This article deals with the issues of comparative studies and literary history as reflected in hitherto unpublished letters between Matija Murko (1861-1952) and Frank Wollman (1888-1969). Here Murko, ...notwithstanding his own positivist orientation, positively influenced structurally oriented Wollman in the way the latter chose and approached his themes, which, during the interwar period, generated many discussions among major Slavic scholars in Europe: in particular, addressing the issue of common heritage of Slavic literatures (including the unity of oral and literary traditions), as well as defining the scope of Slavic studies that were to transcend the narrowness of language and ethnicity. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
This article evaluates the positivist concept of literary history as framed by Matija Murko (1861-1952) and Jan Jakubec (1862-1936) in their correspondence concerning the Czech National Revival ...(Murko: Deutsche Einflüsse. . .). Both scholars drew on empirical positivism, emphasizing "detached" exposition, which, in contrast to romanticizing nationalistic ideology, recognized German influence on the formation of Slavic culture. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT