Imagining the Balkans

If the Balkans hadn't existed, they would have been invented was the verdict of Count Hermann Keyserling in his famous publication.
Table of contents

From Discovery to Invention, from Invention to Classification 6. Between Classification and Politics: The Balkans and the Myth of Central Europe 7.

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You'd probably enjoy this if you are familiar with Edward Said's "Orientalism". While this is certainly primarily an academic book, it is engaging and accessible enough to make i a fascinating read for anyone interested in the Balkans, regardless of background. One person found this helpful 2 people found this helpful. It is clear from the outset that the author, an academic, wrote this book for consumption by other academics. It certainly provides a comprehensive, well-researched look at the history of perceptions, misconceptions, and stereotypes that have been applied to the region now commonly referred to as the Balkans.

There is no doubt that it is important to understand how and why different aspects of Balkan identities evolved over time, and Todorova should be commended for contributing to the base of knowledge on the subject. Unfortunately, the amount of source material that she uses becomes so much fluff and padding as the reader wades through the chapters.

She probably could have said what she needed to say in about half the space; the rest just comes off as academic posturing.

Book Review: Imagining the Balkans, by Maria Todorova - THE VIENNA REVIEW - leondumoulin.nl

I would even go so far as to characterize some of it as haughty intellectualism. Had this book not been on the required-reading list for a graduate school course, I would not have purchased it knowing what I know now. Regrettably, I cannot suggest an alternative volume for someone interested in learning more about this topic. To cut to the chase of the argument, I suggest focusing on chapter 7 and the conclusion.

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A truly awful read, but thankfully short. It is work obviously written for her peers and the academic elite. The supplement needed for this work is a great dictionary. One person found this helpful. 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.


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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.

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.

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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 s. 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. See all 9 reviews. Most recent customer reviews. Published on August 12, Imagining the Balkans and the respective translations were widely reviewed. Almost 70 reviews probably more do exist by scholars and journalists discussed the different arguments of the book in length and detail.

Book Review: Imagining the Balkans, by Maria Todorova

It very soon gained the status of a classic and it can certainly be regarded as one of the most influential books about Southeast European history of the past decades. Gale Stokes, one of the first reviewers of Imagining the Balkans, wrote about the book and its author: It was aimed at deconstructing an emerging tendency toward new polarizations in the aftermath of the end of the Cold War and the breakdown of state-socialist regimes in Europe.

On the contrary, as stressed on the back-cover of her book: In the Balkanist discourse, as Todorova highlights, most of these aspects are missing. Todorova argues that, in order to understand such a development, it is important to have a deeper understanding of the partly long-lasting historical processes that led to such a perception.

Imagining the Balkans

The objective of Imagining the Balkans is to re-construct these processes within intellectual and political discourses. The author demonstrates how this process of expansion took place by reconstructing and commenting on the writings of educated travelers, from the 15th and 16th up to the late 19th century. In impressive style, Todorova is able to give empirically precise, clearly readable and illustrative examples of different understandings and changing perceptions of the region and the way the authors were depicting, explaining and reasoning, from sources in the Venetian, German, French, Russian or English languages.

Todorova brings this to the point in the following way:


  • Imagining the Balkans - Wikipedia.
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  • Imagining the Balkans - Мария Николаева Тодорова, Marii͡a Nikolaeva Todorova - Google Книги.