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HNOLOG
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7 wee INSTITUTE
u 2 95 = OF ARCHAEOLOGY
e Visegrad Fund Eu AND ETHNOLOGY
Eat Polish Academy of Sciences
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The very purpose of our investigation was to ask: Is there/was there anything like
“central and eastern European eyes”? What are/were they like? How were they formed
in history? The studies gathered in this book do not provide any single answers to
these questions. They argue for a rather kaleidoscopic character—a multiplicity and
heterogeneity—of those “eyes,” as well as of their products, the images and other
representations of the Other. How did the various, and often competing, representa¬
tives of “eastern Europe” form their own look upon the surrounding world? It is well
known, and the articles included in this volume testify, that a large portion of intel¬
lectuals and other inhabitants of those regions have assimilated numerous Western
ideas. However, a distinctly eastern European “gaze” seems, or more exactly, “gazes”
seem also to exist, and the present volume provides relevant materials, including
both visual and textual examples of them. One of the reasons behind the present
series of publications is a need to supplement the insufficient amount of knowledge
on the subject of “eastern Europe” and its own specific views of itself and the sur¬
rounding world. The idea of “eastern Europe” is not understood here merely as a
construct. Rather, it is treated as a geographical-political notion that draws together
the countries existing outside the center of western Europe—countries that share, to
a certain extent, similar experiences of remaining on the periphery of Europe.
It is our belief that by way of presenting such diverse material we may be able to show
certain tendencies and turning points in the manner of perceiving the Other in our
region. Despite the many borrowings of western European ideas and artifacts, or
even cultural clichés coming from there, the specificities of the central and eastern
European countries seem to allow one to speak about “eastern European eyes” (in
the plural!). The nations, motifs, and themes presented in this volume represent the
elements of both a general view of “eastern Europe” and its local manifestations and
perspectives.
978-963-236-706-4
SBN
789632"367064