Sorbian studies is an academic discipline dealing with
Sorbian language and
literature
Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...
.
It is a subfield of
Slavic studies
Slavic (American English) or Slavonic (British English) studies, also known as Slavistics, is the academic field of area studies concerned with Slavic peoples, Slavic peoples, languages, literature, history, and culture. Originally, a Slavist or ...
.
Current situation
The only institute for Sorbian studies is at
Leipzig University
Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...
(; ).
The
University of Potsdam publishes the series . Furthermore, the
Sorbian Institute is conducting research in Sorbian studies and biannually publishes ''Lětopis'', the only journal on Sorbian studies.
Students can earn a B.A. or an M.A. degree in Sorbian studies at Leipzig University. Furthermore, Sorbian language education degrees are available.
History
Initiated by
Adolf Černý, Sorbian literature is taught at
Charles University
Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...
in Prague since the 19th century. Since 1933, there is a chair for Sorbian literature, first held by Josef Páta. In 1842,
Jan Pětr Jordan, a Sorbian linguist, became lecturer of Slavistics with a special focus on Sorbian in Leipzig.
The history of institutionalized Sorbian studies began in the 1950s with the creation of the Sorbian Ethnological Institute in Bautzen and the Institute for Sorbian Studies in Leipzig.
Unlike students of most minor academic disciplines, Sorbian studies graduates are sought after in Lusatia, as the states of Saxony and Brandenburg guarantee that classes in Sorbian language are available.
Notable people
*
Adolf Černý (1864–1952) from Czechia
*
Jan Arnošt Smoler (1816–1884) from Germany
*
Heinz Schuster-Šewc (1927–2021) from Germany
*
Edward Wornar (born 1966) from Germany
Further reading
*
References
External links
*
*
*
{{improve categories, date=May 2024
Cultural studies
Slavic culture
Slavic studies
Sorbian culture