Cultural Stereotypes

Revision with unchanged content. This book is focused on a highly topical theme which aims at investigating a remarkable phenomenon of identity-shaping and cross-cultural exchange. Starting from an analysis of Dracula as the epitomized image of the Balkans (and of Romania, more specifically) abroad, it provides a comprehensive historical and (con)textual investigation of the myth, enlarged to incorporate it into the fictions of exile, and to draw the reader¿s attention to the ¿demonic¿ dimension of the Balkan area in general, and the Romanian area in particular. By redefining the notion of cultural stereotypes, undertsood as stereotypes impressed upon us through a cultural channel (books, movies, cartoons, computer networks, musicals, etc.), this study points to the fact that they depict a movement in double direction: not only do cultures generate their own stereotypes, but they also perpetuate the stereotypes created by the ¿significant Other,¿ urging us to reconsider categories such as ¿central¿ and ¿marginal¿ from a more complex perspective.