Scholarly record

SIBERIAN CULTURE AND LIFESTYLE IN THE RECEPTION OF CONTEMPORARY NORTH AMERICAN AND LATVIAN TRAVEL WRITERS

D. Ozola

Abstract

The popularity of travel literature should not be underestimated. Travelogue is one of the most readable literary genres in the world literature, including the major literatures of the USA and Canada with their rich literary heritage, as well as such less popular or minor literatures, as the Latvian. The popularity of travel writing does not stop growing despite any world cataclysms; travelogue gains particular expansion in the 21st century due to the processes of globalization and rapid technological progress. The object of any travel text is some geographical place or several places as well as its topographical peculiarities. However, the reception of one and the same space could be depicted in travel literature in different ways. Such a diversity of literary images appears due to the existing cultural stereotypes opposing each author’s reception and interpretation of the places visited. Besides, the same place can acquire various representations in different centuries and due to different historical events and paradigms. The image of Siberia became an object of study and investigation of many travellers and travel writers worldwide, who were attracted by the beauty of Siberian landscapes, some got interested in its controversial history, the others were impressed by the specifics of its multicultural society, its lifestyle and traditions. Throughout centuries Siberian space acquired a number of symbolic associations: some interpreted it as a country of coldness (winter) and night (moon); for many Siberia was associated with prison or the place of exile, many emphasized its unusual nature and the beauty of its landscape; others viewed its vast territories from practical side, estimating the richness of its natural resources. The aim of the present article is to reveal, whether the stereotypes concerning Siberia, its people and culture remain topical in modern travelogues, and to illustrate the specifics in depicting Siberia, its lifestyle and traditions by several North American and Latvian travel writers. The following methods were applied in the process of the present research: 1. anthropologic method is used to consider the travelogue in the geopolitical and social-economic discourse; 2. structurally-semiotic method is used to analyse the main typological features of travel narratives, revealing the central opposition of travelogues Self – the Other; 3. comparative method is applied for making a comparative analysis of Siberian space reception by North American and Latvian travel writers.

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