DEPICTING THE BALKANS IN TRAVEL WRITING: PAST AND PRESENT PERSPECTIVES
Research Article
DEPICTING THE BALKANS IN TRAVEL WRITING: PAST AND PRESENT PERSPECTIVES
ABSTRACT
This paper analyzes the representation of the Balkans in travel writing through two perspectives. The
first one looks at the colonial discourse and gaze of the earlier 19th century travelogues. The second
looks into contemporary travelogues to see if they moved away from the colonial/orientalist logic of the
superior, Western, enlightened traveler who observes the passive, inferior cultures and places. To do this,
the paper analyzes several earlier, mainly 19th and early 20th century travelogues about the Balkans
predominantly written by women. It then compares them with contemporary travel works, the main
focus being placed on the writings of Chris Deliso. His travelogues of Macedonia (since February 2019
referred to as the Republic of North Macedonia after a long name dispute with Greece), abandon the
pretentious, colonial and orientalist approach of earlier travel literature and instead show enthusiasm to
engage with local narratives and histories. In that sense, the paper argues that the contemporary travel
accounts part with the colonial logic of a superior traveler who observes the wild, undeveloped places
and people, very characteristic of the earlier travel literature. Yet, at certain times they also fall in the
same trap of siding with one culture or ethnic group while stereotyping others. Secondly, this paper
questions the concept of ‘women’s travel writing’ as naive and politically disengaged, and shows that
both men’s and women’s travelogues are prone to bias and partiality depending on the geopolitical
agenda that the traveler favors or represents. As such, they have and still continue to play an important
role in creating and perpetuating particular images about the places they write about, in this case, the
Balkans.
MUHIć, M.,
(2022). DEPICTING THE BALKANS IN TRAVEL WRITING: PAST AND PRESENT PERSPECTIVES. International Journal of Education and Philology, 3(2), 47-55. Arrival Date Posted By:https://ijep.ibupress.com/articles/depicting-the-balkans-in-travel-writing-past-and-present-perspectives
