Assoc. Prof. Kalina Zahova, PhD

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Kalina Zahova is an Associate Professor at the Institute for Literature, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and holds an MA in Bulgarian Philology and a PhD in Literary Theory. She is the author of the books The Pieces That We Listen To. Functioning of the Song Text in Contemporary Culture (2018) and Why Is the Laughing Cow Laughing? Relations between Humans and Other Animals (2020). She has specialised in Austria and Slovakia, and has lectured at the St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia, the Paisii Hilendarski University of Plovdiv, the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Bratislava, the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan.

Research interests:

  • interdisciplinary approaches to contemporary culture;
  • intertextual and intercultural interactions;
  • popular music studies;
  • critical animal studies, ecocriticism.

EDUCATION:

  • 2008 PhD in Theory and History of Literature, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”.
    Dissertation title: Song as Synthetic Art. Functioning of the Song Text in Contemporary Culture
  • 2001 MA in Bulgarian Philology, Faculty of Slavic Studies, Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski"
  • 1996 National Culture-Oriented Educational Complex with an Italian Language and Culture College – Sofia

EMPLOYMENT:

  • since 2021 –    Institute for Literature, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Department of Literary Theory: Associate Professor
  • 2012 – 2021 Institute for Literature, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Department of Literary Theory: Assistant Professor
  • 2011 – 2014 Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland, Institute of Slavonic Philology: Lecturer
  • 2010 – 2012 Institute for Literature, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Department of Literary Theory: Junior Researcher
  • 2008 – 2010 Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Department of History and Theory of Culture: Part-time lecturer in Cultural Studies
  • 2008 – 2009 Plovdiv University “Paisii Hilendarski”, Department of Bulgarian Literature and Theory of Literature: Part-time assistant in Theory of Literature
  • 2005 – 2010 Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Department of Theory of Literature: Part-time assistant in Theory of Literature

COURSES TAUGHT:

  • 2011 – 2014 Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland, Institute of Slavonic Philology: Bulgarian Language, Literature and Culture
  • 2008 – 2010 Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Faculty of Philosophy, Department of History and Theory of Culture, MA Arts and Contemporary Culture (20th–21st c.): Interpretation of the Work of Art [II]
  • 2005 – 2010 Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Faculty of Slavic Studies, Department of Theory of Literature: Theory of Literature
  • 2009 Bulgarian Cultural Institute, Bratislava, Slovakia: Bulgarian Language and Culture
  • 2008 – 2009 Plovdiv University “Paisii Hilendarski”, Department of Bulgarian Literature and Theory of Literature: Introduction to Literary Theory
  • 2007 – 2008 Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Faculty of Slavic Studies, Department of Theory of Literature: Lyrics Sung

RESEARCH PROJECTS:

international

  • since 2023 – Sound and Text in Intercultural Context – a joint research project of the Institute for Literature (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) and the Institute of Slovenian Literature and Literary Studies (Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts). Project leaders: Andrejka Žejn and Kalina Zahova.
  • 2020 – 2022 Image and Text as a Means of  Cross-Cultural Transfer – a joint research project of the Institute for Literature (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) and the Institute of Slovenian Literature and Literary Studies (Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts). Project leaders: Alenka Koron and Kalina Zahova.
  • 2010 – 2021 Literary Terms and Their Contexts – a joint research project of the Institute for Literature (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) and the Institute of Literary Research (Polish Academy of Sciences)
  • 2017 – 2019  Slovenian and Bulgarian Literatures and Cultures in the Context of World Literature - a joint research project of the Institute for Literature (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) and the Institute of Slovenian Literature and Literary Studies (Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts)
  • 2010 – 2018 The Progect Network for the Study of Progressive Rock
  • 2015 – 2016 Universal and Marginal Values and Identities - a joint research project of the Institute for Literature (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) and the Institute of Slovenian Literature and Literary Studies (Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts)
  • 2012 – 2015 Virtual Library "Ivan Shishmanov". Bulgarian Literature in Translation
    http://bglit.org
  • 2012 – 2014 The Text Levski - Readings in Domestic and Foreign Context

