Wendy Bracewell & Leyla von Mende: Under Eastern Eyes, Master Class

Accounts of travels from Western and Central Europe to Eastern Europe haven been an object of academic research for a rather long time. These travel accounts have played a significant role in the formation of “mental maps” as scholars have demonstrated with regard to notions of “Eastern Europe” (Wolff) and collective imaginations of the “Balkans” (Todorova) as well as cultural constructions of “Europe” more generally. Recent scholarship has drawn attention to dynamic identity formations in the context of these encounters and, more specifically, the role of perceptions of Europe from alternate viewpoints. While the perception of Germany in Russia has been studied (e.g. Kopelew), the perspectives from south eastern directions have received less scholarly attention so far. In our master class we will discuss perceptions of Western and Central  Europe, as well as ideas of South Europe, in the eyes of travellers from Eastern Europe, the Ottoman Empire and Turkey. Organisation: Prof. Dr. Stefan Rohdewald

// Prof. Dr. Wendy Bracewell (UC London) & Leyla von Mende (University of Jena)