“OTHERNESS” DEPICTED IN TRAVELOGUES: MACEDONIA IN GERMAN-LANGUAGE TRAVELOGUES

Abstract

In the German-language travelogues, the term Macedonia is mostly used almost exclusively as a geographical designation. The reasons for this lie in the author’s perception, which is basically burdened by his own mission, cultural background and already (subtly) imposed stereotypes built on the basis of previous knowledge (information that is also shaped according to these factors). The missions are different: economic, political, natural-scientific, religious, sociological-ethnological, in some cases literary-scientific. That is why it is difficult to identify the literary genre in one of the established literary frameworks. What can be confirmed about this genre with absolute certainty is its multidisciplinary approach, and it will be investigated from this perspective. In this paper, the factors that influence the perception of the travel writer during his creation will be considered. The aim is to present the representation of Macedonia in German-language travelogues, focusing centrally on the travel writer and covering all the factors influencing his work as he presents Macedonia in his works.