national

  • since 2022 – Literature and Nature (Bulgarian Literary and Theoretical Interpretations)
  • since 2022 – Literature and the Other Arts
  • since 2021 – Establishment and Development of the "Heritage BG" Center for Top Achievements
  • since 2010 – Methodological Problems in Literary Theory
  • 2017 – 2021 Bulgarian Literature since the Liberation (1878) – Personalities and Processes, Documents and Artifacts (Digital Dictionary)
    http://www.dictionarylit-bg.eu/
  • 2019 – 2020 National Scientific Program „Cultural Heritage, National Memory and Social Development”: Mixed Nosegay of Bulgarian Literary Facts    https://smesnakitka.eu/
  • 2015 – 2016 Bulgarian Literary Classics – Knowledge for Everyone. Unknown Archives and Cultural Contexts
    http://bglitarchives.org/
  • 2010 Concepts and Problems of Contemporary Literary Studies. Reference Publications and Anthologies
  • 2009 Hidden Publicity: Mapping Subcultures in Bulgaria

INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIPS:

  • 2010 – 2011 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Institute of Slavic Studies, University of Vienna, Austria. Research project: Transformations of Intercultural Memory [Slavic and Austrian Cultures – Mechanisms of Intercultural Reception]
  • 2009 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Institute of Slavistics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia. Research project: Preservation and Transformations of Socialism’s Cultural Heritage in Contemporary Post-Socialist Cultures
  • 2005 – 2006 Specialization in Vienna, Austria: ÖAD/ACM on behalf of and financed by the BMBWK. Field of research: Popular Music Studies

COMMUNITY

  • Member of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music.

SELECTED INTERNATIONAL PRESENTATIONS:

  • 11/2022 International Conference The Animal on Stage: Cultural Performances, Warsaw, Poland: Zoos in Bulgarian Literature and Literature in Bulgarian Zoos
  • 07/2022 IASPM XXI 2022 Climates of Popular Music, Daegu, South Korea: How Nonhuman Are Nonhuman Animals in Bulgarian Popular Music?
  • 11/2021 Slovenian-Bulgarian Online Colloquium Image and Text as a Means of Cross-Cultural Transfer: Popular Music: The Lyrics Strike Back
  • 09/2019 International Conference Literature and Narrative: Postclassical Perspectives and Analyses, Ljubljana, Slovenia: Types of “Animalist” Focalisation in Bulgarian Literature
  • 06/2019 International Conference Slovenian and Bulgarian Cultures in the Context of World Literature, Sofia, Bulgaria: How to Survive Intellectually in the World of Project Humanities
  • 09/2018 International Conference Recycling in Literature and Culture, Sofia, Bulgaria: Cultural Recycling: From the Secondary Raw Materials to the Recycle Bin
  • 12/2017 International Conference Smrti živali: kritična animalistična perspektiva, Maribor, Slovenia: Hunting in Bulgarian Literature
  • 09/2015 International Conference The Thing. Conceptual and Cultural Aspects, Sofia, Bulgaria: False Friends and Varied Readings: Interlinguistic and Intercultural Homonymy
  • 05/2015 Second Bosnian-Herzegovinian Congress in Slavic Studies, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina: Examples of Animal Representations in Slavic Literatures and Cultures
  • 12/2014 First International Conference of the ACADPROG Network dedicated to progressive rock, University of Burgundy, Dijon, France: Progressive Rock behind the Iron Curtain - Why Not?
  • 04/2014 Bulgarian Cultural Institute, Warsaw, Poland: Cultural Differences between Polish and Bulgarian Everyday Life
  • 09/2012 International conference Similarity and Difference (The Problem of Identity), Sofia, Bulgaria: Expectations, Requests, Demands. Examples of Reception Conditions in Contemporary Culture
  • 05/2012 International conference Obraz Świętości – Świętość w Obrazie, Szamotuły, Poland: Sacralization and Desacralization of the Recent Past.
  • 06/2011 The 16th Biennial IASPM International Conference, Grahamstown, South Africa: Intercultural Reception as Manifested in Popular Music
  • 05/2011 Wiener Osteuropaforum, University of Vienna, Austria: Transformations of Intercultural Memory [Slavic and Austrian Cultures – Mechanisms of Intercultural Reception]
  • 03/2011 Transformations in Central and Eastern Europe: before, after, in the process?, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland: Aspects of Socialist Culture as Perceived by Post-Socialist Youth of Slovakia, Poland and Bulgaria
  • 07/2009 The 15th Biennial IASPM International Conference, Liverpool, United Kingdom: Why Do Words Have Songs?

