Asian Languages and Cultures

ARIS Code: P6-0243

Period: 1. 1. 2019 – 31. 12. 2027

Head of research programme: Jana Rošker, PhD

The Asian region, which stands in the center of our research interests, represents an increasingly important area of explosive economic development, as well as political and social transitions, influencing not only the inner structure of Asian societies, but also the international relations on the global level. The research program plans to continue developing and upgrading the previous research carried out within the group research program Asian Languages and Cultures. During the last period of our research work (2014-2018), most of our research group members focused on investigating East Asian (particularly Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese and Korean) cultures and societies. The group includes a member specialized in Indian philosophy and culture, whose investigations complement the results of other experts and place them within a comparative and broader Asian perspective. The basic design of the proposed program is oriented towards investigating historical developments, political, ideational and economic circumstances, as well as cultural and linguistic characteristics of Asian societies. This interdisciplinary program embraces studies that encompass different disciplines within the broader field of humanities and social studies. It aims to combine various specific studies that deal with the different aspects of Asian regions in terms of the relationship between ideational and material paradigms defining the researched social realities. Our studies primarily contain analyses and evaluations of material in native Asian languages. However, they also build on information, data and theoretical paradigms available in Western literature. This kind of approach is of utmost significance, since the use of primary sources in native languages enables us to gain a more objective insight into the reality of the societies in question. Members of the program group have active knowledge of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi and Sanskrit. However, in the context of the program, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Indian studies are mainly cultural studies, rather than philological ones. Our research concentrates on essential problems and conditions, defining the prevailing models of social realities as bases for the formation of various cultural identities. Proceeding from our previous research results, we aim to further improve and deepen our knowledge in these fields, as a better understanding of these regions will most certainly represent a valuable contribution to the improvement of relations between Slovenia and Asian countries. Such a research agenda enables us to transcend narrow and particular national perspectives and their corresponding ideologies. The originality of our research results is ensured by the specific multidisciplinary approach. The analysis of the various aspects of Asian social realities, carried out under the precondition of mastering native languages, guarantees the transcendence of traditional discursive demarcation lines in the humanities.