Towards an affective history of Yugoslavia

In: Filozofija i društvo, Band 27, Heft 3, S. 504-520

Abstract

The article discusses the necessity for the diversification of (hi)stories of
Yugoslavia, arguing for the importance of incorporating the affects and
experiences of Yugoslavia?s citizens into the historical narratives.
Acknowledging the difficulties emerging form the fact that what is
articulated as historical narrative is still part of the experience for
millions of citizens of post-Yugoslav societies, the article reflects upon
the potential for and obstacles to an affective history of socialist
Yugoslavia through the lens borrowed from German sociologist Georg Simmel. It
particularly refers to - and makes use of - two sets of Simmel?s ideas. The
first concerns the nature of material and the way we are making a story out
of it - more precisely, the relationship between history and experience, life
and representation. The second is about the perspective from which we look
at, approach, and synthesize this material. Simmel?s reflections on history
and form offer a very useful tool to look at the Yugoslav case and also help
de-essentialize and normalize Yugoslav history, making the anxieties that
characterize it part of a much broader discussion about history, its nature,
and its internal contradictions.