In this article, we explore intra-ethnic aspects of co-ethnic migration by members of the Slovak ... more In this article, we explore intra-ethnic aspects of co-ethnic migration by members of the Slovak community from Serbia to Slovakia, both at the institutional level and at the level of intra-ethnic relations, and the boundaries between migrants and the established population. In the first part, we focus on the institutional framework of co-ethnic migration: the politicization of diaspora issues in Slovakia, the Slovak community in Serbia in the hierarchy of Slovakia's diaspora policy, and co-ethnic relations as a subject of negotiations. In the second part, we investigate the role of language in co-ethnic migration, the situation of nonrecognition by co-ethnics in Slovakia, intra-ethnic boundary-making in everyday interactions, and the consequences of migration on intra-ethnic relations among those members of the community who did not migrate. We thus analyze the ongoing migration of the Slovaks of Vojvodina from Serbia into Slovakia, from the early 1990s onward, through a blend of perspectives "from above" and "from below." This article is based on extensive fieldwork conducted among members of the Vojvodina Slovak community, both migrants and nonmigrants who have remained in Vojvodina. Thus, the sending country (Serbia) and the receiving country (Slovakia) represent one research field. The data collected in the field have been complemented by legal documents and statistical data to gain an overview of the wider social and political structures within which the migration is taking place.
SLOVENSKÁ LITERATÚRA - Slovak Literature: Journal for Literary Studies, vol. 70, no. 6, pp. 615-639, 2023
Title: Between Slovakia, Yugoslavia, and Serbia – The image of the Vojvodina Slovak community in ... more Title: Between Slovakia, Yugoslavia, and Serbia – The image of the Vojvodina Slovak community in Slovak and Serbian political narratives in the 19th – 21st century
The article examines the dynamics of the formation of the image of the Slovak community in Vojvodina in Slovak and Serbian political narratives from the 19th century to the present. It focuses on how its differences manifest in the (Czecho-)Slovak and Yugoslav (Serbian) context. The first part of the article explores the nationalising processes among the members of the Slovak community in present-day Vojvodina from the 19th century till the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire. The following parts are devoted to the position of the Slovak minority in Vojvodina in the conditions of the Yugoslav state in the interwar period, as well as its relations with the Czechoslovak Republic. The article also deals with the position of this community during the Second World War, in socialist Yugoslavia and after its dissolution in the early 1990s in the context of inter-state relations, but also the dynamics of intra-ethnic interactions. The paper draws on the symbolic interactionism approach, i.e. the shaping of mutual perceptions along and across ethnic boundaries and through intra-ethnic integration and differentiation practices.
Marušiak, Juraj & Sanja Zlatanović. 2022. Slovenská komunita v Srbsku v kontexte politických a socioekonomických zmien po roku 1989. In Stará Pazova v premenách času (Miroslav Kmeť, Patrik Kunec, eds.). Banská Bystrica: Filozofická fakulta Univerzity Mateja Bela, pp. 92–113. ISBN 978-80-557-1957-3, 2022
The aim of this article is to analyze an impact of political and socio-economic changes after 198... more The aim of this article is to analyze an impact of political and socio-economic changes after 1989 on the Slovak community members of Serbia. Serbia, as well as Slovakia, underwent a painful post-communist transformation, however, both countries adopted a different path of reforms. In 2004, Slovakia joined European Union, whereas Serbia received a status of EU-candidate state only in 2012. Because of an economic growth and decline of unemployment rate, Slovakia became an attractive target of labor migrations from Serbia, including Slovak community members from Serbian province of Vojvodina. The political changes in Serbia in 1990 and after 2000 improved the political rights of the Slovak minority members, however, the economic situation contributed to the acceleration of the de-population of the areas inhabited by Slovaks of Vojvodina.
Romani History and Culture. Festschrift in Honor of Prof. Dr. Vesselin Popov (H. Kyuchukov, S. Zahova & I. Duminica, eds.), Roma series 09. München: Lincom, 2021
This paper is based on fieldwork conducted in Bulgaria, in the towns
of Sofia and Pernik. It exp... more This paper is based on fieldwork conducted in Bulgaria, in the towns of Sofia and Pernik. It explores the phenomenon of preferred identification with the example of Džorevci in Bulgaria. The Džorevci community is a paradigm of how an external definition – categorization shapes the internal experience of belonging, with the result that, for generations, they remain in an ambiguous, liminal position, “betwixt and between” the recognised ethnic categories of Bulgarian and Roma – “neither-norˮ and/or “both-and” (depending on the individual, the situation and the wider social and political context). In their interactions with relevant others – Bulgarians and Roma – the Džorevci community is in a constant, long-term process of negotiation, contestation and non-recognition, doubly included or doubly excluded – in the narratives of my interlocutors the predominant experience was of the latter.
This article explores the current migration of the Slovak community members of Serbia to Slovakia... more This article explores the current migration of the Slovak community members of Serbia to Slovakia, focusing on their perception of safety and risk, in the period since 1990 when the post-Communist transition began both in Serbia and Slovakia. The authors attempt to analyse how the members of the given community, who migrated to Slovakia during the reference period, perceive Slovakia today from the point of view of their safety, understood as the search for freedom from threats. They focus on individual safety factors (life, health, status, wealth and freedom). After 1990, Slovakia became not only a country left by migrants, but also a country of destination for migrants. One such migrant group is the members of Slovak communities abroad, in particular Serbia, Romania and Ukraine. The first wave of migration of Slovaks from Serbia took place in the early 1990s in connection with the violent ethnic conflicts in former Yugoslavia, and the next one as a result of the global financial crisis in 2008, which intensified after 2015. The main push factors of the migration of Vojvodina Slovaks to Slovakia in the 1990s included attempts to avoid mobilisation and participation in combat operations; after 2008, the key role was played primarily by material issues which they perceived as an existential threat to themselves and to their families. The main pull factor in favour of choosing Slovakia comprise of the relatively small administrative barriers and linguistic proximity. While our interlocutors regarded their concerns about the impacts of the 1990s war conflicts as short-term threats, they perceived the social impacts of the economic transition and uncontrolled global financial crisis after 2008 as long-term or even permanent threats. In this context, they consider Slovakia a safe country. The article is based on extensive multi-sited fieldwork – in-depth interviews with the members of the community – and on other available sources (legal documents, statistical data, media, etc.).
The article examines the processes of approaching preferred identity of the 'Serbian Gypsies' com... more The article examines the processes of approaching preferred identity of the 'Serbian Gypsies' community in postwar Kosovo. The 'Serbian Gypsies' declare themselves as Serbs and have Serbian names and surnames. They are Orthodox Christians and speak Serbian within the community. Their practice of customs and way of life are also similar to those of the Serbs, according to descriptions received from the Serbs. To varying degrees, the Serbs within their community dispute their acquired ethnic identity, continuing to ascribe to them the identity of 'Gypsies'. Depending on the individual views of members of the Serbian community, they are placed both as intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic others, or " betwixt and between " these categories. The boundary between these two communities is an ambiguous zone of negotiation. In a postwar context of radically changed ethnic and social circumstances, the Serbs, now finding themselves in the minority enclave situation, are gradually beginning to accept this group, which is working on remodelling its identity and becoming assimilated. The identity of the 'Serbian Gypsies' is still in the process of being shaped and reshaped and limited by being categorised by the group, where they hope to become members.
Glasnik Etnografskog instituta SANU / Bulletin of the Institute of Ethnography SASA, Belgrade, 2017
This paper explores the current migration of the Slovak community members of Serbia to Slovakia, ... more This paper explores the current migration of the Slovak community members of Serbia to Slovakia, focusing on the issue of belonging. This is an example of a ‘return’ migration phenomenon – where a certain number of minority members return to their land of ancestors after having lived on the territory of present-day Vojvodina for almost three centuries. The migration of Slovaks from Serbia began in the late 1980s and early 1990s but in recent years it has taken on much greater proportions. This paper is based on fieldwork conducted in Bratislava in 2015 and 2017.
Glasnik Etnografskog instituta SANU LXIII/3, Beograd 2015, pp. 537-550 , 2015
In this paper I look into the methodological, epistemological and ethical challenges I faced duri... more In this paper I look into the methodological, epistemological and ethical challenges I faced during multi-sited fieldwork research in the Serb community of southeast Kosovo (Gnjilane, Vitina and neighbouring villages, and in several towns in Serbia where displaced persons from this area are now living). The focus of the research into post-war discourse was on two forms of migration: 1. the colonisation of the population from the highland areas of south Serbia, which was carried out in Kosovo as part of agrarian reform in the period after World War I. 2. The migration of the Serb population from Kosovo into Serbia following the armed conflicts of 1999 and the establishment of a United Nations administration. In both cases these are mainly co-ethnic migrations: the settlers are of the same ethnicity as the population in the places they have moved to. Intra-ethnic relations and boundaries in the light of these migrations turned out to be an especially interesting field of research, which has opened up numerous methodological, epistemological and ethical questions.
Glasnik Etnografskog instituta SANU LXIII/1, Beograd 2015, pp. 9-17. /in Serbian/, 2015
Тhe topic of this volume is a result from “The Contemporary City in Serbia and Bulgaria: Processe... more Тhe topic of this volume is a result from “The Contemporary City in Serbia and Bulgaria: Processes and Changes”, a bilateral project of the Institute of Ethnography of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (2014-2016). The six papers offer a comparative view of current social processes in two neighbouring Balkan countries, linked by numerous historical and political experiences. Comparative research into societal trends enables a more thorough understanding and monitoring of global processes. In today’s increasingly globalised and glocalised world, towns experience sudden changes and it is in the towns that these changes are most vividly to be seen. The focus of our research is on the dynamism of the contemporary town, on processuality and changes in societal practices.
“Etnos”, religija i identitet: naučni skup u čast Dušana Bandića (Lidija B. Radulović, Ildiko Erdei, eds.), Odeljenje za etnologiju i antropologiju, Filozofski fakultet, Univerzitet u Beogradu, Beograd 2014, pp. 135-146. /in Serbian/, 2014
The paper is based on multi-sited fieldwork carried out into the Serbian community of southeast K... more The paper is based on multi-sited fieldwork carried out into the Serbian community of southeast Kosovo in 2003-2006. Its goal is to explore the complex connection between ethnic and religious identification in the period following 1999 and the setting up of a United Nations administration in Kosovo. The paper thoroughly examines the role of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the post-war local context. The Serbian community of southeast Kosovo primarily thematizes ethnic identity with religious rituals and markings. Religious and ethnic identification become blended in such a way that the religious in function of the ethnic. Even though the two forms of identification blend, in certain border areas, particularly in what concerns intra-ethnic relations and boundaries, their interaction is changeable and undefined.
Glasnik Etnografskog instituta SANU LXI/2, Beograd 2013, pp. 67-82. /in Serbian/
The paper is based on field research carried out among members of the Serb community in the town ... more The paper is based on field research carried out among members of the Serb community in the town of Gnjilane in 2006. I first discuss the multi-sited fieldwork, whose goal was to study the relation between ethnicity and other forms of collective identification in the Serb community in southeast Kosovo, in the profoundly changed situation that has existed since 1999. The key concept of this paper – nostalgia – is then established. I go on to discuss the population of Gnjilane as reflected in the census, and the possibility of a census that would reflect the complex social and ethnic situation in Kosovo. I also describe the small urban Serb enclave in Gnjilane in the post-war period. In the radically changed ethnic and social landscape that followed the war, the discourse of members of the small urban enclave about themselves and the “other” is a kaleidoscope of reflective nostalgia. Looked at “from above”, the perspective of ordinary people, the past takes on a wider spectrum of colours and emotions than the official black and white images – both Serbian and Albanian – of victims, aggressors and never-ending hatred.
Teme 37(3), Univerzitet u Nišu, Niš 2013, pp. 1079-1099. /in Serbian/
The question of boundaries for a group providing the basis for dichotomisation we/they is an impo... more The question of boundaries for a group providing the basis for dichotomisation we/they is an important one in the study of ethnicity. The present paper discusses this on the example of relations between a Serbian community and a community of "Serbian Gypsies", who live in the villages of Klokot and Mogila in the Vitina enclave, southeast Kosovo. In this paper the term "Serbian Gypsies" is used tentatively, as it is an exonym. The group’s own definition for itself is solely "Serbs".
