Abstract:

One of the ways to integrate innovative theoretical and practical scientific discourses into the Latvian education system at the secondary level is the elaboration of student research projects (in the Latvian education system it is called 'scientific research work'). The aim of the research activity, the tasks, the results to be achieved, the choice of topics, methodological execution and evaluation show how the content of secondary education resonates on sensitive socio-political issues, how deeply relevant concepts are viewed, understood and interpreted by Latvian secondary school students.

Jana Egle's collection of stories "In the Light" (2016) is indicative of the actualization of the components of the concept of "stigma", which are manifested as marginalization, discrimination, social isolation, increased stress and depression. I will focus on the representation of the perception of J. Egle's collection of stories "In the Light" in the research project "Features of Neorealism in J. Egle's Collection of Stories "In the Light"" elaborated in 2021 by a secondary school student, in order to evaluate the student’s scientific research potential in reflecting on interdisciplinary topics and topical research discourses when interpreting literary texts.

The cross-cutting theme of the collection of stories "In the Light" is the description of the psycho-emotional and social states of the marginalized people and those excluded from society. The writer focuses on “awkward”, “silenced” topics of post-Soviet society: guilt awareness, domestic violence, helplessness of “small people”. Egle's collection of stories includes eight stories that reveal or "bring to light" the secrets or events from lives of individuals and families. The strategy used in the collection to reveal the “dark sides” of society (trauma, “awkward” and “wrong” issues) is contoured in the student’s research project in the neorealist literature paradigm, confirming that the student research project can demonstrate innovations in the interpretation of contemporary literature. In the research considered the following factors of successful elaboration of a topical and high-quality secondary school research project will be evaluated: education model, previous knowledge, teacher-student cooperation, cooperation between the student and the author of the researched text.

Keywords:

Neorealism, marginalization, stigma, research project, secondary school.