"Mirroring Europe offers refreshing insight into the ways Europe is imagined, negotiated and evoked in Balkan societies in the time of their accession to the European Union. Until now, visions of Europe from the southeast of the continent have been largely overlooked. By examining political and academic discourses, cultural performances, and memory practices, this collection destabilizes supposedly clear and firm division of the continent into East and West, 'old' and 'new' Europe, 'Europe' and 'still-not-Europe.' The essays collected here show Europe to be a dynamic, multifaceted, contested idea built on values, images and metaphors that are widely shared across such geographic and ideological frontiers. Contributors are: Čarna Brković, Ildiko Erdei, Ana Hofman, Fabio Mattioli, Marijana Mitrović, Nermina Mujagić, Orlanda Obad, and Tanja Petrović"--Provided by publisher
This article is devoted to the meanings of the liminality that shaped the (self-) perception of the Croatian city of Pula and came as a result of the long-term presence of the military (and heavy industry) in the city. The study discusses the modalities of cohabitation of the Yugoslav People's Army and the citizens of Pula, who lived together, interacted, and shaped each other during the period of Yugoslav socialism, and highlights the consequences of this mutual shaping in the aftermath of the Yugoslav socialist project. In the ongoing process of Pula's contentious urban transformation, in which several military and industrial facilities, complexes, and areas still wait for their new functions and new owners, the city's military nature and liminality have been identified as a problem by authorities and policy makers: they see the material and immaterial traces of the presence of the military in the city as an "unwanted heritage". In opposition to the view that Pula's military (and industrial) heritage is a problem to be overcome/eliminated, the article argues for a more inclusive approach that would acknowledge the fact that this heritage is perceived by citizens as closely related to their city's multicultural and working-class tradition, and that would recognize its potential to produce meanings, values, histories, and memories.
Heritage of Liminality: Remnants of the Military in the Istrian City of Pula in the Aftermath of Yugoslav SocialismThis article is devoted to the meanings of the liminality that shaped the (self-) perception of the Croatian city of Pula and came as a result of the long-term presence of the military (and heavy industry) in the city. The study discusses the modalities of cohabitation of the Yugoslav People's Army and the citizens of Pula, who lived together, interacted, and shaped each other during the period of Yugoslav socialism, and highlights the consequences of this mutual shaping in the aftermath of the Yugoslav socialist project. In the ongoing process of Pula's contentious urban transformation, in which several military and industrial facilities, complexes, and areas still wait for their new functions and new owners, the city's military nature and liminality have been identified as a problem by authorities and policy makers: they see the material and immaterial traces of the presence of the military in the city as an "unwanted heritage". In opposition to the view that Pula's military (and industrial) heritage is a problem to be overcome/eliminated, the article argues for a more inclusive approach that would acknowledge the fact that this heritage is perceived by citizens as closely related to their city's multicultural and working-class tradition, and that would recognize its potential to produce meanings, values, histories, and memories.Nasleđe liminalnosti: tragovi prisustva vojske u istarskom gradu Puli posle kraja jugoslovenskog socijalizmaČlanak se bavi liminalnošću koja u značajnoj meri oblikuje (samo) percepciju grada Pule u Hrvatskoj, a nastala je kao rezultat dugotrajnog prisustva vojske (i teške industrije) u ovom gradu. U njemu raspravljam o modalitetima kohabitacije Jugoslovenske narodne armije i građana Pule, koji su zajedno živeli i delili urbani prostor u periodu jugoslovenskog socijalizma, i osvetljavam posledice ove kohabitacije, deljenja i uzajamnosti vidljive u vreme nakon kraja jugoslovenskog socijalističkog