Eds. by Joanna Ławnikowska-Koper, Anna Majkiewicz, Szilvia Ritz

Volume Affections 2 - Contemporary Culture of Emotion. Transfer. Translation. Reception is a continuation of the description of the phenomenon of affective culture undertaken in the fifth issue of the journal "Transfer. Reception Studies" (2020). The starting point for the considerations was the assumption that reading both earlier and recent texts oriented towards the analysis of various forms of emotional expression (affects) allows one to recognise new features, dimensions and functions of cognitive reality.[1]  This analytical category described by Ryszard Nycz has turned out to be extremely effective and attractive for researchers exploring texts of literature and culture of different epochs and language areas in search of emanations of emotions and manifestations of affects with the whole wealth of their functions and meanings. Also important for the overview of this research problem are questions about the historical dimension of the phenomenon, with an indication of the frequency and evolution of the representation of specific emotions and affects in literary texts. Among the affects presented in this volume, laughter and its varieties dominate. Behind them, however, lies a world of complicated relations and complex attitudes of characters, whose choices are guided by a variety of emotions, either adding drama to the narrative or, on the contrary, relieving tension. Literature always refers to life, reproducing or creating it, and the characters, both real and literary, experience the whole complexity of life, co-creating for themselves the contemporary culture of emotions.

[1] Cf. Ryszard Nycz, „Afektywne manifesty”, Teksty Drugie, 1 (2014): 11 (9-13).