Glasnik Etnografskog instituta SANU LX/2, Beograd 2012, pp. 89-105. /in Serbian/
The paper is based on multi-sited fieldwork carried out in southeast Kosovo (Gnjilane with its su... more The paper is based on multi-sited fieldwork carried out in southeast Kosovo (Gnjilane with its surrounding villages and Vitina enclave) and among persons displaced from this area to Smederevo, Vranje, and Vranjska Banja (all towns in Serbia). It is an excerpt from a much more extensive study of relations among ethnicity and other forms of collective identifications (religious, regional, local, gender) in a profoundly changed situation following the introduction of an international protectorate in Kosovo in 1999. The focus is on the subjective dimension of life under the protectorate and local knowledge. The paper examines identity discourses which accompany a wedding, a paradigmatic event in the culture of the Serb population of southeast Kosovo, and the use of traditional women’s costume. The wedding celebration in the morning hours is opened by the mother-in law (the bridegroom’s mother), by dancing the "svekrvino kolo" (mother-in-law’s dance) with her kin. This wedding segment symbolizes the community’s collective identity in the fullest sense. Women put on their traditional costume, of whose appearance and preservation to the present day the community is very proud. Discourse on the preserved traditional women’s costume (today reduced to ritual function) among members of the community expresses the intertwining of different forms of identification. The traditional women’s costume is one of the bearing constructs on which the community bases its identity as the old inhabitants of the area, as distinct from the colonists. Other identities such as ethnic, regional, local, gender and family are also interlaced into the discourse on women’s costume. Why is the women’s costume placed on a pedestal as a condensed symbol of the community? Why does the community read complex identity discourses into the women’s costume and the dance of the women at the wedding? One of the spheres in which this paper seeks answers are gender relations.
Southeast European (Post)Modernities: Changing Practices and Patterns of Social Life (Klaus Roth, Jutta Lauth Bacas, eds.), Ethnologia Balkanica 15, LIT Verlag, Berlin 2011, pp. 227-250.
The paper is based on multi-sited fieldwork carried out in southeast Kosovo (Gnjilane with its su... more The paper is based on multi-sited fieldwork carried out in southeast Kosovo (Gnjilane with its surrounding villages and Vitina enclave) and among persons displaced from this area to Smederevo, Vranje, and Vranjska Banja (all towns in Serbia). The aim was to examine the relation between ethnicity and other forms of identification (religious, regional, local, gender) in a context that had undergone profound changes since 1999, when an international protectorate had been set up for the region. This article focusses on changes occurring in family and kinship relations in the period following 1999. The pronounced traditionalism of the Serbian family in the context of rapid social change (war and postwar trauma, international administration, the migration of some of the population to Serbia, the influence of globalization, etc.) acquired new forms, reflected in, among other things, gender and inter-generational relations, procedures of property inheritance. The symbolic language of family rituals such as weddings (a private event which takes place in the public arena), expresses an imaginative merging of global and local into glocal.
Glasnik Etnografskog instituta SANU LIX/2, Beograd 2011, pp. 79-99. /in Serbian/
U opštim potezima izložena su teorijsko-metodološka polazišta i rezultati multilokalnog terenskog... more U opštim potezima izložena su teorijsko-metodološka polazišta i rezultati multilokalnog terenskog istraživanja srpske zajednice jugoistočnog Kosova. Rad predstavlja skraćenu verziju znatno obimnije studije odnosa etničkog i drugih oblika kolektivnog identiteta srpske zajednice jugoistočnog Kosova u posleratnom kontekstu.
Glasnik Etnografskog instituta SANU LVIII/1, Beograd 2010, pp. 129-139. /in Serbian/
Istraživač i sagovornik su ključne reči terenskog diskursa, a njihova interakcija – ključni probl... more Istraživač i sagovornik su ključne reči terenskog diskursa, a njihova interakcija – ključni problem terenske prakse etnologa i antropologa. Rad ima za cilj da razmotri uloge istraživača i sagovornika, kao i karakteristike odnosa koji se između njih uspostavlja u istraživačkom procesu. Odnos istraživača i njegovih sagovornika na terenu veoma je osetljiv, opterećen brojnim problemima transfera (prenosa) i kontratransfera (protivprenosa).
Glasnik Etnografskog instituta SANU LVII/1, Beograd 2009, pp. 51-69. /in Serbian/
Vranje (južna Srbija) je grad koji ima bogate slojeve stvarnosti, ali se slika o njemu iznutra, a... more Vranje (južna Srbija) je grad koji ima bogate slojeve stvarnosti, ali se slika o njemu iznutra, a dobrim delom i spolja, vezuje samo za jedan deo njegove prošlosti i samo za orijentalistički osenčene simbole i motive koji su izvedeni iz književnosti Bore Stankovića, čija se značenja dalje umnožavaju. U radu se razmatraju procesi interakcije unutrašnjih i spoljašnjih određenja identiteta Vranja, kao i orijentalistički diskurs koji ih karakteriše.
In this article, we explore intra-ethnic aspects of co-ethnic migration by members of the Slovak ... more In this article, we explore intra-ethnic aspects of co-ethnic migration by members of the Slovak community from Serbia to Slovakia, both at the institutional level and at the level of intra-ethnic relations, and the boundaries between migrants and the established population. In the first part, we focus on the institutional framework of co-ethnic migration: the politicization of diaspora issues in Slovakia, the Slovak community in Serbia in the hierarchy of Slovakia's diaspora policy, and co-ethnic relations as a subject of negotiations. In the second part, we investigate the role of language in co-ethnic migration, the situation of nonrecognition by co-ethnics in Slovakia, intra-ethnic boundary-making in everyday interactions, and the consequences of migration on intra-ethnic relations among those members of the community who did not migrate. We thus analyze the ongoing migration of the Slovaks of Vojvodina from Serbia into Slovakia, from the early 1990s onward, through a blend of perspectives "from above" and "from below." This article is based on extensive fieldwork conducted among members of the Vojvodina Slovak community, both migrants and nonmigrants who have remained in Vojvodina. Thus, the sending country (Serbia) and the receiving country (Slovakia) represent one research field. The data collected in the field have been complemented by legal documents and statistical data to gain an overview of the wider social and political structures within which the migration is taking place.
