Archive MARIN Irina
The Annals of Ovidius University Constanţa no.19 / 2008
MARIN IRINA - The Swing of The Pendulum: Balkanism Between Semantic Proscription and Vindication
(pag. 61-65)
The paper analyses the shift in the perspective on the terms Balkan and its derivatives Balkanization and Balkanism from a negative connotative semantics towards a positive one. It traces the origins of the terms as a process of oustering and disects the source of the present volte-face. It relates the boost of interest in Blakan identity to the postcolonial ideology bringing forward a change in the geographical and socio-cultural shaping of the world while also unmasking the lack of substance underlying this increased preoccupation with the Balkans.