Journalism by Latvian writers in the 1970–1980s: the barometer of social, moral and educational problems of the era

• In Event: Culture, Politics, and Ideology in the Soviet Era

Abstract

The paper will examine the barometer of Latvian literature and culture during the Soviet occupation, in the 1970–1980s: journalism of the writers Miervaldis Birze, Andrejs Dripe, Jānis Mauliņš and Māra Svīre. It will present the systematized corpus of the mentioned authors' works in the previously little-studied hybrid genre. The corpus consists of publications commemorating historical and political events, essays, diaries and polemical articles about socially significant questions. The research reveals, by studying the position of writers on current social, moral and educational problems of the era, the transformation of the ideological positions of journalism (printed in books and periodicals) as a single process and dialogue with other genres of journalism and cinematography, such as documentary cinema, radio broadcasts, interviews and discussions in periodicals. and its influence on journalism during the Awakening, after independence, and nowadays.

Short Bio

Jānis Oga, Dr. philol., researcher at the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia (ILFA). He is an expert on Latvian prose writers’ collaboration and non-violent resistance under the Soviet Occupation and the cultural contacts between writers in Soviet Latvia and abroad, as well as literary culture during the period of Stagnation. He is the author, co-author and editor of scholarly works in Latvian and English. Since 2023 he is the editor-in-chief of the interdisciplinary scholarly journal “Letonica” (Scopus).

Author

• Janis Oga, Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia