Do the Balkans Begin in Vienna? The Geopolitical and Imaginary Borders between the Balkans and Europe: The Geopolitical and imaginary borders between the balkans and Europe: 47 (Austrian Culture)

346 Pages·2014·8.984 MB·English

by  Ana Foteva

Foteva_cpi_cb:KraftHelga.qxd 4/5/2014 5:58 AM Page 1
A
N
A
Do the Balkans
F
O
T
E
Do the Balkans Begin in Vienna?takes up one of the most fraught areas of Europe, the Balkans. V
A
Begin in Vienna?
Variously part of the Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Byzantine empires, this region has always
been considered Europe’s border between the Orient and the Occident. Aiming to clarify the
politics of drawing cultural borders in this region, the book examines the relations between
the Habsburg Monarchy and the Balkans as an intermediate space between West and East.
It demonstrates that the dichotomy Orient versus Occident is insufficient to explain the com- D THE GEOPOLITICAL AND
plexity of the region. Therefore, cultural multi-belonging, historical disruption, and recurrence o

of identities and conflicts are proposed to be “the essence” of the Balkans. t IMAGINARY BORDERS BETWEEN
h
Do the Balkans Begin in Vienna? depicts the fictional imagination of the Balkans as a
e
“utopian dystopia.” This oxymoron encompasses the utopian projections of the Austrian/
B
THE BALKANS AND EUROPE
Habsburg writers onto the Balkans as a place of intact nature and archaic communities; the
a
dystopian presentations of the Balkans by local authors as an abnormal no-place (ou-topia) l
k
onto which the historical tensions of empires have been projected; and, finally, the depictions
a
of the Balkans in the Western media as an eternal or recurring dystopia. n
s
There is at present no other study that distinguishes these particular geographical ref-

B
erence points. Thus, this book contributes to the research on Europe’s historical memory and
e
to scholarship on postcolonial and/or post-imperial identities in European states. The volume
g
is recommended for courses on Austrian, German, Balkan, and European studies, as well as i
n
comparative literature, theater, media, Slavic literatures, history, and political science.

i
n

V
i
e
Ana Fotevareceived her Ph.D. in German literature at Purdue University. Currently she holds n
the position of Visiting Assistant Professor in German Studies at St. Lawrence University. She n
a
is the recipient of several grants and awards. Foteva has published in both European and
?
American journals on a variety of topics, including Austrian literature of the fin de siècle,
Ana Foteva
literatures of Southeastern Europe, German Classicism and theater, and contrastive analysis.
47
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A U S T R I A N C U LT U R E
G A U S T R I A N C U LT U R E
www.peterlang.com
Foteva_cpi_cb:KraftHelga.qxd 4/5/2014 5:58 AM Page 1
A
N
A
Do the Balkans
F
O
T
E
Do the Balkans Begin in Vienna?takes up one of the most fraught areas of Europe, the Balkans. V
A
Begin in Vienna?
Variously part of the Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Byzantine empires, this region has always
been considered Europe’s border between the Orient and the Occident. Aiming to clarify the
politics of drawing cultural borders in this region, the book examines the relations between
the Habsburg Monarchy and the Balkans as an intermediate space between West and East.
It demonstrates that the dichotomy Orient versus Occident is insufficient to explain the com- D THE GEOPOLITICAL AND
plexity of the region. Therefore, cultural multi-belonging, historical disruption, and recurrence o

of identities and conflicts are proposed to be “the essence” of the Balkans. t IMAGINARY BORDERS BETWEEN
h
Do the Balkans Begin in Vienna? depicts the fictional imagination of the Balkans as a
e
“utopian dystopia.” This oxymoron encompasses the utopian projections of the Austrian/
B
THE BALKANS AND EUROPE
Habsburg writers onto the Balkans as a place of intact nature and archaic communities; the
a
dystopian presentations of the Balkans by local authors as an abnormal no-place (ou-topia) l
k
onto which the historical tensions of empires have been projected; and, finally, the depictions
a
of the Balkans in the Western media as an eternal or recurring dystopia. n
s
There is at present no other study that distinguishes these particular geographical ref-

