Conference in Paris, France, July 17-20, 2007.
Dr. Romey Sabalius speaks about "New Directions in Swiss Literature"

Abstract: For too long, especially during the 20th century, Swiss literature was burdened with the responsibility of having to respond to calls-to-duty. During the period of National Socialism in Germany, the Swiss arts were called upon to defend the national identity and independence on the cultural battlefield with a strategy that was labeled geistige Landesverteidigung, a sort of intellectual defense of the homeland. After the catastrophe of World War II, Swiss writers felt compelled to justify their country’s stance vis-à-vis both the Nazis and the refugees who poured into their country. In the wake of the youth rebellion sweeping through much of Europe in 1968, serious intellectuals and artists were obliged to condemn the ills of society and display a public conscience. As a backlash to this social-political accountability, many writers withdrew from literary activism in order to focus on the inner, emotional state-of-mind of the individual, or they contemplated the pains and pleasures (mostly pains) of their artistic pursuit itself, much in the manner of an introspective and self-absorbed Nabelschau (navel gazing). Throughout the 20th century, Swiss authors seemed always compelled to respond to certain obligations and expectations or to defiantly resist them. However, in Swiss literature of the early 21st century and its immediately preceding years, a new generation of authors seems to be remarkably free from pressures and expectations emerging from the nation, the publishers, or the readers. This paper will examine the new directions in current Swiss literature of the very late 20th and early 21st century.