TOWARD A SLOVENE CULTURAL STUDIES

Abstract

Given the large amount of completed research and the existence of several undergraduate and graduate programs, we can say that cultural studies is currently well established in Slovenia, especially considering the relative size of the country and the newness of the discipline. Within this context, however, it is possible to see that most research merely borrows and applies concepts and rudimentary studies developed in other countries, primarily in Great Britain. While this development has its own weight and meaning, the Slovenia's cultural situation is specific enough to oblige cultural studies to develop, at least to some degree, a specific research apparatus that could perceive and thematize the distinctive aspects of Slovene culture. The article addresses this possibility and highlights specifics in the Slovene political, cultural, and historical context that could serve as a point of departure for the development of a distinctively Slovene cultural studies practice. This article identifies four basic conditions: Slovene culture is actually an intersection of cultures; culture occupies a special symbolic place in Slovene public life; the experience of a successful communist revolution; and the powerful influence of the punk movement.