SLOVENSKÁ LITERATÚRA - Slovak Literature: Journal for Literary Studies, vol. 70, no. 6, pp. 615-639, 2023
Title: Between Slovakia, Yugoslavia, and Serbia – The image of the Vojvodina Slovak community in ... more Title: Between Slovakia, Yugoslavia, and Serbia – The image of the Vojvodina Slovak community in Slovak and Serbian political narratives in the 19th – 21st century
The article examines the dynamics of the formation of the image of the Slovak community in Vojvodina in Slovak and Serbian political narratives from the 19th century to the present. It focuses on how its differences manifest in the (Czecho-)Slovak and Yugoslav (Serbian) context. The first part of the article explores the nationalising processes among the members of the Slovak community in present-day Vojvodina from the 19th century till the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire. The following parts are devoted to the position of the Slovak minority in Vojvodina in the conditions of the Yugoslav state in the interwar period, as well as its relations with the Czechoslovak Republic. The article also deals with the position of this community during the Second World War, in socialist Yugoslavia and after its dissolution in the early 1990s in the context of inter-state relations, but also the dynamics of intra-ethnic interactions. The paper draws on the symbolic interactionism approach, i.e. the shaping of mutual perceptions along and across ethnic boundaries and through intra-ethnic integration and differentiation practices.
Marušiak, Juraj & Sanja Zlatanović. 2022. Slovenská komunita v Srbsku v kontexte politických a socioekonomických zmien po roku 1989. In Stará Pazova v premenách času (Miroslav Kmeť, Patrik Kunec, eds.). Banská Bystrica: Filozofická fakulta Univerzity Mateja Bela, pp. 92–113. ISBN 978-80-557-1957-3, 2022
The aim of this article is to analyze an impact of political and socio-economic changes after 198... more The aim of this article is to analyze an impact of political and socio-economic changes after 1989 on the Slovak community members of Serbia. Serbia, as well as Slovakia, underwent a painful post-communist transformation, however, both countries adopted a different path of reforms. In 2004, Slovakia joined European Union, whereas Serbia received a status of EU-candidate state only in 2012. Because of an economic growth and decline of unemployment rate, Slovakia became an attractive target of labor migrations from Serbia, including Slovak community members from Serbian province of Vojvodina. The political changes in Serbia in 1990 and after 2000 improved the political rights of the Slovak minority members, however, the economic situation contributed to the acceleration of the de-population of the areas inhabited by Slovaks of Vojvodina.
Romani History and Culture. Festschrift in Honor of Prof. Dr. Vesselin Popov (H. Kyuchukov, S. Zahova & I. Duminica, eds.), Roma series 09. München: Lincom, 2021
This paper is based on fieldwork conducted in Bulgaria, in the towns
of Sofia and Pernik. It exp... more This paper is based on fieldwork conducted in Bulgaria, in the towns of Sofia and Pernik. It explores the phenomenon of preferred identification with the example of Džorevci in Bulgaria. The Džorevci community is a paradigm of how an external definition – categorization shapes the internal experience of belonging, with the result that, for generations, they remain in an ambiguous, liminal position, “betwixt and between” the recognised ethnic categories of Bulgarian and Roma – “neither-norˮ and/or “both-and” (depending on the individual, the situation and the wider social and political context). In their interactions with relevant others – Bulgarians and Roma – the Džorevci community is in a constant, long-term process of negotiation, contestation and non-recognition, doubly included or doubly excluded – in the narratives of my interlocutors the predominant experience was of the latter.
This article explores the current migration of the Slovak community members of Serbia to Slovakia... more This article explores the current migration of the Slovak community members of Serbia to Slovakia, focusing on their perception of safety and risk, in the period since 1990 when the post-Communist transition began both in Serbia and Slovakia. The authors attempt to analyse how the members of the given community, who migrated to Slovakia during the reference period, perceive Slovakia today from the point of view of their safety, understood as the search for freedom from threats. They focus on individual safety factors (life, health, status, wealth and freedom). After 1990, Slovakia became not only a country left by migrants, but also a country of destination for migrants. One such migrant group is the members of Slovak communities abroad, in particular Serbia, Romania and Ukraine. The first wave of migration of Slovaks from Serbia took place in the early 1990s in connection with the violent ethnic conflicts in former Yugoslavia, and the next one as a result of the global financial crisis in 2008, which intensified after 2015. The main push factors of the migration of Vojvodina Slovaks to Slovakia in the 1990s included attempts to avoid mobilisation and participation in combat operations; after 2008, the key role was played primarily by material issues which they perceived as an existential threat to themselves and to their families. The main pull factor in favour of choosing Slovakia comprise of the relatively small administrative barriers and linguistic proximity. While our interlocutors regarded their concerns about the impacts of the 1990s war conflicts as short-term threats, they perceived the social impacts of the economic transition and uncontrolled global financial crisis after 2008 as long-term or even permanent threats. In this context, they consider Slovakia a safe country. The article is based on extensive multi-sited fieldwork – in-depth interviews with the members of the community – and on other available sources (legal documents, statistical data, media, etc.).
The article examines the processes of approaching preferred identity of the 'Serbian Gypsies' com... more The article examines the processes of approaching preferred identity of the 'Serbian Gypsies' community in postwar Kosovo. The 'Serbian Gypsies' declare themselves as Serbs and have Serbian names and surnames. They are Orthodox Christians and speak Serbian within the community. Their practice of customs and way of life are also similar to those of the Serbs, according to descriptions received from the Serbs. To varying degrees, the Serbs within their community dispute their acquired ethnic identity, continuing to ascribe to them the identity of 'Gypsies'. Depending on the individual views of members of the Serbian community, they are placed both as intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic others, or " betwixt and between " these categories. The boundary between these two communities is an ambiguous zone of negotiation. In a postwar context of radically changed ethnic and social circumstances, the Serbs, now finding themselves in the minority enclave situation, are gradually beginning to accept this group, which is working on remodelling its identity and becoming assimilated. The identity of the 'Serbian Gypsies' is still in the process of being shaped and reshaped and limited by being categorised by the group, where they hope to become members.
