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FRIHUMSAM-Fri prosj.st. hum og sam

The State of Literature: Exploring Genealogy and Autopoiesis in the Work of António Lobo Antunes

Awarded: NOK 2.5 mill.

I intend to investigate the role of autopoiesis - or self-creation - in the work of Portuguese writer, António Lobo Antunes (1942-). By borrowing a term from biology, my analysis is based on an aesthetic paradigm which enables us to approach literature as a composite body, or autopoietic system. The assumption is, furthermore, that an examination of the different parts of the literary system will reveal qualities specific to literature as a phenomenon. In turn, such findings will force upon us a reconside ration of the state of literature - different from other art forms, yet highly dependent on and relating to the latter as unique systems in their own right. In brief, the project seeks to explore what are the consequences when literary writing is authenti cated in terms of function, structure and relations, rather than form, content and truth. Lobo Antunes' experimental form shows how narrative voices can be regarded as ways towards literary autonomy. My examination is concerned with the development of the voices, or subjectivities, from "cell" to "system," which, subsequently, actualises questions of an ethical nature. Moreover, by developing a different concept of reading literature, the project seeks to imagine alternative ways of thinking about kno wledge and signification. One of the project's general objectives is to show that Lobo Antunes' major contribution to the contemporary aesthetic debate resides in his insistence on the necessity of thinking of literature as an ongoing questioning of its o wn nature and ability to articulate it. To my knowledge, this will be the first major study on the work of Lobo Antunes of its kind. Given its novelty, I intend to actively participate in the international debate on central topics of his work. Seeking t o address questions both of a scientific as well as aesthetic nature, my aim is to create a different notion, understanding or experience, of "science fiction."

Funding scheme:

FRIHUMSAM-Fri prosj.st. hum og sam