Romanian Orientalism: Inter-imperial Entanglements in World Literature

Objetivo

Orientalism—a sense of Western superiority over the East—was produced by European cultural and academic institutions complicit with European colonialism. A range of heterogeneous forms of Orientalism subsequently developed around the world, both in conjunction and in tension with colonial Orientalism. World literature was often a producer and purveyor of Orientalist ideas and styles. This project proposes to research the literary history of Romanian Orientalism (1821–1945) as a case study in South-Eastern European literature’s complex relation to Orientalism. Romanian Orientalism developed in an inter-imperial region, at the intersection of multiple empires (Ottoman, Habsburg, Tsarist), themselves vying for power in competition with Western European empires. Romanian Orientalism projected its ideas onto multiple Orients—the post-Ottoman Middle East and the Balkans, Russia and the broader Eurasia, India, alongside a range of heterogeneous “inner Orients” within Romania.

Integrating approaches in literary studies, intermediality studies and world-systems analysis, RORIENT is structured into three sections, corresponding to three inter-related forms of Romanian Orientalism: (1) Primary Orientalism, (2) Derivative Orientalism, and (3) Reactive Orientalism. Our objectives are to document this multilayered form of Romanian Orientalism, weigh its literary affordances in Romanian literature, and integrate our findings into debates about world literature, which have historically marginalized them. RORIENT will deliver three sets of outcomes, over a five-year period: (a) A book written by members of the research team, offering the first comprehensive analysis of Romanian Orientalism; (b) A series of other publications and presentations: academic articles, conference presentations, public-facing articles; (c) A syllabus for an undergraduate course and a workshop for high school teachers, which will make the research accessible across the Romanian educational landscape.

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