Nation-building canons: historical and methodological considerations

ENThe connection between the community and its literary canon is bilateral. During its formation, a modem nation establishes itself through various cultural practices, one of which is the development of a literary canon. The canon defines the cultural and national identity of the community, establishes a system of common ethical and aesthetic values for the members of the community, and shapes a historical narrative. In constantly restructuring, but all the while preserving the unchanged constellation of the core, the literary canon develops its cultural power for the community's future generations: it links multiple generations of the same national group into a common collective. Canonical texts establish the tradition and generate forthcoming literary production (not necessarily as examples to follow, but as a pivot point for the further development of literature), and preserve the historical narrative that unifies the community. Thus, the nation builds its canon, while the canon creates the nation. As long as nations endure, their canons will exist. The history of the canon's formation, its revisions, and debates provides valuable material for scholars of nationalism in explaining cultural practices that were used to establish and still are used to support, and unite national communities. In the theoretical field of literary sociology, an advanced methodological apparatus of canon research has been used predominantly by scholars of German studies in reconstructing the interaction between the national literary canon and the establishment of the German nation. Scholars researching East-Central European literatures could make use of these methodological instruments as well, especially bearing in mind that in this specific region vernacular language, oral tradition, and / or the literary heritage all play an essential role in nation-building. [Extract, p. 20]