The Balkans in Contemporary Anglo-American Travel Writing

Abstract

This paper addresses travel writing as a genre pregnant with signifying practices of the culture that has produced it and, thus, significantly reflective of the relation between the two sides of the encounter, which is of a pronounced concern now, when the difference between the ideology of European history/ies and the exclusive Balkan heritage has to be reconciled. The travel writing about the Balkans produced since the 1990s – during the turbulent decades that witnessed war, political, and financial crises, but also the region’s efforts to stabilize, harmonize, and achieve an access to the European union – likewise reflect a variety of frequently contradictory responses by the travellers. Therefore, we believe that it is a high time to revisit it. This paper will deal with some renowned travellers, Paul Theroux, Robert D. Kaplan, Bill Bryson, Dervla Murphy, but also with texts less familiar to the academic audience.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n13p139