Studying and teaching foreign literature in Samara State University of Social Sciences and Education

Teaching foreign literature in Samara higher education institutions has a long history. When the authorities of pre-revolutionary Samara decided to open a pedagogical higher education institution in the town, they invited a cohort of St. Petersburg philologists, among whom there was also Maria Isidorovna Liverovskaya, who was the author of the first translation of "New life" by Dante into Russian. The publication of this translation was carried out in the difficult years of establishment of the Soviet power in Samara in 1918. Printing business at that time was in decline, therefore the text of the small book was printed on gray newsprint, however this does not belittle the merits of the translation and its success both with specialists philologists, and with educated readers. By doing so, the teacher of Samara pedagogical university opened the page of "the Soviet danteana" in the new social conditions. One of the very few remaining copies of the original edition of the book with the dedicatory inscription from M.I.Liverovskoy to Alexander Blok is stored in St. Petersburg in the museum of the poet. In 1996 the Department of Foreign literature of Samara teacher-training university published a collection of translations performed by philologists from different educational establishments of Russia. This edition differed much from typical publications of materials of conferences and symposiums. Its aim was to overcome “white spots” in studying history of foreign national literatures, to introduce unjustly forgotten names and literary works to the wide reading public and specialists in culture and world literature; to enlighten new aspects in the activities of well-known authors. The first part of the project “The New about the Old and the New Old”(Samara, 1996) deals with the literature of German Enlightenment. Topicality of appealing to the “Age of Reason” in the epoch of “perestroika”, of change of social conditions, of search for spiritual values and priorities is without no doubt. The Department invited specialists who presented their own translations of well-known and unknown writers whose works were translated into Russian for the first time or translations which were not corresponding to the originals. The new translations were accompanied by analytical essays and commentaries. Thus, old Russian traditions of “University’s translation” were brought to life. The second part of the project “The New about the Old and New Old” (Samara, 2002) widened the range of problems by literary materials dealing with other historical periods and other national literatures - American, English, French, Italian. Well - known university professors and young post-graduate students from Moscow, St.Petersburg, Samara, Nishniy Novgorod, Ufa, Pskov, Toliatty, Supporo (Japan) took part in this edition. They made a valuable contribution to the investigation of “white spots” in the history of world literature. The idea and attempt to unite Russian and foreign scientists in the valuable activities mentioned above seem very positive and deserve continuation.