Imaginary Europes

The 20th century has witnessed crucial changes in our perceptions of Europe. Two world_x005F_x000D_ wars and many regional conflicts, the end of empires and of the Eastern Bloc, the creation_x005F_x000D_ and expansion of the European Union, and the continuous reshaping of Europe’s population_x005F_x000D_ through emigration, immigration, and globalization have led to a proliferation of_x005F_x000D_ images of Europe within the continent and beyond._x005F_x000D_ While Eurocentrism governs current public debates in Europe, this book takes a special_x005F_x000D_ interest in literary and cinematographic imaginings of Europe that are produced from more_x005F_x000D_ distant, decentred, or peripheral vantage points and across differences of political power,_x005F_x000D_ ideological or ethnic affinity, cultural currency, linguistic practice, and geographical location._x005F_x000D_ The contributions to this book demonstrate how these particular imaginings of Europe,_x005F_x000D_ often without first-hand experience of the continent, do not simply hold up a mirror to_x005F_x000D_ Europe, but dare to conceive of new perspectives and constellations for Europe that call for_x005F_x000D_ a shifting of critical positions. In so doing, the artistic visions from afar confirm the significance_x005F_x000D_ of cultural imagination in (re)conceptualizing the past, present, and future of Europe._x005F_x000D_ This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Postcolonial_x005F_x000D_ Writing