projekta. U ambivalentnom procesu urbane transformacije Pule koji se upravo odvija, dok mnogi vojni i industrijski objekti, kompleksi i prostori još uvek čekaju na novu namenu i vlasnike, gradske vlasti i snovaoci urbane politike "vojni" identitet grada i njegovu liminalnost identifikuju kao problem: materijalni i nematerijalni tragovi prisustva vojske u gradu označavaju se kao "neželjena baština". Nasuprot viđenju pulske vojne (i industrijske) baštine kao problema koji treba prevazići/eliminisati, u članku se zalažem za inkluzivniji pristup koji uzima u obzir činjenicu da građani Pule ovo nasleđe usko povezuju sa multikulturnim i radničkim identitetom grada, i koji prepoznaje potencijal tog nasleđa da proizvodi značenja, vrednosti, istorije i sećanja.Dziedzictwo liminalności: znaki obecności wojska w Puli na Istrii po upadku jugosłowiańskiego socjalizmuArtykuł porusza kwestię liminalności w znacznym stopniu kształtującą (auto)percepcję miasta Pula w Chorwacji, co jest skutkiem wieloletniej obecności wojska (i przemysłu ciężkiego) w tym mieście. W tekście omawiam kwestię współdzielenia przestrzeni miejskiej w okresie jugosłowiańskiego socjalizmu przez Jugosłowiańską Armię Ludową i mieszkańców miasta, analizuję również skutki owej kohabitacji i współpracy widoczne w okresie po upadku jugosłowiańskiego projektu socjalistycznego. W trakcie wciąż trwającego ambiwalentnego procesu transformacji przestrzeni miejskiej Puli wiele obiektów, kompleksów i miejsc militarnych oraz przemysłowych oczekuje na zmianę przeznaczenia i nowych właścicieli, tymczasem władze miejskie oraz twórcy polityki miejskiej za podstawowy problem uznają "wojskową" tożsamość miasta i jej liminalność: materialne i niematerialne ślady obecności armii w mieście określane są jako "niechciane dziedzictwo". Wbrew powszechnemu traktowaniu owego dziedzictwa jako problemu do rozwiązania, w swoim artykule wybieram podejście bardziej otwarte, które uwzględnia zdanie mieszkańców Puli wpisujących je w wielokulturową i robotniczą tożsamość miasta; staram się również podkreślić jego potencjał w procesie wytwarzania znaczeń, wartości, historii i pamięci.
This article draws on experiences in implementing the Gender Equality Plan adopted at the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts in early 2019. It discusses the careers of female researchers, their prospects for career advancement, and how their excellence is construed, negotiated, and promoted in the Slovenian academic sphere. The article proposes a contextualised understanding of female academic careers and excellence. This understanding is sensitive to the structural variables that define researchers' academic prospects, as these prospects result from the intersection of various personal and structural factors. It argues that in order to plan appropriate strategies for improving career prospects for female researchers in a Gender Equality Plan, it is necessary not only to consider the national context, the legislation and demographic and other "objective data", but also to take seriously the institutional culture and the fact that individual researchers are affected by neoliberal academia in different ways that depend on their structural position within the institution.
This article offers insight into the meanings of the unprecedented political potential of humor in the early twenty-first century by discussing three parodic forms of contemporary political humor: carnivalesque politics, parodic reworkings of political discourses, and political protests and satirical activism. Revealing how political parody both produces ambiguity and hinges on it, the article proposes a shift in attention from its effects and capacity to promote or hinder a political change, and from the domination versus resistance binary, toward ambivalent political subjectivities that unfold in the production and consumption of political parody. The ambiguity of political parody, its reflexivity, and its capacity to build or reconfigure affective communities are workings of political humor that enable individuals to embrace their own involvement and vulnerability and the ambiguous and unpredictable moral consequences of their complex positioning as an authentic and potentially productive form of engaging with political reality.
