9789633864395 : staged-otherness-demski-czarnecka

Hardback

460 Pages

$105.00 USD

Format	Hardback
Published	January 10, 2022
ISBN-13	9789633864395
Language	English
Pages	460
Illustrations	97 b&w illus.
Height	9.02 Inches (US)
Width	6.10 Inches (US)
Unit weight	1.76 Pounds (US)
List Prices	$105.00 USD, £75.00 GBP
ONIX	v2.1 Reference

Staged Otherness

Name: Staged Otherness
Price: 105.00 USD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9789633864395

Ethnic Shows in Central and Eastern Europe, 1850–1939

Edited by Dagnosław Demski and Dominika Czarnecka

Central European University Press

The cultural phenomenon of exhibiting non-European people in front of the European audiences in the 19th and 20th century was concentrated in the metropolises in the western part of the continent. Nevertheless, traveling ethnic troupes and temporary exhibitions of non-European humans took place also in territories located to the east of the Oder river and Austria. The contributors to this edited volume present practices of ethnographic shows in Russia, Poland, Czechia, Slovenia, Hungary, Germany, Romania, and Austria and discuss the reactions of local audiences. The essays offer critical arguments to rethink narratives of cultural encounters in the context of ethnic shows. By demonstrating the many ways in which the western models and customs were reshaped, developed, and contested in Central and Eastern European contexts, the authors argue that the dominant way of characterizing these performances as "human zoos" is too narrow.

The contributors had to tackle the difficult task of finding traces other than faint copies of official press releases by the tour organizers. The original source material was drawn from local archives, museums, and newspapers of the discussed period. A unique feature of the volume is the rich amount of images that complement every single case study of ethnic shows.

About the Authors

Dagnosław Demski is an associate professor at the Centre for Ethnology and Contemporary Anthropology at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. Dominika Czarnecka is an assistant professor at the Centre for Ethnology and Contemporary Anthropology at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw.

Reviews

"This collection questions of power relations between Europe and non-Europeans, the relationship between empire and nation, culture and race, and elaborates on ideas of cultural authenticity and performance. I would suggest that this collection would be of interest to researchers of ethnic shows, museum studies, Eastern European nation building, and postcolonial studies."
Link to review:
https://www.ceeol.com/search/viewpdf—Carlo A. Cubero, Folklore: Electronic Journal of Folklore

"Není radno fantazie imperiálního věku podceňovat, zvlášť s vědomím toho, jakou roli sehrály rasová nenávist a představy o 'míšení plemen' v moderních dějinách střední a východní Evropy. Kniha Staged Otherness Dominiky Czarnecké a Dagnosława Demského ukazuje, že toto téma je možné uchopit kriticky a s přiměřenou vážností."—Filip Herza, Dějiny – Teorie – Kritika

"Beyond the book's ethnically-connoted subject, adjacent topics such as entertainment consumption of the new Central and Eastern European urban elites, or the deconstruction of the pejorative imaginary, or the pejorative Other, through which these new elites were perceived by Western Europe, come to develop it and give it consistency. The volume attracts attention through the variety of case studies brought up, as well as the accuracy of the facts and contexts described."
https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=1075529—Stelu Șerban, Martor

Endorsements

"The authors problematize the very concept of 'ethnic' shows, with many of the contributors arguing that the dominant way of characterizing these performances as 'human zoos' is too narrow. The book fills in a gap (nearly a tabula rasa) in the scholarly literature about traveling 'ethnic' shows across Central Europe. Each author speaks through her/his voice, but the voices are those of a well-schooled choir."—Robert W. Rydell

"Staged Otherness makes a valuable contribution to scholarship in the field of ethnic shows. It includes many case studies that have never been at the center of academic attention. Furthermore, the book makes archival material accessible to scholars worldwide and offers critical arguments to rethink narratives of cultural encounters in the context of ethnic shows."—Andrea Zittlau

Publisher	Central European University Press
BISAC Subject Headings	SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural & Social (564 Titles)
BIC Subject Headings	Social and cultural anthropology (486 Titles)

Format	Hardback
Published	January 10, 2022
ISBN-13	9789633864395
Language	English
Pages	460
Illustrations	97 b&w illus.
Height	9.02 Inches (US)
Width	6.10 Inches (US)
Unit weight	1.76 Pounds (US)
List Prices	$105.00 USD, £75.00 GBP
ONIX	v2.1 Reference