THE “UN-AMERICAN” ACTIVITIES OF VIKTOR SHARENKOV

Abstract

While Viktor Sharenkov (1892-1963) is recognized as the first Bulgarian specialist in American literature appointed at the English Department of Sofia University in the late 1940s, his contribution to the local “inception” of the subject area, i.e. American Studies, within the institutional spaces of English Studies and in terms of an appointment and course in the History of American Literature has been scarcely discussed apart from signposting his administrative appointment and documenting his scholarly background as a Columbia PhD graduate. This paper aims at addressing this area of neglect by adopting a biographical approach and tracing the trajectory of Sharenkov’s life in the USA until his quite possible deportation and subsequent above-mentioned appointment. In doing so, I will be exploring the complex set of relations between biography and history with a view to the institutional history of AS locally and also propose the terms in which Sharenkov’s position may be articulated rather than ignored.