20.11.2020

New EGO article: "Der 'Balkan' in deutschsprachigen Reiseberichten (ca. 1800–1880)" by Christoph Lorke

On European History Online (EGO) a new article has been published under the editorship of the IEG: "Der 'Balkan' in deutschsprachigen Reiseberichten (ca. 1800–1880) [The 'Balkans' in German-language travelogues (ca. 1800–1880)]" by Christoph Lorke. The article is currently only available in german.

The Balkans were and still are a multi-ethnic border region, an intensive area of contact, encounter and conflict. At the very latest with European integration, its historical legacies are once again coming more into focus, since the geographical peripheries are becoming more important for the center. The article examines the effects and interpretations of spatial perceptions in this culturally and politically highly diverse region. It asks about the crossing of borders, forms of encounter, transculturation, and intercultural communication and transfer processes and their processing in contemporary travel reports of the 19th century - because many travelers understood the region as a liminal space, which they expressed in a mixture of affection and aversion.


Christoph Lorke has been a member of the academic staff at the History Department of the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster since 2009.