From the Peripheries to the Centre via Asia : The Notion of European Identity in Polish and Serbian Travel Writings About Asia (1850s-1920s)

The paper focuses on various dimensions of European identity in Polish and Serbian travel writings about Asia in the period from the 1850s to the 1920s, examining several case studies that show how travellers often identified themselves as Europeans, but sometimes discussed various aspects of European identity and had many issues with this self-description. The analysis is based on a large corpus of Polish and Serbian travelogues, but works by Gustaw Olechowski, Karol Lanckoronski, Pavel Petrovic, Jerzy Bandrowski, Milan Jovanovic, Eugeniusz Romer, Jadwiga Marcinowska and Jelena Dimitrijevic are scrutinised in detail. The following issues are discussed: assuming European identity, European identity and planetary consciousness, overcoming Orientalism, the periphery complex, reversed Orientalism and Occidentalism, patriotism, and identification with Asians.