Historical Fiction as an Important Instrument of Cross-Cultural Education

Abstract

The article focuses on the pedagogical experiment of using the university disciplines of ‘Home reading’, ‘Analysis of Written Texts’, ‘Stylistics’, ‘Foreign Literature’ as essential but often neglected tools of cross-cultural education. The importance of literature, especially historical fiction in education process is emphasized, because fiction can be seen as an unrivalled manifestation of both individual and collective memory, of values, experiences and patterns of behaviour. A case study of using poetry and short stories for introducing students to the rich cultural heritage is presented in some detail. The conclusions about the most effective strategies and aims of cross-cultural education at university level are made.