Antiquity, primitivism and national stereotypes in Greek travel writing (1850-1870)

Drakou, Georgia (2014). Antiquity, primitivism and national stereotypes in Greek travel writing (1850-1870). University of Birmingham. M.Phil.

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Abstract

This thesis sets out to study the representations of rural people in Greek travel writing over the period 1850-1870, by focusing on the way in which such representations reveal the process of national identity formation. In the first chapter, I address the issue of travellers’ lack of interest in the peasant way of life, and I undertake to explore the significance of this ‘absence’. In the second chapter, I examine travel texts pursuing to establish a direct connection of rural customs and mores with the ancient Greek ones. In the third chapter, I analyse the way in which the ethnographical concern of travel writing brings to the fore primitive aspects of rural life. The concept of primitiveness will be further developed in the last two chapters, in the context of race and gender representations in the observation of Greek peasants.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Masters by Research > M.Phil.)

Award Type:

Masters by Research > M.Phil.

Supervisor(s):