When the World Turned Upside-Down

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 in 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.