The study of linguistic ideology, which can be defined as sets of beliefs about language articulated by users and observers as a rationalization or justification of perceived language structure and use, could be a source of valuable information on identity strategies in the Balkans. I will try to determine the relation between linguistic ideologies of "Balkanism" formed by Western scholars and observers and that one formed by scholars coming from the region, as well as to explore the ways how these ideologies are reflected in the linguistic ideology of the members of small ethnic groups in the Balkans. Such an approach can essentially contribute to understanding of the identity strategies of such groups. It makes a researcher aware of broader ideological frames of interpretation to which the "outside" expert discourse of small ethnic groups and their language belongs; on the other hand, an "inner" perspective provided by exploring the linguistic ideology of speakers themselves provides her or him with the first-hand information on the links between macro-processes such as economic and social changes, life of group's members in their micro worlds. Considering the perspective of language ideology would help a researcher to avoid the danger of considering only one side of the story and by that reproducing discourse which is also ideologically loaded. ; Lingvistička ideologija, koja se može odrediti kao skup verovanja o jeziku artikulisanih od strane korisnika tog jezika i "spoljnih" posmatrača, može da posluži kao dragoceni izvor podataka o procesima formiranja identiteta na Balkanu. U prilogu pokušavam da odredim odnos između lingvističkih predstava o Balkanu koje dolaze od posmatrača (etnografa, novinara, putopisaca, itd) sa Zapada i predstava etnografa i lingvista iz regiona i govornika samih. Ovakav pristup omogućava istraživaču da sagleda kako šire interpretacijske okvire o konstrukciji etničkih i jezičkih identiteta na Balkanu, tako i "unutrašnju" perspektivu govornika, čime dobija informacije o vezama između opštijih istorijskih, političkih i društvenih procesa i mikrostruktura u kojima članovi malih etničkih zajednica žive.
Im dritten Jahrzehnt nach dem von ethnischer Gewalt geprägten Zerfall Jugoslawiens wird der Vielvölkerstaat in seinen Nachfolgestaaten von offizieller Seite gerne auf ein historisches Faktum reduziert. Aber gehört Jugoslawien wirklich definitiv der Vergangenheit an? (APuZ)
Članak se bavi radikalnom rekonfiguracijom javnog prostora po završetku socijalizma u Jagodini, industrijskom gradu srednje veličine u središnjoj Srbiji. Za razliku od većine gradova "u provinciji", Jagodina je doživjela rapidnu izgradnju tijekom posljednjeg desetljeća. Taj se grad smatra pričom o uspjehu i rijetkim primjerom grada koji se uspio ekonomski razviti usprkos lošim ekonomskim i političkim okolnostima u državi. Intenzivna je izgradnja značajno utjecala na prirodu javnih prostora u gradu, proizvodeći konfliktne predstave o modernosti, koje imaju važnu funkciju u oblikovanju državljanstva, moralnosti i političkih subjektiviteta ljudi koji nastanjuju urbani prostor. ; The article addresses the ways in which public spaces have been reconfigured since the end of socialism in Jagodina, a medium-sized industrial town in central Serbia. Unlike the majority of provincial towns, Jagodina experienced extensive building over the last decade. It is viewed as a success-story, and as a rare Serbian provincial town which has managed to develop economically in spite of the challenging economic and political circumstances in the country. This extensive building significantly influenced the nature of public space in the town, producing conflicting imaginations of modernity, which play an important role in shaping citizenship, moralities and the political subjectivities of people inhabiting an urban space.
This article analyzes the Serbian fake news site Njuz.net, exploring the dynamics of its production, consumption, and appropriation in Serbian postsocialist, pre-EU-accession society. The increasing presence and importance of parodic media genres and the embrace of satire as a viable way to interpret and deal with social and political reality are explained in terms of both Serbia's historical trajectory and its media landscape as well as the global neo-liberal condition. Njuz.net's parody sheds critical light on various political, public, and social subjects simultaneously. Its satire communicates with multiple audiences and enables identification and detachment on several levels, a fact that makes the effects of this parody difficult to judge. The dilemmas that its writers face regarding their social activism are, I argue, a symptom of wider social anxieties and structural adversities caused by the difficulty of clearly identifying and detaching from "the enemy." Because of how labor, consumption, and everyday practices are organized, we all inevitably contribute to the maintenance of that enemy's well-being. Seen in this light, parody is not only a form of social criticism but also a self-reflective practice.
