Over the Wall/After the Fall: Post-Communist Cultures through an East-West Gaze

by Sibelan Forrester (Editor), Magdalena J. Zaborowska (Editor), Elena Gapova (Editor)

Overview

"... a hot subject in today's scholarship... and a groundbreaking
project of vital significance to the field of cultural studies at both 'western' and
'eastern' geographical locations." -- Elwira Grossman

Over
the Wall/After the Fall maps a new discourse on the evolution of cultural life in
Eastern Europe following the end of communism. Departing from traditional binary
views of East/West, the contributors to this volume consider the countries and the
peoples of the region on their own terms. Drawing on insights from cultural studies,
gender theory, and postcolonial studies, this lively collection addresses gender
issues and sexual politics, consumerism, high and popular culture, architecture,
media, art, and theater. Among the themes of the essays are the Western pop success
of Bulgarian folk choirs, the Czechs' reception of Frank Gehry's unconventional
building in the center of Prague, bohemians in Lviv, and cryptographic art
installations from Bratislava.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780253110350
Publisher:	Indiana University Press
Publication date:	10/29/2004
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Sibelan Forrester is Associate Professor of Russian at Swarthmore
College.

Elena Gapova is Associate Professor and Director of the
Centre for Gender Studies at European Humanities University in
Minsk.

Magdalena J. Zaborowska is Associate Professor in the
Program in American Culture and the Center for Afroamerican and African Studies at
the University of Michigan.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction: Mapping Postsocialist Cultural Studies
Magdalena Zaborowska, Sibelan Forrester, and Elena Gapova

Part I.
(Re-)Visitations
1. How I Found Eastern Europe: Televisual Geography,
Travel Sites, and Museum Installations Andaluna Borcila
2. The Nation In
Between; or, Why Intellectuals Do Things with Words Elena Gapova
3.
Prenzlauer Berg Connections: The Trajectory of East German Samizdat Culture from
Socialism to Capitalism Lisa Whitmore
4. Reading Transparent "Constructions
of History"; or, Three Passages through (In)Visible Warsaw Magdalena
Zaborowska
5. Can Prague Learn from L.A.? Frank Gehry's Netherlands
National Building in Prague David Houston
6. Heteroglossia and Linguistic
Neocolonialism: English Teaching in Post-1989 Poland Bill Johnston
7.
Projections of Desire: Robert D. Kaplan's Balkan Ghosts and the Crisis of
Self-Definition Anca Rosu

Part II. (Re-)Adaptations
8.
Shifting a Cultural Paradigm: Between the Mystique and the Marketing of Polish
Theatre Halina Filipowicz
9. "Hurrah, I'm Still Alive!" East German
Products Demonstrating East German Identities Rainer Gries
10.
Cryptographic Art of Bratislava: Configurations of Absence in Postcommunist
Installation Art Paul Krainak
11. "Move Over Madonna": Gender,
Representation, and the "Mystery" of Bulgarian Voices Carol Silverman
12.
Four Bearings of West for the Lviv Bohema Mark Andryczyk
13. "Don't Get
Pricked!" Representation and the Politics of Sexuality in the Czech Republic Vera
Sokolová
Afterword: From Big Brother to Big Burger (And What's the Grand
Narrative Got to Do with It?) "Benni Goodman"

Selected
Bibliography
Contributors
Index

Editorial Reviews

..". a hot subject in today's scholarship... and a groundbreaking project of vital significance to the field of cultural studies at both 'western' and 'eastern' geographical locations."

From the Publisher