Glasnik Etnografskog instituta SANU / Bulletin of the Institute of Ethnography SASA, Belgrade, 2017
This paper explores the current migration of the Slovak community members of Serbia to Slovakia, ... more This paper explores the current migration of the Slovak community members of Serbia to Slovakia, focusing on the issue of belonging. This is an example of a ‘return’ migration phenomenon – where a certain number of minority members return to their land of ancestors after having lived on the territory of present-day Vojvodina for almost three centuries. The migration of Slovaks from Serbia began in the late 1980s and early 1990s but in recent years it has taken on much greater proportions. This paper is based on fieldwork conducted in Bratislava in 2015 and 2017.
Glasnik Etnografskog instituta SANU LXIII/3, Beograd 2015, pp. 537-550 , 2015
In this paper I look into the methodological, epistemological and ethical challenges I faced duri... more In this paper I look into the methodological, epistemological and ethical challenges I faced during multi-sited fieldwork research in the Serb community of southeast Kosovo (Gnjilane, Vitina and neighbouring villages, and in several towns in Serbia where displaced persons from this area are now living). The focus of the research into post-war discourse was on two forms of migration: 1. the colonisation of the population from the highland areas of south Serbia, which was carried out in Kosovo as part of agrarian reform in the period after World War I. 2. The migration of the Serb population from Kosovo into Serbia following the armed conflicts of 1999 and the establishment of a United Nations administration. In both cases these are mainly co-ethnic migrations: the settlers are of the same ethnicity as the population in the places they have moved to. Intra-ethnic relations and boundaries in the light of these migrations turned out to be an especially interesting field of research, which has opened up numerous methodological, epistemological and ethical questions.
Glasnik Etnografskog instituta SANU LXIII/1, Beograd 2015, pp. 9-17. /in Serbian/, 2015
Тhe topic of this volume is a result from “The Contemporary City in Serbia and Bulgaria: Processe... more Тhe topic of this volume is a result from “The Contemporary City in Serbia and Bulgaria: Processes and Changes”, a bilateral project of the Institute of Ethnography of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (2014-2016). The six papers offer a comparative view of current social processes in two neighbouring Balkan countries, linked by numerous historical and political experiences. Comparative research into societal trends enables a more thorough understanding and monitoring of global processes. In today’s increasingly globalised and glocalised world, towns experience sudden changes and it is in the towns that these changes are most vividly to be seen. The focus of our research is on the dynamism of the contemporary town, on processuality and changes in societal practices.
“Etnos”, religija i identitet: naučni skup u čast Dušana Bandića (Lidija B. Radulović, Ildiko Erdei, eds.), Odeljenje za etnologiju i antropologiju, Filozofski fakultet, Univerzitet u Beogradu, Beograd 2014, pp. 135-146. /in Serbian/, 2014
The paper is based on multi-sited fieldwork carried out into the Serbian community of southeast K... more The paper is based on multi-sited fieldwork carried out into the Serbian community of southeast Kosovo in 2003-2006. Its goal is to explore the complex connection between ethnic and religious identification in the period following 1999 and the setting up of a United Nations administration in Kosovo. The paper thoroughly examines the role of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the post-war local context. The Serbian community of southeast Kosovo primarily thematizes ethnic identity with religious rituals and markings. Religious and ethnic identification become blended in such a way that the religious in function of the ethnic. Even though the two forms of identification blend, in certain border areas, particularly in what concerns intra-ethnic relations and boundaries, their interaction is changeable and undefined.
Glasnik Etnografskog instituta SANU LXI/2, Beograd 2013, pp. 67-82. /in Serbian/
The paper is based on field research carried out among members of the Serb community in the town ... more The paper is based on field research carried out among members of the Serb community in the town of Gnjilane in 2006. I first discuss the multi-sited fieldwork, whose goal was to study the relation between ethnicity and other forms of collective identification in the Serb community in southeast Kosovo, in the profoundly changed situation that has existed since 1999. The key concept of this paper – nostalgia – is then established. I go on to discuss the population of Gnjilane as reflected in the census, and the possibility of a census that would reflect the complex social and ethnic situation in Kosovo. I also describe the small urban Serb enclave in Gnjilane in the post-war period. In the radically changed ethnic and social landscape that followed the war, the discourse of members of the small urban enclave about themselves and the “other” is a kaleidoscope of reflective nostalgia. Looked at “from above”, the perspective of ordinary people, the past takes on a wider spectrum of colours and emotions than the official black and white images – both Serbian and Albanian – of victims, aggressors and never-ending hatred.
Teme 37(3), Univerzitet u Nišu, Niš 2013, pp. 1079-1099. /in Serbian/
The question of boundaries for a group providing the basis for dichotomisation we/they is an impo... more The question of boundaries for a group providing the basis for dichotomisation we/they is an important one in the study of ethnicity. The present paper discusses this on the example of relations between a Serbian community and a community of "Serbian Gypsies", who live in the villages of Klokot and Mogila in the Vitina enclave, southeast Kosovo. In this paper the term "Serbian Gypsies" is used tentatively, as it is an exonym. The group’s own definition for itself is solely "Serbs".
Glasnik Etnografskog instituta SANU LX/2, Beograd 2012, pp. 89-105. /in Serbian/
The paper is based on multi-sited fieldwork carried out in southeast Kosovo (Gnjilane with its su... more The paper is based on multi-sited fieldwork carried out in southeast Kosovo (Gnjilane with its surrounding villages and Vitina enclave) and among persons displaced from this area to Smederevo, Vranje, and Vranjska Banja (all towns in Serbia). It is an excerpt from a much more extensive study of relations among ethnicity and other forms of collective identifications (religious, regional, local, gender) in a profoundly changed situation following the introduction of an international protectorate in Kosovo in 1999. The focus is on the subjective dimension of life under the protectorate and local knowledge. The paper examines identity discourses which accompany a wedding, a paradigmatic event in the culture of the Serb population of southeast Kosovo, and the use of traditional women’s costume. The wedding celebration in the morning hours is opened by the mother-in law (the bridegroom’s mother), by dancing the "svekrvino kolo" (mother-in-law’s dance) with her kin. This wedding segment symbolizes the community’s collective identity in the fullest sense. Women put on their traditional costume, of whose appearance and preservation to the present day the community is very proud. Discourse on the preserved traditional women’s costume (today reduced to ritual function) among members of the community expresses the intertwining of different forms of identification. The traditional women’s costume is one of the bearing constructs on which the community bases its identity as the old inhabitants of the area, as distinct from the colonists. Other identities such as ethnic, regional, local, gender and family are also interlaced into the discourse on women’s costume. Why is the women’s costume placed on a pedestal as a condensed symbol of the community? Why does the community read complex identity discourses into the women’s costume and the dance of the women at the wedding? One of the spheres in which this paper seeks answers are gender relations.
