Title : Neglected commonalities: historical diversities and erasure in Balkan cities
Abstract :
Balkan cities developed through centuries of imperial clashes, overtaking, and new beginnings over again. Despite frequent political ruptures, Balkan cities developed specific forms of conviviality, often neglected by the dominant political forces, especially under nationalist governments of the past and current century. This workshop will unveil those stubborn commonalities perpetuated in urban everyday life, examining both long-term transformations as well as the contemporary processes that endanger or maintain them. In the first papers, we will explore the post-imperial rise of nationalism and its reflection in the urban fabric in the region (Walton), the processes of de-Ottomanization in the capital of Montenegro Podgorica (Radovic). In the second two papers we reflect on the fascinating example of the Macedonian capital, as it has been reshaped by nationalist makeover with the project “Skopje 2014,” where the city centre was reimagined as a glorified entertainment complex (Graan), and the grass-root resistance it has inspired during its installation (Janev).
Timetable and participants :
09-10 Jeremy Walton (Max Planck Institute for Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity)
10-11 Srdjan Radovic (The Institute of Ethnography SASA)
11-12 Discussion
13-14 Andy Graan (University of Helsinki)
14-15 Goran Janev (ULB-LAMC)
15-16 Discussion
- When ?
Tuesday 7 June 2022 from 9:00 pm until 4:00 pm
- Where ?
ULB - Campus du Solbosch
Institut de Sociologie (building S)
Room Doucy - 12th floor - Room 123
44 avenue Jeanne - 1050 Bruxelles