The image of the Balkans in travel books of Slovaks in Vojvodina in 1920s

The intensive folk life of Slovaks in Vojvodina after 1918, when they became a part of a new country – the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and later on Yugoslavia – was also reflected in the development of publishing, which opened a special place to a twofold genre- travel books. The author o...

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Main Author: Zuzana Čížiková
Format: Article
Language:ces
Published: Slovak Academy of Sciences, Institute of Slovak Literature 2018-12-01
Series:Slovenska Literatura
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.sav.sk/journals/uploads/11020929SL_5-18-03.pdf
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author Zuzana Čížiková
author_facet Zuzana Čížiková
author_sort Zuzana Čížiková
collection DOAJ
description The intensive folk life of Slovaks in Vojvodina after 1918, when they became a part of a new country – the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and later on Yugoslavia – was also reflected in the development of publishing, which opened a special place to a twofold genre- travel books. The author of such literature of different qualities about the Balkans was mainly the intellectual with a cosmopolitan orientation, Andrej Labáth (1886 – 1934) in magazine Národná jednota (National Unity) and in almanac Národný kalendár (National Calendar). In his works, he placed focus on geographic, historical and economic characteristics of unique locations in the Balkans, that is, within the borders of the former Kingdom, and captured stereotypical images of that time through their cultural and geographic aspects. His texts about travels do have primarily features of publications, but from the perspective of selected imagological method, they are model-texts about the form (not only) of stereotypes of the time. Positive and negative stereotypes in his travel books are the products of specific historical and social circumstances. He visited regions such as Slovenia, Dalmatia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and he illustrated the idea of Slavic peoples adapting to e.g. Adriatic Sea area. He also used the ideological function of travel books in the spirit of national geography and national emblematic which derived from identifying with history of brotherly, Serbian people, as it is shown in the travels around Kosovo and Macedonia. At the same time, analyzed images show both the other and different, as well as self-presentation and self-identification. As such they present a considerable stereotypical cultural antagonism of the West and East (presenting the contrast between: Kosovo, Macedonia-Slovenia, Kosovo – Vojvodina/Backa). The images (geographical, historical, ethnic, confessional, economic) of such a heterogeneous country of South Slavs located in the Balkan Peninsula in line with a concrete presentation of their new homeland, are among Slovaks in Vojvodina becoming tools of strengthening their national consciousness, but in contact with the other and foreign they also strengthen their self-images as a hard-working ethnicity.
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spelling doaj.art-f40829b4932e4058a15482e51c388ed02023-07-31T10:22:53ZcesSlovak Academy of Sciences, Institute of Slovak LiteratureSlovenska Literatura0037-69732018-12-0165352378The image of the Balkans in travel books of Slovaks in Vojvodina in 1920sZuzana Čížiková0Filološki fakultet, Univerzitet u BeograduThe intensive folk life of Slovaks in Vojvodina after 1918, when they became a part of a new country – the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and later on Yugoslavia – was also reflected in the development of publishing, which opened a special place to a twofold genre- travel books. The author of such literature of different qualities about the Balkans was mainly the intellectual with a cosmopolitan orientation, Andrej Labáth (1886 – 1934) in magazine Národná jednota (National Unity) and in almanac Národný kalendár (National Calendar). In his works, he placed focus on geographic, historical and economic characteristics of unique locations in the Balkans, that is, within the borders of the former Kingdom, and captured stereotypical images of that time through their cultural and geographic aspects. His texts about travels do have primarily features of publications, but from the perspective of selected imagological method, they are model-texts about the form (not only) of stereotypes of the time. Positive and negative stereotypes in his travel books are the products of specific historical and social circumstances. He visited regions such as Slovenia, Dalmatia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and he illustrated the idea of Slavic peoples adapting to e.g. Adriatic Sea area. He also used the ideological function of travel books in the spirit of national geography and national emblematic which derived from identifying with history of brotherly, Serbian people, as it is shown in the travels around Kosovo and Macedonia. At the same time, analyzed images show both the other and different, as well as self-presentation and self-identification. As such they present a considerable stereotypical cultural antagonism of the West and East (presenting the contrast between: Kosovo, Macedonia-Slovenia, Kosovo – Vojvodina/Backa). The images (geographical, historical, ethnic, confessional, economic) of such a heterogeneous country of South Slavs located in the Balkan Peninsula in line with a concrete presentation of their new homeland, are among Slovaks in Vojvodina becoming tools of strengthening their national consciousness, but in contact with the other and foreign they also strengthen their self-images as a hard-working ethnicity. https://www.sav.sk/journals/uploads/11020929SL_5-18-03.pdfliterature of slovaks in vojvodina20th centuryandrej labáth (1886 – 1934)travel booksthe balkanssouth slavsadriatic seacultural stereotype
spellingShingle Zuzana Čížiková
The image of the Balkans in travel books of Slovaks in Vojvodina in 1920s
Slovenska Literatura
literature of slovaks in vojvodina
20th century
andrej labáth (1886 – 1934)
travel books
the balkans
south slavs
adriatic sea
cultural stereotype
title The image of the Balkans in travel books of Slovaks in Vojvodina in 1920s
title_full The image of the Balkans in travel books of Slovaks in Vojvodina in 1920s
title_fullStr The image of the Balkans in travel books of Slovaks in Vojvodina in 1920s
title_full_unstemmed The image of the Balkans in travel books of Slovaks in Vojvodina in 1920s
title_short The image of the Balkans in travel books of Slovaks in Vojvodina in 1920s
title_sort image of the balkans in travel books of slovaks in vojvodina in 1920s
topic literature of slovaks in vojvodina
20th century
andrej labáth (1886 – 1934)
travel books
the balkans
south slavs
adriatic sea
cultural stereotype
url https://www.sav.sk/journals/uploads/11020929SL_5-18-03.pdf
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