Gesa Mackenthun Knihy

The large-scale use of semantic transfer and inversion as rhetorical tactics is particularly prevalent in right-wing discourses and populist »alternative knowledge« production. The contributors to this volume analyze processes of re-semanticizing received meanings, effectually re-coding those meanings. They investigate to what extent rhetorical maneuvers serve to establish new and powerful belief systems beyond rational and democratic control. In addition to the contemporary rightwing and conspiracy narratives, the contributions examine the discursive fields around conceptions of human nature and the deep past, population politics, gender conceptions, use of land, identity politics, nationhood, and cultural heritage.

Since the Gilgamesh epic and Homer’s Odyssey, narratives of travel and adventure—whether fictional, factual, or a blend—have been vital to the self-definition of human societies. With the early modern period's rise in cross-cultural encounters, the literary motif of journeying became central to colonial imagination. The ideology of adventure permeates Western literature, influencing discourses on economic expansion and scientific discovery. Anthropologists documenting indigenous storytelling found oral traditions resembling their own. Travelistic texts from culture heroes, explorers, colonial agents, missionaries, and others often shape descriptions of 'exotic' spaces and populations. Knowledge gained from physical encounters during journeys can revise preconceived notions about cultures, both foreign and familiar. Thus, the themes of travel and travel writing prompt inquiries into reliability and verifiability. This volume assembles experts from various disciplines worldwide, focusing on travel, transculturation, and the cross-cultural production of knowledge. Contributions reflect a recent shift in travel scholarship that addresses ideological conflicts within Europe’s imperial gaze and explores perspectives of Europe’s others, often challenging colonial assumptions and claims to intellectual dominance.