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Books

  • Why Is the Laughing Cow Laughing? Relations between Humans and Other Animals. Sofia: Kalina Zahova, 2020, 350 p. ISBN 978-619-91685-0-9
  • The Pieces That We Listen To. Functioning of the Song Text in Contemporary Culture. Varna: LiterNet, 2018. ISBN 978-954-304-434-4. Link: https://liternet.bg/publish11/k_zahova/parchetata/index.html

Articles in English:

  • The Interplay between Universality and Locality in Popular Song Lyrics. – In: Regional and Universal in European Modernity. Eds. Pèter Hajdu and Yonka Naydenova. Sofia: Boyan Penev Publishing Centre, 2022, pp. 127 – 142. ISBN 978-619-7372-55-7. Линк: https://ilitizda.com/books/788-2022-11-07 
  • Popular Music: The Lyrics Strike Back. – Literaturna misal, 2, 2022, рр. 106 – 115. ISSN 0324-0495. Link: https://litmis.eu/godina-lxv-2022/issue-2-2022
  • Cultural Recycling: From the Secondary Raw Materials to the Recycle Bin. – In: Recycling in Literature and Culture. Eds. Teresa Dobrzyńska and Raya Kuncheva. Boyan Penev Publishing Centre (Institute for Literature BAS; Instytut Badań Literackich PAN), 2021, pp. 207 – 218. ISBN 978-619-7372-36-6. https://ilitizda.com/index.php/books/723-2022-01-17
  • Hunting in Bulgarian Literature. – In: Pojmovanja živalskih smrti: antropocentrizem in (ne)možne subjektivitete. Ed. by Branislava Vičar. Koper: Annales ZRC, 2020, pp. 143 – 159. ISBN 978-961-7058-36-9
  • Types of “Animalist” Focalization in Bulgarian Literature. – Primerjalna književnost, 43.1, 2020, pp. 209 – 222. ISSN 0351-1189. Link: https://ojs-gr.zrc-sazu.si/primerjalna_knjizevnost/issue/view/704
  • Examples of Animal Representations in Slavic Literatures and Cultures. – In: Bosanskohercegovački slavistički kongres II: Zbornik radova (knjiga 2). Glavni urednik: Senahid Halilović. Sarajevo: Slavistički komitet, 2019, pp. 171 – 180. ISSN 2303-4106. Link: http://www.slavistickikomitet.ba/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Drugi-slavisticki-kongres-knjiga-2-knjizevnost-30122019.pdf
  • False Friends and Varied Readings: Interlinguistic and Intercultural Homonymy. – In: The Thing. Conceptual and Cultural Aspects, Boyan Penev Publishing Centre (Institute for Literature BAS; Instytut Badań Literackich PAN), 2018, pp. 449 – 470. ISBN 978-619-7372-10-6.
  • Progressive Rock behind the Iron Curtain – Why Not? – In: Prog Rock in Europe. Overview of a persistent musical style. Directed by Philippe Gonin. In collaboration with Chris Atton, Sarah Hill, Allan F. Moore, Justin Williams. Éditions Universitaires de Dijon, collection Sociétés, Dijon, 2016, pp. 21 – 33. ISBN: 978-2-36441-175-3.
  • Expectations, Requests, Demands. Examples of Reception Conditions in Contemporary Culture. – In: Resemblance and Difference. The Problem of Identity. Ed. by Teresa Dobrzyńska and Raya Kuncheva. Boyan Penev Publishing Centre (Institute for Literature BAS; Instytut Badań Literackich PAN), 2015, pp. 245 – 256. ISBN 978-954-8712-97-2.
  • Intercultural Reception as Manifested in Popular Music. – In: Situating Popular Musics, The 16th Biennial IASPM International Conference Grahamstown South Africa 2011 Proceedings: http://www.iaspm.net/proceedings/index.php/iaspm2011/iaspm2011/paper/view/54
  • А Vision of Our City (Socialist Urban Legacy as Seen Through the Eyes of Post-Socialst Youth of Slovakia, Poland and Bulgaria). – In: Vision and Cognition/Взгляд и познание, Ed. by Teresa Dobrzyńska and Raya Kuncheva. Boyan Penev Publishing Centre (Institute for Literature BAS; Instytut Badań Literackich PAN), 2011, pp. 271 – 289. ISBN 978-954-8712-75-0.

