as the artistic topic in those years; Industrial spaces – pastoral and wild spaces: Contrasts and reflections; Humans in the era of industrial transformation: artistic portraits; Industrial landscapes of the West, America, and Eastern Europe: a portrait ffrom the era; The industrialised world and its imagination versus the question about God; The birth of megalopolis, metropolis, agglomeration – literary imagery. Literary images of nature tamed by civilisation; Philosophical approaches to the transformations of the period and their influence on art and literature. From Staszic, through Pol, to Gloger: Geology, geognosis, geography – interferences; The concept of Anthropocene in the light of 19ᵗʰ-century literature et vice versa; Environmental sensitivity: its birth in the Romantic era: the industrial context; Romantic escapes and returns to nature. The monograph is preceded by the introductions written by Prof. Jarosław Ławski (Romantyzm industrialny: XIX stulecie i postęp cywilizacyjny. Pytania, odpowiedzi, projekt) [Industrial Romanticism: The Nineteenth Century and Civilisational Progress. Questions, Answers, the Project] and Prof. Marek Piechota (Romantolodzy w Pałacu w Rybnej po raz trzeci: 2016–2018–2023. Głos na otwarcie konferencji) [The Third Meeting of Romantic Literature Theoreticians in the Palace in Rybna: 2016–2018–2023. The Opening Speech]. The studies were divided into four sections entitled: I. Principles and Directions; II. Cultural Interactions and Comparisons; III. Interpretations; IV. Late Echoes. Reception. The final chapter also contains photos documenting the project and conference as a specific cultural and existential experience (getting to know Silesia, going down the adit of a Silesian mine).