“Reversed Nesting Orientalisms” : The Concept of Orientalism in a European Context
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Slovanský přehled |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | Link to the issue |
| Keywords | Balkanism; modern Greek culture; national images and literature; Orientalism; South-eastern Europe; symbolic geography |
| Description | My paper aims to examine ways in which the term “Balkans” was negotiated in modern Greek culture during the 19th and 20th centuries, based primarily on modern Greek literary texts of various kinds; however, to approach the issue more globally, other types of textual evidence from the relevant period are discussed, such as diplomatic, historical, and political texts. The goal of my research is to develop a theoretical pattern that explains the variety of Greek attitudes towards the Balkan nations. To describe this evolutionary scheme, based on the theoretical framework composed of seminal works including Edward Said’s Orientalism, Maria Todorova’s Balkanism, and Milica Bakic-Hayden’s Nesting Orientalisms, I discuss an ideological and discursive mechanism which I call “reversed nesting orientalisms”. Thus, I highlight the imaginary relationship as it was created, evolved, and consolidated in terms of narrative representations within modern Greek culture, with the broader goal of reaching a deeper understanding of the historical, political, cultural, and ideological factors that shaped modern Greek discourse about the Balkans. |
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