in Croatian:

  • Slobodnoživuće mačke u Bugarskoj. –  In: Mačkozbornik : od Bastet do Catwoman. Eds. Suzana Marjanić and Rosana Ratkovčić. Zagreb: Naklada Jesenski i Turk: Kulturno informativni centar, 2022, pp. 69 – 80. ISBN 978-953-222-963-9.

in Bulgarian:

  • Hear Something Funny – about the Book and Its Author. – In: Boryu Zevzeka. Hear Something Funny. Ed. Kalina Zahova. Sofia: Boyan Penev Publishing Centre, 2022, pp. 9 – 32. ISBN 978-619-7372-57-1. https://ilitizda.com/books/794-2022-12-01
  • What Could Natural Sciences Learn from Bulgarian Literature? // In: Arnaudov’s Collection. Vol. 11. Eds. Velislava Doneva, Nikola Benin, Nikolay Nenov, Nia Peneva, Mira Dushkova and Emilia Nedkova. Ruse: Leni-An, 2020, pp. 327 – 334. ISBN 978-619-7058-93-2
  • Professional Qualification: Philologist, Teacher of Bulgarian Language and Literature. // The Linguistics Legacy in the Bulgarian literary theory. Ed. Miglena Nikolchina. Sofia: University Press St. Kliment Ohridski, 2020, pp. 197 – 213. ISBN 978-954-07-4977-8
  • Literature in Electronic Audio Format: from Radio Plays to Audiobooks (Co-author: Andrey Tashev) // Electronic Magazine LiterNet, 29.07.2018, № 7 (224), ISSN:1312-2282 - https://liternet.bg/publish11/k_zahova/radiopiesi.htm
  • Derisive Literary Studies: Human Being – the Funniest Animal // Literaturna istoria, 1/2018 special edition, Sofia: Boyan Penev Publishing Centre, 2017, ISSN 0204-7756, pp. 42-51.
  • "If Slaughterhouses Had Glass Walls…" // In: The Parahuman: Grace and Gravity. In honour of prof. Miglena Nikolchina. Eds. K.Spassova, D.Tenev, M.Kalinova. Sofia: Sofia University Press, 2017, ISBN 978-954-07-4268-7, pp. 197-200.
  • Strategies of Renaming and Mystification in Bulgarian Literature (Co-author: Nadezhda Stoyanova) // In: Multiculturalism and Multilingualism. The 13th International Slavic Conference Proceedings, Sofia, 21-23 April 2016. Volume II. Anthropology. Literary Studies. Eds. D.Grigorov, R.Petrova, V.Kolev, T.Georgieva, M.Stefanov, P.Martinova. Veliko Tyrnovo: Faber, 2017, ISBN: 978-619-00-0651-0, pp. 678-688.
  • Romantic Attitudes Towards Music (Wackenroder) // In: SUB SPECIE AETERNITATIS. In memoriam Zhana Nikolova-Galabova. Eds. E.Dencheva, R.Kuncheva, B.Mirchev, B.Zlatanov. Sofia: Sofia University Press, 2015, ISBN 978-954-07-3917-5, pp. 146-157.