Southeast European (Post)Modernities: Changing Practices and Patterns of Social Life (Klaus Roth, Jutta Lauth Bacas, eds.), Ethnologia Balkanica 15, LIT Verlag, Berlin 2011, pp. 227-250.
The paper is based on multi-sited fieldwork carried out in southeast Kosovo (Gnjilane with its su... more The paper is based on multi-sited fieldwork carried out in southeast Kosovo (Gnjilane with its surrounding villages and Vitina enclave) and among persons displaced from this area to Smederevo, Vranje, and Vranjska Banja (all towns in Serbia). The aim was to examine the relation between ethnicity and other forms of identification (religious, regional, local, gender) in a context that had undergone profound changes since 1999, when an international protectorate had been set up for the region. This article focusses on changes occurring in family and kinship relations in the period following 1999. The pronounced traditionalism of the Serbian family in the context of rapid social change (war and postwar trauma, international administration, the migration of some of the population to Serbia, the influence of globalization, etc.) acquired new forms, reflected in, among other things, gender and inter-generational relations, procedures of property inheritance. The symbolic language of family rituals such as weddings (a private event which takes place in the public arena), expresses an imaginative merging of global and local into glocal.
Glasnik Etnografskog instituta SANU LIX/2, Beograd 2011, pp. 79-99. /in Serbian/
U opštim potezima izložena su teorijsko-metodološka polazišta i rezultati multilokalnog terenskog... more U opštim potezima izložena su teorijsko-metodološka polazišta i rezultati multilokalnog terenskog istraživanja srpske zajednice jugoistočnog Kosova. Rad predstavlja skraćenu verziju znatno obimnije studije odnosa etničkog i drugih oblika kolektivnog identiteta srpske zajednice jugoistočnog Kosova u posleratnom kontekstu.
Glasnik Etnografskog instituta SANU LVIII/1, Beograd 2010, pp. 129-139. /in Serbian/
Istraživač i sagovornik su ključne reči terenskog diskursa, a njihova interakcija – ključni probl... more Istraživač i sagovornik su ključne reči terenskog diskursa, a njihova interakcija – ključni problem terenske prakse etnologa i antropologa. Rad ima za cilj da razmotri uloge istraživača i sagovornika, kao i karakteristike odnosa koji se između njih uspostavlja u istraživačkom procesu. Odnos istraživača i njegovih sagovornika na terenu veoma je osetljiv, opterećen brojnim problemima transfera (prenosa) i kontratransfera (protivprenosa).
Glasnik Etnografskog instituta SANU LVII/1, Beograd 2009, pp. 51-69. /in Serbian/
Vranje (južna Srbija) je grad koji ima bogate slojeve stvarnosti, ali se slika o njemu iznutra, a... more Vranje (južna Srbija) je grad koji ima bogate slojeve stvarnosti, ali se slika o njemu iznutra, a dobrim delom i spolja, vezuje samo za jedan deo njegove prošlosti i samo za orijentalistički osenčene simbole i motive koji su izvedeni iz književnosti Bore Stankovića, čija se značenja dalje umnožavaju. U radu se razmatraju procesi interakcije unutrašnjih i spoljašnjih određenja identiteta Vranja, kao i orijentalistički diskurs koji ih karakteriše.
This book is based on long-term in-depth research in the south-east of Kosovo (in the town of Gnj... more This book is based on long-term in-depth research in the south-east of Kosovo (in the town of Gnjilane – the regional centre, and in the surrounding villages of Šilovo, Gornji Livoč, Gornje Kusce, Parteš and Pasjane; in the township of Vitina and the surrounding villages of Vrbovac, Grnčar, Binač, Mogila and Klokot; and also in the villages of Letnica and Draganac because of their religious significance). I also conducted research among displaced people from this region in few towns in Serbia (Smederevo, Vranje, Vranjska Banja). The research was carried out between 2003 and 2006, but I remained in contact with some of the interlocutors and continued to keep track of community dynamics within the region for a number of years subsequently. The fieldwork was conceived as multi-sited (Marcus 1995), because it was about a migratory situation. The terrain was defined as a network of localities (Hannerz 2003).
The aim of the research was to study the relationship between ethnicity and other forms of identification (religious, regional, local, gender) of the Serbian community of south-east Kosovo in a profoundly changed post-war situation following the establishment of the international administration in Kosovo, in 1999. My intention was to make an empirical and analytical contribution to understanding of the complexity of social interaction from different perspectives “from below”, in a specific frontier and post-conflict region such as Kosovo.
In the last decades of the 20th century, the identities of Kosovo became homogenised and acquired fixed boundaries, ethnic identification becoming more relevant than other forms of belonging. Ethnic identity, as shown in numerous studies, gains in importance in unclear situations, in periods of change and crisis, when conditions are in place for the experience of threatened boundaries (Eriksen 2002). Kosovo is a prime example of how political and other interest groups construct and mobilise, direct and exploit ethnic identities. Since 1999, Kosovo has been inhabited almost exclusively by Albanians. The Serbs are a minority, ghettoized into small enclaves and rural environments. Many other ethnic, religious and/or linguistic groups have been displaced or assimilated.
War provokes great social disruption and change; a constituent element of this is migration. The experience of war and forced migration of one part of the community changes the ways of both self-identification and the identification of the other, thus re-defining intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic relations and boundaries. As much research indicates, armed conflict is preceded by processes of homogenization within communities, the strengthening of boundaries and the assimilation of various types of identification into the ethnic. In a post-war context, with radical changes in the ethnic and social landscape, processes of articulation and re-articulation of identity have opened up in the Serbian community, rendering problematic its differing aspects. This research aims to extend understanding of such processes.
