When the World Turned Upside-Down: Cultural Representations of Post-1989 Eastern Europe

Product Description This collection of essays explores post-1989 Western perceptions of Eastern Europe and how these manifest themselves in cultural representations. It starts out from findings in the academic field of 'post-socialism', claiming that 'Easterners' and 'Westerners' are still very much under the influence of the socialisation they underwent during the Cold War and its aftermath. As a consequence, the revolutions of 1989 and 1990 and the subsequent opportunities for exchange did not necessarily bring about a reconciliation of the different worldviews. It seems the East-West divide has not simply vanished with the collapse of socialism. The essays included in this book examine how far the divide is mirrored in the cultural arena. They focus on portrayals of post-1989 Eastern European political and social transformations in Western poetry, fiction, travel writing, autobiography, theatre and documentaries and investigate the West's fascination with the 'Wild East' and how outsiders view or have experienced Eastern life after the iron curtain was lifted. About the Author Kathleen Starck is Junior Professor for Cultural Studies at Osnabrueck University. Previously, she held a post-doctoral position in British literature at Bremen University and has taught British and American literature and cultural studies at Leipzig University. Her research interests include films of the Cold War, contemporary drama, popular culture, postcolonial and transcultural studies, as well as gender and masculinity studies. She is the author of 'I Believe in the Power of Theatre.' British Women's Drama of the 1980s and 1990s. Trier: WVT, 2005, has co-edited the collection of essays Transkulturelle Begegnungen [Transcultural Encounters]. Trier: WVT, 2007, and is working on a book on political masculinities in films of the Cold War. In December 2008 she hosted the international conference 'Cultural Representations of the Cold War' at Osnabrueck University.