%0 Journal Article %T Konwersje autotematyzmu albo autotematyzm jako szansa zwrotu %A Waligóra, Agnieszka %J Wielogłos %V 2021 %R 10.4467/2084395XWI.21.016.14344 %N Numer 2 (48) 2021: Teksty konwersyjne %P 139-160 %K autotematyzm, metarefleksja, konwersja, Artur Sandauer, mechanizm zwrotny; autothematicism, metareflection, conversion, self-reference %@ 1897-1962 %D 2021 %U https://ejournals.eu/czasopismo/wieloglos/artykul/konwersje-autotematyzmu-albo-autotematyzm-jako-szansa-zwrotu %X Conversions of “Autothematicism,” or Autothematicismas a Possibility of a Turn The article is an attempt to describe autothematicism [autotematyzm] – a term coined in Poland by Artur Sandauer in the mid-20th century, referring to the quality of radically meta-reflexive works – from seven complementary perspectives. The Sandauerian understanding of the concept of metareflection was slightly different from the Western visions of mise-en-abyme or metafiction; it was described in the context of German idealistic philosophy and aesthetics. Sandauer defined the artistic “theme” as an objectivization of content (an author’s perceptions and experiences); therefore “autothematicism” is not synonymous with the other terms mentioned above, which can provide interesting interpretations of self-referential works. The present paper shows that the Sandauerian concept of self-referentiality can be seen as an end product of various transformations (conversions): literature’s (or the subject’s) retreat from all kinds of transcendence and reality, self-reflection of the creative “I,” or the text’s orientation to its own ontology. However, this understanding can be reversed. Autothematicism (as an operative concept) can also be seen as a mechanism that enables the autonomous positioning of art in relation to the “reality” it co-constructs, which enables literature to take active participation in the rebuilding of the world.