The book is divided into seven chapters. The first two establish the theoretical, methodological and analytical framework of the research. The third chapter, “Kosovo – a frontier region” aims to place the researched community in context. Processes of identification in frontier areas are specific in several respects. The results of many studies show that in the frontier and peripheral areas, group boundaries are less well-defined and more fluid, and identities – not only ethnic, but religious and others – are undetermined, situational, ambivalent and multiple (in contrast to those in central areas) (Duijzings 2000; Wilson, Donnan 1998). In these areas, changing identity and/or recourse to various forms of mimicry may be the only way to survive in certain political and social circumstances. Kosovo is a paradigm of these processes and solutions. This chapter also deals with the history of Kosovo, paying particular attention to the period of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the escalation of the conflict and the introduction of an international administration. Special attention is paid to the connection of the Serbian Orthodox Church with Kosovo. Next, the basic characteristics of the community are outlined: dense social network, the meaning and importance of internal boundaries, linguistic practice, etc.
The fourth chapter, “Living in a post-war region” examines everyday life, family and gender relations, identity discourse on traditional female costume and wedding. This chapter deepens the analysis of the connection between ethnic and religious identification of the researched community (hybrid cultural practice, particularly in the sphere of religion, the role of the Serbian Ortodox Church in the post-conflict period, pronounced traditionalism, etc. The Serbian Orthodox Church has great influence as the only Serbian institution that remained in Kosovo after the withdrawal of the Yugoslav and Serbian military and police in June 1999. For the Serbian community in Kosovo, the Church has much greater significance than simply as a religious institution; it is seen as the only institution that did not abandon the community in hard times. The members of the Serbian community of south-east Kosovo primarily thematize ethnicity with religious rituals and markings. Religious and ethnic identification become blended in such a way that the religious is in function of the ethnic. Finally, this chapter gives a detailed analysis of the paroxysm in the ethnisization of reality.
The next chapter is devoted to intra-ethnic relations and boundaries. Even though “externally” and/or from the “top down”, the Serbian community of Kosovo is defined as homogenous, its members within their own community, identify sub-group distinctions which cause tension. In the post-war context of evident ethnic homogenization, solidification and boundary closure, intra-ethnic categorization and the accompanying tensions it remain current and, in relation between Kosovo Serbs and Serbs from Serbia, gain new dimensions. For this reason, it is necessary to take a flexible approach to ethnicity which neither assumes a priori intra-ethnic homogeneity nor inter-ethnic heterogeneity (Talai 1986). Inter-group perceptions between the old inhabitants and the colonists are also addressed in this chapter as well as their implications. Then the analysis of the external definition – categorization of the so-called ‘Serbian Gypsies’ ensures (the term ‘Serbian Gypsies’ [Srpski Cigani] is used tentatively, since it is an exonym) and the long road this group have traveled from inter-ethnic towards intra-ethnic other (Zlatanović 2017). In the light of the post-war migrations, attention is paid to discourse and practice in relations between the displaced people of Kosovo and the population in Serbia.
The sixth chapter explores inter-ethnic relations and boundaries. First, attention is given to the discursive construction of the Kosovo Croats are defined in discourse, and the over-coming of religious boundaries. Next, the focus is on the most important, most complex and most ambivalent other – the Albanians (analysis of the basic characteristics of the discourse on the Albanians, the problem of naming, overcoming of boundaries – through cooperation, friendship, religion, and insight into the consistency of boundaries – mixed marriages were almost unheard of). The relations between members of the Serbian and Albanian communities are also considered beyond ethnicity, since there are many shared elements of identification that connect them.
The final chapter offers some concluding remarks on the relation between ethnicity and other forms of collective identification of researched community.
Bulletin of the Institute of Ethnography SASA LXVII/3 , 2019
This issue consists of eleven papers dedicated to migrations of individuals and/or communities in... more This issue consists of eleven papers dedicated to migrations of individuals and/or communities in Southeast and Central Europe. The concept of its topic is interdisciplinary – it is comprised of papers which examine the migration phenomenon, combining research methods of ethnology and social anthropology, sociology, history and political science. Despite the immense diversity of migration types researched, a significant number of them is, in their different ways, directly or indirectly, connected to the war (the first six papers). Economic reasons are also at the core of many migrations, and can be, but not necessarily so, connected to the war and the crisis common in post-war regions. In addition, personal reasons represent a possible motive for initiating migration, as shown in several papers.
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Papers by Sanja Zlatanović
The article examines the dynamics of the formation of the image of the Slovak community in Vojvodina in Slovak and Serbian political narratives from the 19th century to the present. It focuses on how its differences manifest in the (Czecho-)Slovak and Yugoslav (Serbian) context. The first part of the article explores the nationalising processes among the members of the Slovak community in present-day Vojvodina from the 19th century till the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire. The following parts are devoted to the position of the Slovak minority in Vojvodina in the conditions of the Yugoslav state in the interwar period, as well as its relations with the Czechoslovak Republic. The article also deals with the position of this community during the Second World War, in socialist Yugoslavia and after its dissolution in the early 1990s in the context of inter-state relations, but also the dynamics of intra-ethnic interactions. The paper draws on the symbolic interactionism approach, i.e. the shaping of mutual perceptions along and across ethnic boundaries and through intra-ethnic integration and differentiation practices.
of Sofia and Pernik. It explores the phenomenon of preferred
identification with the example of Džorevci in Bulgaria. The Džorevci
community is a paradigm of how an external definition –
categorization shapes the internal experience of belonging, with the
result that, for generations, they remain in an ambiguous, liminal
position, “betwixt and between” the recognised ethnic categories of
Bulgarian and Roma – “neither-norˮ and/or “both-and” (depending on
the individual, the situation and the wider social and political context).
In their interactions with relevant others – Bulgarians and Roma – the
Džorevci community is in a constant, long-term process of
negotiation, contestation and non-recognition, doubly included or
doubly excluded – in the narratives of my interlocutors the
predominant experience was of the latter.
