The lecture will be based on the monograph "Albanian Women Writers 1954–1990" and focuses on two main directions:

First, it addresses the absence of women's voices in the history of Albanian literature and the need to bring to light a silenced part of that history. For decades, women have been marginalized in literary scholarship and critical discourse, despite their continuous contributions and as a result this exclusion has shaped the construction of the literary canon as well

Second, it explores the literary journey of women writers from Musine Kokalari—the first Albanian woman to publish books in Albanian—up to the end of the 1990s in socialist Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and the Albanian diaspora in Italy while emphasizing the themes these authors addressed, the challenges they faced while trying to have their voice heard within systems that often silenced them.

Moderation:

• Belfjore Zifla, University of Tirana
• Christian Voss, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

This event will take place in a hybrid format. Please find the QR-Code to the Zoom-Meeting in the programme.