ДВА РАЗГОВОРА НА МИЛЕНА БЕНОВСКА С ЮЛИАНА РОТ: ПЪТЯТ ОТ НАУЧНАТА ДИАСПОРА ДО ИНТЕРКУЛТУРНАТА КОМУНИКАЦИЯ
TWO CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN MILENA BENOVSKA AND JULIANA ROTH: THE PATH FROM ACADEMIC DIASPORA TO INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Summary/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. The interview reveals the initial formation of a Bulgarian scholarly diaspora. Before moving to Germany, she had earned a degree in Chemistry, yet in the country she decided to begin higher education anew, this time in the field of Slavic Studies and East European History. Her new 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.

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