B
erence points. Thus, this book contributes to the research on Europe’s historical memory and
e
to scholarship on postcolonial and/or post-imperial identities in European states. The volume
g
is recommended for courses on Austrian, German, Balkan, and European studies, as well as i
n
comparative literature, theater, media, Slavic literatures, history, and political science.

i
n

V
i
e
Ana Fotevareceived her Ph.D. in German literature at Purdue University. Currently she holds n
the position of Visiting Assistant Professor in German Studies at St. Lawrence University. She n
a
is the recipient of several grants and awards. Foteva has published in both European and
?
American journals on a variety of topics, including Austrian literature of the fin de siècle,
Ana Foteva
literatures of Southeastern Europe, German Classicism and theater, and contrastive analysis.
47
P
E
T
E
R
L
A
N
A U S T R I A N C U LT U R E
G A U S T R I A N C U LT U R E
www.peterlang.com
Do the Balkans Begin in Vienna?
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR

“Ana Foteva’s Do the Balkans Begin in Vienna? is an exemplary representation
of the work necessary t o understand in contemporary terms a region where
nationalist-imperialist paradigms for cultural study simply do not hold. The text
takes up several cultures and breathes life into their intersections, as they meet
in the present, reawaken ing the joint legacies of three ancient empires
(Habsburg, Ottoman, and Byzantine) out from behind the blackout curtain of the
Soviet Union. She presents authors writing in German, Serbian, and Bosnian,
each trying to understand what stories comprise the region’s inheritance beyond
nationalism. Foteva’s deft juxtaposition of history, travelogue, and literature
opens new visions of how cultures interact when they both share and are divided
multiple. This volume is a must for a nyone working in Aust rian and Slavic
literatures.”
Katherine Arens, University of Texas at Austin

“Given the competing and overlapping legacies and identities that complicate
the Balkans’ cultural landscape, it is very helpful to finally read a book t hat
links the literature and history of the Habsburg and Ottoman realms. No less
refreshing is a book that credits Yugoslavia with nurturing and preserving the
region’s multicultural legacy at least until its own dissolution.”
Charles Ingrao, Purdue University

Do the Balkans Begin in Vienna?
AUSTRIAN CULTURE

Margarete Lamb-Faffelberger
General Editor

Vol. 47

This book is a volume in a Peter Lang monograph series.
Every title is peer reviewed and meets
the highest quality standards for content and production.

PETER LANG
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Ana Foteva

Do the Balkans Begin in Vienna?

THE GEOPOLITICAL AND IMAGINARY BORDERS

BETWEEN THE BALKANS AND EUROPE

PETER LANG
New York  Washington, D.C./Baltimore  Bern
Frankfurt  Berlin  Brussels  Vienna  Oxford
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Foteva, Ana.
Do the Balkans begin in Vienna? : the geopolitical and imaginary borders
between the Balkans and Europe / Ana Foteva.
pages cm. — (Austrian culture; volume 47)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Balkan Peninsula—Relations—Europe, Western. 2. Europe, Western—
Relations—Balkan Peninsula. 3. Balkan Peninsula—Boundaries—Europe,
Western. 4. Europe, Western—Boundaries—Balkan Peninsula.
5. Borderlands—Balkan Peninsula—History. 6. Borderlands—Europe,
Western—History. 7. Geopolitics—Balkan Peninsula. 8. Geopolitics—Europe,
Western. 9. Balkan Peninsula—Politics and government.
10. Europe, Western—Politics and government. I. Title.
DR38.3.E85F68 327.49604—dc23 2013028593
ISBN 978-1-4331-1565-3 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4539-0970-6 (e-book)
ISSN 1054-058X

Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data is available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.

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