  • The Invisible School: Impact Factor and Literary Reactor // In: The Invisible School: Miroslav Yanakiev, Nikola Georgiev, Radosvet Kolarov. Eds. M.Nikolchina, M.Yanakieva, A.Licheva. Sofia: Literaturen vestnik Foundation, 2014, ISBN 978-954-9602-37-1, pp. 89-100.
  • Perspectives Towards Reception // In: The Literary Studies as a Possibility of Choice. In honorem Raya Kuncheva. Eds. M.Yanakieva, R.Damyanova, Y.Naydenova, E.Traykova, A.Miltenova. Sofia: Context, 2012, ISBN 978-954-8238-40-3, pp. 249-257.
  • "Childhood of Mine, Real and Magical…" (Emblematic Bulgarian Songs from Films for Children) // In: Art Readings 2010, Sofia: Institute of Art Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2011.
  • Adorno and Popular Music Reception // Critique & Humanism, Vol. 34, 4 / 2010.
  • It Grows but Does Not Grow Wiser // Electronic Magazine LiterNet, 30.05.2009, № 5 (114) - http://liternet.bg/publish11/k_zahova/raste.htm
  • “Under the Yoke” Reviewed by Zakhari Stoyanov – How Did That Happen? (Co-author: Grigor Grigorov) // In: I’m Not One of Them: The Canon of Distinction, University Press St. Kliment Ohridski, Sofia, 2009.
  • Song Texts and Contemporary Cultural Consciousness Shaping // In: The Matrix – The Power Of Equality. University Press St. Kliment Ohridski, Sofia, 2008.
  • On Popular Music in the Age of Technical Reproduction (Benjamin and Adorno) // altera Academica, year I, issue 2, Summer 2007, pp. 84-97.
  • From the Restored Wholeness of Geo Milev’s Expressionistic Calendar for 1921 towards the Astrology in Literature // Electronic Magazine LiterNet, 27.03.2007, № 3 (88) - http://liternet.bg/publish11/k_zahova/g_milev.htm
  • Poses and Positions in Song Text // Littera et Lingua, Autumn 2006, Issue №3 - http://www.slav.uni-sofia.bg/naum/en/node/1647
  • Strawberry Fields of Déjà (Intertextuality of Contemporary Popular Song) // In: Word: Images and Reflections. Plovdiv, 2008. Also on LiterNet, 15.06.2006, № 6 (79) - http://liternet.bg/publish11/k_zahova/iagodovite.htm
  • Between Showing and Telling (Interactions between Cinema and Literature in Konstantin Pavlov’s Screenplays) // In: Culture and Criticism. pt.IV: Ideology: Ways of Use. Edited by Albena Vacheva, Yordan Eftimov, Georgi Chobanov, Varna: LiterNet, 2004-2005 http://liternet.bg/publish11/k_zahova/kpavlov.htm
  • The Fictional Reality and the Real Literary Work (the Reader’s Point of View) // In: Literature and Critical Practices, Sofia, 2003.

