In this volume an attempt is made to tackle Hellenism as a global and transcultural entity. Through an array of essays, this book constitutes a comparative study of various literary, cultural and artistic trends as these develop throughout the course of the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries on both sides of the Atlantic. Having been designed with the general as well as the specialized reader in mind, this book will prove to be a valuable guide to scholars, undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as to a broad spectrum of readers with an interest in comparative literature, cultural history, history of the classical heritage, transatlantic studies, English and American romantic, modernist and postmodernist narratives. Its diverse material falls under the umbrella terms of “English Hellenisms” and “American Hellenisms” with the intention of enhancing intercultural dialogue and understanding. By embracing multivocality, as proven by the number of articles it contains, this book proves the tenacity, diachronic and intercontinental appeal of Hellenism at the era of multiculturalism and globalization.

Re-inventing/Re-presenting Identities in a Global World is a collection of twelve selected essays which address the concepts of cultural identity formation and enactment, immigration, diaspora and repatriation, and gender politics within a globalized context. With the peripheral having now become the center of contemporary culture, this volume examines cultural and literary diversities that have emerged from the reciprocal traffic of ideas and influences between cultures, politics, aesthetics and disciplines, with an emphasis on cultural identity as a site of crisis and fragmentation. Written in an accessible way, this volume addresses several audiences, from postgraduate researchers and scholars in the fields of Anglo-American and cross-cultural studies, women’s studies, minority and ethnic literature studies, to scholars, students and specialists of American, cross-Atlantic and even global studies. Because of the numerous theoretical concerns which underpin this work and its interdisciplinary approach, the publication is also aimed at researchers and scholars in the fields of trans-atlantic studies and cultural geography, as well as the general reader who is interested in globality and cultural identity.

Emphasizing the role of travel and migration in the performance and transformation of identity, this volume addresses representations of travel, mobility, and migration in 19th–21st-century travel writing, literature, and media texts. In so doing, the book analyses the role of the various cultural, ethnic, gender, and national encounters pertinent to narratives of travel and migration in transforming and problematizing the identities of both the travelers and "travelees" enacting in the borderzones between cultures. While the individual essays by scholars from a wide range of countries deal with a variety of case studies from various historical, spatial, and cultural locations, they share a strong central interest in the ways in which the narratives of travel contribute to the imagining of ethnic encounters and how they have acted as sites of transformation and transculturation from the early nineteenth century to the present day. In addition to discussing textual representations of travel and migration, the volume also addresses the ways in which cultural texts themselves travel and are reconstructed in various cultural settings. The analyses are particularly attentive to the issues of globalization and migration, which provide a general frame for interpretation. What distinguishes the volume from existing books is its concern with travel and migration as ways of forging transcultural identities that are able to subvert existing categorizations and binary models of identity formation. In so doing, it pays particular attention to the performance of identity in various spaces of cultural encounter, ranging from North America to the East of Europe, putting particular emphasis on the representation of intercultural and ethnic encounters.

Essays on the American Transcendentalist

“...the proverb says that whoever sees the world from the back of an elephant learns the secrets of the jungle and becomes a seer. I had to be content to become a poet.” —Lawrence Durrell Best known for his novels and travel writing, Lawrence Durrell defied easy classification within twentieth-century Modernism. His anti-authoritarian tendencies put him at odds with many contemporaries—aesthetically and politically. However, thanks to a compelling recontextualization by editor James Gifford, these thirty-eight previously unpublished and out-of-print essays and letters reveal that Durrell’s maturation as an artist was rich, complex, and subtle. Durrell fans will treasure this selection of rare nonfiction, while scholars of Durrell, Modernist literature, anti-authoritarian artists, and the Personalist movement will also appreciate Gifford’s fine editorial work. “Gifford’s scholarly command of the archives shows—especially his working intimacy with the unpublished archived words of Durrell’s editors, publishers, and collaborators. I have no doubt that this collection will serve as a starting point for any number of new critical ventures into the life and writing of Lawrence Durrell.” —Charles Sligh, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

The Canonical Debate Today. Crossing Disciplinary and Cultural Boundaries re-enacts the canonical issues current in the ’90s from a new perspective, triggered by the changes that occurred worldwide in understanding the concepts and the status of theory, in the legacy of literary studies within the field of humanities, and in cultural production and reception. During the last decade discussions of globalization mostly took into account its impact on the status of academic disciplines such as comparative literature or cultural studies, or the reconfiguration of national literary fields. These debates do not dispense with canonicity altogether but make it more urgent and necessary. Canons seen as sets of norms or regulatory practices are central to the formation of disciplines, to the recognition and transmission of values, even to the articulation of discourses on identity on various levels. The three sections of the volume deal with three interrelated subjects: theories and applicable contexts of the canon (Canons and Contexts); recent transformations in the area of literary studies in response to the task of canon formation (Reshaping Literary Studies); and the challenges brought to the understanding of the canon(s) by the current process of re-defining literary and cultural boundaries (Transgressing Literary and Cultural Boundaries). This volume will appeal to researchers, teachers, and students of cultural studies, comparative literature, and literary theory.

All too often Albania has been considered a relatively minor player in late-19th and early-20th century history. By contrast, this book highlights the significance of this nation and the Albanian question at this time through a detailed analysis of the relationship between Albania, Britain and the Ottoman Empire from 1876 to 1914. Making use of a wide range of archival source materials – some of which are published here in English for the first time – this book explores British foreign policy towards the development of the Albanian national movement and parallel demise of the Ottoman Empire. In doing so it illuminates the objectives of the British government, as well as shining a spotlight on the public opinion of both the British people towards Albanian nationalism and on the reaction of the Albanians towards the British diplomatic position. By looking through such a unique lens, here Daut Dauti is able to provide fresh insight into why the Albanians were not supported by the Great Powers in their national quest in the way that other Balkan countries were and draws significant new conclusions on British, Balkan and Ottoman relations. As such, this nuanced study is vital reading for all scholars interested in modern Albanian history, turn-of-the-century British international relations and the fall of the Ottoman Empire more broadly.