The Novel’s Knowledge
The project The Novel’s Knowledge (2022–2024) focuses on the ever-changing functions and roles of fictional novels along with their authors, in the era of global medialization and commercialization of the 2000s. The functional role of the author in the contemporary media-driven world is evolving, while the social relevance of an author as an intellectual has remained relatively unaltered. The project is interested in how authors of fictional novels take advantage of other forms of media and how the Finnish contemporary novel relates to different modes of knowing and ways of presenting. Scientific facts, audiovisual culture and social media have substantial influences on discourse about literature and literary forms as well as methods and practices of reading. The project, funded by the Kone Foundation, offers tools and capabilities for understanding the evolving functions and modes of expression of the contemporary novel, the stakeholders being the different operators of the literary culture, literary field, and cultural politics. The project’s working language is Finnish.