Review article

https://doi.org/10.15291/csi.4053

Encyclopedism as a Way of Thinking: Method, Genre Consciousness and Croatian Influences in Joanna Rapacka’s Leksykon tradycji chorwackich [Lexicon of Croatian Traditions]

Tea Rogić Musa orcid.org/0000-0002-5341-1423 ; The Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography, Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

The paper outlines an interpretation of the methodological and narrative mode of Leksykon tradycji chorwackich [Lexicon of Croatian Traditions] from the perspective of the modern encyclopedic genre, with the basic thesis that the Leksykon, regardless of its literal title, is, according to its internal conception and textual execution, an example of the hybrid genre of modern authorial encyclopedias and cultural-historical syntheses and, regarding the characteristics of the author’s lexicographical style, an example of the encyclopedic tradition conceived and essayistically elaborated by Miroslav Krleža. The specific characteristics of Joanna Rapacke’s lexicographical writing style will be measured according to the methodological tradition of modern Croatian encyclopedics and the principles of the lexicographical profession presented in the early phase of the production of a national encyclopaedia, immediately after the foundation of the Institute of Lexicography. The aim of the paper is to prove that the project is successful on two levels: on the factual level, it is representative due to its professional reconstruction of facts, people, terms, and phenomena from Croatia’s past, history, and historiography; while, on the genre level, it successfully corresponds to the best tradition of modern encyclopedism, as professionally established in Croatia in accordance with Miroslav Krleža’s views on the nature of lexicographical work. We examine the synergy of J. Rapacka’s Leksykon with Croatian encyclopedic tradition in the second half of the 20th century, especially regarding the presentation of cultural history and history of literature in lexicons, as a convincing proof of the author’s scholarly knowledge within the repository of Croatian studies and historiography, which is broadly compiled in the Leksykon.

Keywords

Joanna Rapacka; Leksykon tradycji chorwackich [Lexicon of Croatian Traditions] by Joanna Rapacka; literary lexicon; encyclopedism; Miroslav Krleža; Croatian studies; Croatian tradition of encyclopedism

Hrčak ID:

288380

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/288380

Publication date:

24.12.2022.

Article data in other languages: polish croatian

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