Reviews

Editing

  • Boryu Zevzeka. Hear Something Funny. Ed. Kalina Zahova. Sofia: Boyan Penev Publishing Centre, 2022. ISBN 978-619-7372-57-1. https://ilitizda.com/books/794-2022-12-01
  • Literaturna misal Journal, 2/2022, thematic block Image and Text as a Means of Cross-Cultural Transfer. Eds. Kalina Zahova and Alenka Koron. ISSN 0324-0495. https://litmis.eu/godina-lxv-2022/issue-2-2022
  • Matvey Valev. Citizens of the World. Eds. Andrey Tashev and Kalina Zahova, Sofia: Boyan Penev Publishing Center, 2022, 307 p. ISBN 978-619-7372-46-5
  • Matvey Valev. In the Land of the Eternal Summer. Eds. Andrey Tashev and Kalina Zahova, Sofia: Boyan Penev Publishing Center, 2022, 484 p. ISBN 978-619-7372-42-7
  • Matvey Valev. Such Are the Times. Feuilletons and Humorous Short Stories. Eds. Andrey Tashev and Kalina Zahova, Sofia: Boyan Penev Publishing Center, 2020, 294 p. ISBN 978-619-7372-29-8.
  • Andrey Tashev. The Unknown Matvey Valev: On This Side and Beyond, monograph, ed. Kalina Zahova. Sofia: Andrey Tashev, 2020, 350 p. ISBN 978-619-91684-0-0.
  • Liza Boeva. The William Shakespeare Project, monograph, ed. Kalina Zahova. Filizi 33, 2019.
  • Literary History Journal, 1/2018 special edition. Eds. Andrey Tashev, Kalina Zahova, Miryana Yanakieva, Regina Koycheva. Sofia: Boyan Penev Publishing Centre, 2017, ISSN 0204-7756.
  • Matvey Valev. Radio and Society / Eds. Andrey Tashev, Kalina Zahova. Sofia: Sofia University Press, 2017, 112 p., ISBN 978-954-07-4332-5.
  • 2012 – 2015 Poznańskie Studia Slawistyczne Journal (Poznań Slavic Studies): Proofreader http://www.pss.amu.edu.pl
  • I’m Not One of Them: The Canon of Distinction. Proceedings of the Conference in honour of Prof. Nikola Georgiev’s 70th Anniversary and 60 Years Department of Theory of Literature. Eds. M.Nikolchina, I.Alexandrova, K.Mikhajlov, K.Zahova, K.Spasova, G.Ivanova. Sofia: Sofia University Press, 2009.
  • 2006 – 2007 Electronic Magazine LiterNet: Editor of “New Humanitaristics” – a section for studies in the field of Humanities, sponsored by the National Cultural Fund - http://liternet.bg/publish/katalog/rubriki/nova.htm

Translations

  • Olivieri, Mario. Il Paradiso perduto (Viaggi. Persitenze e variazioni nell’idea di viaggio, 1997) // Sledva, Issue 17, 2007. Also on: LiterNet, 23.12.2007, № 12 (97) - http://liternet.bg/publish21/m_olivieri/izgubeniat.htm
  • Gandhi, Leela. A Complicated Occidentalism: Colonial Desire and Disappointment in V. S. Naipaul // Literaturna misal, 1, 2005.
  • Reis, Carlos. Ideology and literary representation (Towards a Semiotics of Ideology, 1993), with Albena Vacheva // LiterNet, 30.11.2004 - http://liternet.bg/publish12/k_reis/ideologia.htm
  • Editing of: Culler, Jonathan. Towards a Linguistics of Writing (Framing the Sign: Criticism and Its Institutions, 1988), translated into Bulgarian by Albena Vacheva. // LiterNet, 18.12.2003 -
    http://liternet.bg/publish6/jkuller/lingvistika.htm
  • Culler, Jonathan. Problems in the Theory of Fiction // Literaturna misal, 1-2, 2003.

Other Articles

  • Researcher on the Move // ForscherInnen unterwegs / Researchers on the Move, 6.03.2011 - http://www.forscherinnen-unterwegs.net/?p=715
  • “I’m Not One of Them”. Nikola Georgiev and The Canon of Distinction // altera Academica, year I, issue 4, Winter 2007.
  • Spirit of Mozart // Literaturen vestnik, Issue №5, 8-14.02.2006, p.7
  • Gologan, or The Limits of Music and Poetry. // Literaturen vestnik, Issue №27, 20-26.07.2005