Over the Wall/After the Fall

by Forrester, Sibelan; Zaborowska, Magdalena J.; Gapova, Elena

• ISBN13: 9780253216960
• ISBN10: 0253216966
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-10-01
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr

Summary

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 theatre. 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 centre of Prague, bohemians in Lviv, and cryptographic art installations from Bratislava.

Author Biography

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	ix
Introduction: Mapping Postsocialist Cultural Studies
MAGDALENA J. ZABOROWSKA, SIBELAN FORRESTER, AND ELENA GAPOVA	1	(41)
PART I. (RE-)VISITATIONS
1. How I Found Eastern Europe: Televisual Geography, Travel Sites, and Museum Installations
ANDALUNA BORCILA	42	(23)
2. The Nation In Between; or, Why Intellectuals Do Things with Words
ELENA GAPOVA	65	(23)
3. Prenzlauer Berg Connections: The Trajectory of East German Samizdat Culture from Socialism to Capitalism
LISA WHITMORE	88	(9)
4. Reading Transparent "Constructions of History"; or, Three Passages through (In)Visible Warsaw
MAGDALENA J. ZABOROWSKA	97	(23)
5. Can Prague Learn from L.A.? Frank Gehry's Netherlands National Building in Prague
DAVID HOUSTON	120	(6)
6. Heteroglossia and Linguistic Neocolonialism: English Teaching in Post-1989 Poland
BILL JOHNSTON	126	(20)
7. Projections of Desire: Robert D. Kaplan's Balkan Ghosts and the Crisis of Self-Definition
ANCA ROSU	146	(18)
PART II. (RE-)ADAPTATIONS
8. Shifting a Cultural Paradigm: Between the Mystique and the Marketing of Polish Theatre
HALINA FILIPOWICZ	164	(17)
9. "Hurrah, I'm Still Alive!" East German Products Demonstrating East German Identities
RAINER GRIES	181	(19)
10. Cryptographic Art of Bratislava: Configurations of Absence in Post-Communist Installation Art
PAUL KRAINAK	200	(12)
11. "Move Over Madonna": Gender, Representation, and the "Mystery" of Bulgarian Voices
CAROL SILVERMAN	212	(26)
12. Four Bearings of West for the Lviv Bohema
MARK ANDRYCZYK	238	(13)
13. "Don't Get Pricked!" Representation and the Politics of Sexuality in the Czech Republic
VERA SOKOLOVÁ	251
Afterword: From Big Brother to Big Burger (And What's the Grand Narrative Got to Do with It?)
"BENNI GOODMAN"	269	(20)
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY	289	(22)
CONTRIBUTORS	311	(2)
INDEX	313