Imaginary Europes

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