Edward Waysband (Social Relevance of the Humanities Fellowship, Oct ’24 – Feb ’25) will present his work on:

Comparative Approach to Hybridity: Modernist Literature of the Mediterranean and Black Sea Port Cities Tel Aviv and Odesa

20 February 2025 (Thursday), at 16:30

Moderated by Angel Igov.

Abstract: The purpose of this comparative research is to analyze similarities of modernist literatures of two port cities – Tel Aviv and Odesa, both in terms of direct influence and in broader typological terms. By pointing to these cities’ seaport aspect, the project foregrounds the common denominator of this research – the hybrid nature of port cities, evidenced in their literary output, which transgresses assumed ethno-linguistic boundaries. While the hybrid characteristics of port cities are well researched in general and in particular with regard to their Levantine and Black Sea examples, scholars have confined their research predominantly to urban and sociocultural intra-contextual analysis, whereas my project combines intra- and inter-textual analysis of their literature, drawing upon interdisciplinary Levantine studies with an emphasis on the concept of hybridity. The project foregrounds a reciprocal process of cultural transmission between Mediterranean/Levantine and Black Sea cultural areas, (1) highlighting the Ukrainian constituent of Hebrew modernist poetry and (2) analyzing thematic and linguistic forms of expression of the Levantine self-perception of Odesa’s modernist writers. By pointing to the interconnectedness of these processes, the project aims at cross-fertilization of Mediterranean/Levantine, Black Sea, and Ukrainian cultural studies.