TWO CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN MILENA BENOVSKA AND JULIANA ROTH: THE PATH FROM ACADEMIC DIASPORA TO INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Милена Беновска, Юлиана Рот/ Milena Benovska, Juliana Roth
Abstract: This publication is based on two interrelated biographical interviews with Juliana Roth, conducted in 2023. The academic career of Julianoth, who was born in Sofia, developed in Germany, and her scholarly trajectory was influenced by various life circumstances. In addition to presenting an autobiographical narrative, the two interviews outline clusters of issues whose significance extends beyond the horizon of a personal life story. Juliana Roth’s academic path sheds light on little-known issues, such as the winding trajectories of Bulgarian researchers—women or men—working in foreign academic environments during the “Iron Curtain” period. The interview reveals the initial formation of a Bulgarian scholarly diaspora. The practically insurmountable bureaucratic barriers facing the young chemist, who had earned her degree in Bulgaria, made it impossible for her to pursue professional development; as a result, she had to begin higher education anew in Germany, this time in the field of Slavic Studies. Her qualification in Slavic Studies enabled Juliana Roth to join a radically innovative project on the study of popular literature in Southeast Europe during the nineteenth century. Her encounter with the works of Edward T. Hall, a pioneer in Intercultural Communication, along with her own lived experience navigating different cultures, sparked her interest in this new field. Juliana Roth became one of the three founders of Intercultural Communication as a university discipline in Germany and a pioneer of the field at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. The interview illustrates the characteristic way in which autobiographical narration intertwines personal life trajectories with social contexts and historical processes. Extensive bibliographic list of the works of Juliana Roth completes the conversation.
Keywords: Juliana Roth, intercultural communication, academic diaspora, popular literature,