The article examines the dynamics of the formation of the image of the Slovak community in Vojvodina in Slovak and Serbian political narratives from the 19th century to the present. It focuses on how its differences manifest in the (Czecho-)Slovak and Yugoslav (Serbian) context. The first part of the article explores the nationalising processes among the members of the Slovak community in present-day Vojvodina from the 19th century till the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire. The following parts are devoted to the position of the Slovak minority in Vojvodina in the conditions of the Yugoslav state in the interwar period, as well as its relations with the Czechoslovak Republic. The article also deals with the position of this community during the Second World War, in socialist Yugoslavia and after its dissolution in the early 1990s in the context of inter-state relations, but also the dynamics of intra-ethnic interactions. The paper draws on the symbolic interactionism approach, i.e. the shaping of mutual perceptions along and across ethnic boundaries and through intra-ethnic integration and differentiation practices.
of Sofia and Pernik. It explores the phenomenon of preferred
identification with the example of Džorevci in Bulgaria. The Džorevci
community is a paradigm of how an external definition –
categorization shapes the internal experience of belonging, with the
result that, for generations, they remain in an ambiguous, liminal
position, “betwixt and between” the recognised ethnic categories of
Bulgarian and Roma – “neither-norˮ and/or “both-and” (depending on
the individual, the situation and the wider social and political context).
In their interactions with relevant others – Bulgarians and Roma – the
Džorevci community is in a constant, long-term process of
negotiation, contestation and non-recognition, doubly included or
doubly excluded – in the narratives of my interlocutors the
predominant experience was of the latter.
The aim of the research was to study the relationship between ethnicity and other forms of identification (religious, regional, local, gender) of the Serbian community of south-east Kosovo in a profoundly changed post-war situation following the establishment of the international administration in Kosovo, in 1999. My intention was to make an empirical and analytical contribution to understanding of the complexity of social interaction from different perspectives “from below”, in a specific frontier and post-conflict region such as Kosovo.
In the last decades of the 20th century, the identities of Kosovo became homogenised and acquired fixed boundaries, ethnic identification becoming more relevant than other forms of belonging. Ethnic identity, as shown in numerous studies, gains in importance in unclear situations, in periods of change and crisis, when conditions are in place for the experience of threatened boundaries (Eriksen 2002). Kosovo is a prime example of how political and other interest groups construct and mobilise, direct and exploit ethnic identities. Since 1999, Kosovo has been inhabited almost exclusively by Albanians. The Serbs are a minority, ghettoized into small enclaves and rural environments. Many other ethnic, religious and/or linguistic groups have been displaced or assimilated.
War provokes great social disruption and change; a constituent element of this is migration. The experience of war and forced migration of one part of the community changes the ways of both self-identification and the identification of the other, thus re-defining intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic relations and boundaries. As much research indicates, armed conflict is preceded by processes of homogenization within communities, the strengthening of boundaries and the assimilation of various types of identification into the ethnic. In a post-war context, with radical changes in the ethnic and social landscape, processes of articulation and re-articulation of identity have opened up in the Serbian community, rendering problematic its differing aspects. This research aims to extend understanding of such processes.
The book is divided into seven chapters. The first two establish the theoretical, methodological and analytical framework of the research. The third chapter, “Kosovo – a frontier region” aims to place the researched community in context. Processes of identification in frontier areas are specific in several respects. The results of many studies show that in the frontier and peripheral areas, group boundaries are less well-defined and more fluid, and identities – not only ethnic, but religious and others – are undetermined, situational, ambivalent and multiple (in contrast to those in central areas) (Duijzings 2000; Wilson, Donnan 1998). In these areas, changing identity and/or recourse to various forms of mimicry may be the only way to survive in certain political and social circumstances. Kosovo is a paradigm of these processes and solutions. This chapter also deals with the history of Kosovo, paying particular attention to the period of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the escalation of the conflict and the introduction of an international administration. Special attention is paid to the connection of the Serbian Orthodox Church with Kosovo. Next, the basic characteristics of the community are outlined: dense social network, the meaning and importance of internal boundaries, linguistic practice, etc.
The fourth chapter, “Living in a post-war region” examines everyday life, family and gender relations, identity discourse on traditional female costume and wedding. This chapter deepens the analysis of the connection between ethnic and religious identification of the researched community (hybrid cultural practice, particularly in the sphere of religion, the role of the Serbian Ortodox Church in the post-conflict period, pronounced traditionalism, etc. The Serbian Orthodox Church has great influence as the only Serbian institution that remained in Kosovo after the withdrawal of the Yugoslav and Serbian military and police in June 1999. For the Serbian community in Kosovo, the Church has much greater significance than simply as a religious institution; it is seen as the only institution that did not abandon the community in hard times. The members of the Serbian community of south-east Kosovo primarily thematize ethnicity with religious rituals and markings. Religious and ethnic identification become blended in such a way that the religious is in function of the ethnic. Finally, this chapter gives a detailed analysis of the paroxysm in the ethnisization of reality.
The next chapter is devoted to intra-ethnic relations and boundaries. Even though “externally” and/or from the “top down”, the Serbian community of Kosovo is defined as homogenous, its members within their own community, identify sub-group distinctions which cause tension. In the post-war context of evident ethnic homogenization, solidification and boundary closure, intra-ethnic categorization and the accompanying tensions it remain current and, in relation between Kosovo Serbs and Serbs from Serbia, gain new dimensions. For this reason, it is necessary to take a flexible approach to ethnicity which neither assumes a priori intra-ethnic homogeneity nor inter-ethnic heterogeneity (Talai 1986). Inter-group perceptions between the old inhabitants and the colonists are also addressed in this chapter as well as their implications. Then the analysis of the external definition – categorization of the so-called ‘Serbian Gypsies’ ensures (the term ‘Serbian Gypsies’ [Srpski Cigani] is used tentatively, since it is an exonym) and the long road this group have traveled from inter-ethnic towards intra-ethnic other (Zlatanović 2017). In the light of the post-war migrations, attention is paid to discourse and practice in relations between the displaced people of Kosovo and the population in Serbia.
The sixth chapter explores inter-ethnic relations and boundaries. First, attention is given to the discursive construction of the Kosovo Croats are defined in discourse, and the over-coming of religious boundaries. Next, the focus is on the most important, most complex and most ambivalent other – the Albanians (analysis of the basic characteristics of the discourse on the Albanians, the problem of naming, overcoming of boundaries – through cooperation, friendship, religion, and insight into the consistency of boundaries – mixed marriages were almost unheard of). The relations between members of the Serbian and Albanian communities are also considered beyond ethnicity, since there are many shared elements of identification that connect them.
The final chapter offers some concluding remarks on the relation between ethnicity and other forms of collective identification of researched community.