Imagining the Balkans (Paperback)

by Maria N. Todorova (Author) "As befits the obsession of present Western academic culture with language, the Balkan specter that haunts it is not a character but a name, a..." (more)
Key Phrases: balkanist discourse, nesting orientalisms, demographic sphere, Central European, World War, Bay Ganyo (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[This book] contains many brilliant insights and always displays the author's enormous erudition."--Choice


Product Description
"If the Balkans hadn't existed, they would have been invented" was the verdict of Count Hermann Keyserling in his famous 1928 publication, Europe. This book traces the relationship between the reality and the invention. Based on a rich selection of travelogues, diplomatic accounts, academic surveys, journalism, and belles-lettres in many languages, Imagining the Balkans explores the ontology of the Balkans from the eighteenth century to the present day, uncovering the ways in which an insidious intellectual tradition was constructed, became mythologized, and is still being transmitted as discourse.

The author, who was raised in the Balkans, is in a unique position to bring both scholarship and sympathy to her subject. A region geographically inextricable from Europe, yet culturally constructed as "the other," the Balkans have often served as a repository of negative characteristics upon which a positive and self-congratulatory image of the "European" has been built. With this work, Todorova offers a timely, accessible study of how an innocent geographic appellation was transformed into one of the most powerful and widespread pejorative designations in modern history.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (May 22, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195087518
• ISBN-13: 978-0195087512
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #579,673 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unlearning the Balkans, January 12, 2001

By	Robert A. Saunders (Jersey Shore, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a longtime student of Dr Todorova's (I was under her tutelage for about four years and still correspond with her today), I found this book to be an excellent synopsis of her personal and professional opinions and anecdotes concerning the Balkans. It was like taking my class notes and one-on-one discussions, sifting out the dates, places and events and putting a binding on them. All of her cultural theory regarding this singular region of the world is evident in the pages of Imagining the Balkans. I would suggest a thorough knowledge of Edward Said's Orientalism and at least a cursory reading of Foucault's works before jumping into this work. Maria shows little mercy for the uninitiated and this tendency become all too evident in her most recent work. For students of Balkan history, ethnocentrism, culture clashes and human nature, this work is both compelling and fascinating. This book should not be your introduction to the politics of the Balkans because it teaches us more about how those of us in the West (especially historians, political scientists and travelers) view ourselves using the mirror of the "Other."

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Much-needed examination of Balkanism, May 10, 2001

By	Edward Bosnar (Zagreb, Croatia) - See all my reviews

"Imagining the Balkans" is an examination and critical analysis of perceptions of the Balkans, both by outsiders and Balkan residents. In this, Todorova emphasizes the concept of Balkanism, similar to Edward Said's Orientalism, but with some crucial differences - the main ones being that the Balkans are a more concrete concept than the rather vague "Orient," and the lack of a clear `us vs. them' dichotomy between the Balkans and the `West' (Balkan peoples are white, and largely Christian). The first chapter provides an extremely useful and informative exploration of the origins of the very word Balkan and the geographic area it was/is meant to designate over the years. The following chapters provide a historical survey and critical analysis of how the Balkans were defined and perceived, mainly by outsiders, but also by the peoples of the Balkans. There is also a much-needed critique of the concept of Central Europe which first emerged during the early 1980s. Perhaps the only shortcoming involves Todorova's frequent emphasis on her native Bulgaria and her apparent lack of expertise in relation to Yugoslavia; thus, discussion of the entire Balkans vs. Europe debate in places like Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Slovenia is completely ignored. Even more surprising is the complete lack of critical treatment of Rebecca West's "Black Lamb and Grey Falcon," perhaps one of the central texts of 20th century `Balkanism.' Nevertheless, "Imagining the Balkans" is a valuable, thought-provoking and fascinating book - one of the most important, although implicit points Todorova seems to make is that it is generally pointless, illogical and often ludicrous to imbue geographic/regional locations with a number of value-ridden stereotypes and cultural, `civilizational' designations, even as people constantly need to create such categories.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short, rather advanced, thought-provoking, December 28, 2002

By	Gale A. Kirking (Brno, Czech Republic) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This short study examines perceptions of the Balkans-both within the region and by outsiders-and how the region's image has changed over time. She analyzes the effects that those perceptions have had in shaping the underlying reality. This is rather an advanced work and will sometimes prove difficult reading for the nonspecialist. The author points to a certain hypocrisy in how Western Europe-just five decades after its own ethnic cleansing-views ethnic homogenization processes in the Balkans. At the same time, Todorova would not allow Balkan political leaders and intellectuals to shift blame and responsibility for their own actions to history, to foreign intervention or to five centuries of Ottoman occupation.