The Unifying Aspects of Cultures

SECTION:

Narrations in Literature and in Writing History

Tünde Szabó (Károli Reformierte Universität Budapest)
Chaos in Culture - a Dynamic Model of Historical and Literary Discourses

In my presentation I will discuss how historical and literary discourse fit into Juri Lotman's semiosphere concept. Lotman sees culture as a structured and complex dynamic system similar to living organisms, which is the field of different dynamic processes, part of which are historical and literary texts. This concept shows similarities to the scientific trend, which became known as the theory of chaos in the 1980s. The theory originates from the study of dynamic systems in physics, however its method of modelling has proved productive in various fields of study from meteorology to economics. Attempts have been made for its application in the humanities as well. Taking Lotman's semiosphere concept a step further the theory of chaos opens up new possibilities in the study of historical and literary discourse.

THE UNIFYING ASPECTS OF CULTURES