O fostă Terra Incognita
A Ex-Terra Incognita

Summary/Abstract: The author (a Romanian journalist working for Deutsche Welle) points out some errors of perception and information of the West, that still persist even after two decades after the fall of Communism, regarding the countries beyond the Iron Curtain and mostly Romania in this particular essay. Binder demonstrates the injustice of this perception, mentioning several former and contemporary Romanian cultural personalities who can offer the Western reader remarkable revelations. For instance Cioran, also the “protagonist” of Nicolaus Sombart’s monography. Paradoxically, Sombart himself while admitting that Romania is no longer a terra incognita, still regards Romanian culture in general as provincial, peripheral. Or Mircea Cărtărescu, Dan Lungu and other representatives or features that ought to be known in order to understand and fully appreciate the complex value of a culture.

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