The Literary Map of Europe. The Opinions of Bulgarian and German Students

Maps help people find their way in both a real and a metaphorical sense. Material maps are flanked by mental maps. What does the literary map of Europe display for informed readers willing to invest their newly acquired knowledge in it? Does what is displayed depend only on the nationality of those holding the map, or on the constraints of their educational canons? The pilot study presented in this article was carried out in 2011-2012, by the St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia and the Johannes-Gutenberg University of Mainz. Residents of Europe who have at least secondary education were asked to convey their spontaneous literary-historical associations regarding individual European countries. The results are represented in a number of typified geographical maps which help focus on the differences, commonalities and peculiarities that characterise the respective groups’ associations and the mental maps behind them.Maps help people find their way in both a real and a metaphorical sense. Material maps are flanked by mental maps. What does the literary map of Europe display for informed readers willing to invest their newly acquired knowledge in it? Does what is displayed depend only on the nationality of those holding the map, or on the constraints of their educational canons? The pilot study presented in this article was carried out in 2011-2012, by the St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia and the Johannes-Gutenberg University of Mainz. Residents of Europe who have at least secondary education were asked to convey their spontaneous literary-historical associations regarding individual European countries. The results are represented in a number of typified geographical maps which help focus on the differences, commonalities and peculiarities that characterise the respective groups’ associations and the mental maps behind them