Balkan. Somewhere between a tragedy and a myth, a place and a condition, the term is perhaps best understood as a metaphor. It has been used and abused in academia by proponents of opposing political views. Multiculturalism has appropriated it, as have postmodernism and postcommunism. It is used pejoratively to refer to excessive specialization and nostalgically to refer to Europe's lost people -- its wild warriors and passionate geniuses. This book explores the idea of the Balkan as metaphor and the meaning of Balkan identity in the context of contemporary culture. Focusing on Balkanism both as a body of knowledge and as the critical study of that discourse, this book does for the Balkans what Edward Said's Orientalism did for "the Orient." The sixteen authors, most of whom were born and educated in the Balkans, apply the Western academic tools of postmodernism, poststructuralism, deconstruction, psychoanalysis, and critical multiculturalism to topics as varied as the rhetoric of Balkanization, the war in Kosovo, Western demonization and erotization of the Serbs, Balkan film, human rights legislation, Byzantinism, the vampire as an image of Balkan violence, envy of the political and moral capital of victimhood, the tendency of the Balkan psyche toward depression, Serbian machismo and homosexuality, and wartime rape. The book both lays the groundwork for a new field of study and serves as an act of resistance against the many forms of representation that break the Balkans into fragments such as NATO army bases and digital maps in order to wire them into the global market.
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"This challenging anthology is based on the premise that geographic identity conveys a rich and revealing intellectual coherence... recommended. Zachary T. Irwin Library Journal
About the Author
Obrad Savia is Professor of the History of Social Theory and Philosophy at the University of Belgrade and Acting President of the Belgrade Circle.
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During the summer of 2000 we (students from Serbian universities, representatives of various Serbian NGOs, and two professors from a U.S. university) sat in a small restaurant in Vladicin Han, on the border of Serbia and Macedonia. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
During the summer of 2000 we (students from Serbian universities, representatives of various Serbian NGOs, and two professors from a U.S. university) sat in a small restaurant in Vladicin Han, on the border of Serbia and Macedonia. Read the first page
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
More than mere metaphor
23 Oct 2007
By PMcCarthy
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
In the context of the Balkan wars, Renata Salecl outlined the problematic of what she termed "the fantasy structure of the homeland." (11-12) She argues that the nation is based on a kind of social fiction - essentially a narration about this land which, in Lacanian terms, she defines as fantasy: the attempt to symbolise or flesh out the emptiness of reality.
Bjelic and Savic's edited volume is a timely and authoratative addition to the literature on the Balkans, especially their central thesis: that the Balkans has taken on a certain fantasy structure, not of the homeland, but of the underbelly of Europe or the western other. That 'Balkanism' (akin to but different than Said's 'orientalism' - a great companion piece to Maria Todorova's Imagining the Balkans [Oxford, Oxford U Press, 1997])- has cast the region in the eyes of all who look from without as some perverse and alien region where vampires (Serbs) lurk in dark corners (Toma Longinovic's piece 'Vampires Like Us: Gothic Imaginary and "the serbs"') and Balkan thinking comes from the sweaty loins of porn-fed chetniks (Rastko Mocnik and Dusan Bjelic and Lucinda Cole's pieces here are noteworthy).
It outruns Salecl's thesis and her ex Zizek's lapidary comments about the place and is a substantial intellectual endeavour. A late arrival on the scene, the book is however timely as some dust has settled in the region and some reflective space allowed (perhaps).
As it comes from within cultural studies and critical theory discourses, it's an important text for a broader reading of culture than just the Balkans.
Bjelic and Savic's edited volume is a timely and authoratative addition to the literature on the Balkans, especially their central thesis: that the Balkans has taken on a certain fantasy structure, not of the homeland, but of the underbelly of Europe or the western other. That 'Balkanism' (akin to but different than Said's 'orientalism' - a great companion piece to Maria Todorova's Imagining the Balkans [Oxford, Oxford U Press, 1997])- has cast the region in the eyes of all who look from without as some perverse and alien region where vampires (Serbs) lurk in dark corners (Toma Longinovic's piece 'Vampires Like Us: Gothic Imaginary and "the serbs"') and Balkan thinking comes from the sweaty loins of porn-fed chetniks (Rastko Mocnik and Dusan Bjelic and Lucinda Cole's pieces here are noteworthy).
It outruns Salecl's thesis and her ex Zizek's lapidary comments about the place and is a substantial intellectual endeavour. A late arrival on the scene, the book is however timely as some dust has settled in the region and some reflective space allowed (perhaps).
As it comes from within cultural studies and critical theory discourses, it's an important text for a broader reading of culture than just the Balkans.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating and brilliant...not for beginners, though!
13 Mar 2012
By Hasan-Can Arat
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This book is a rare discussion about social, political, and historical issues in Southeast Europe that is critical without falling into the racist rhetoric that often dominates discussions of the region. Indeed, this is one of the first collections of voices from the region available to the West that actually challenges those discussions and the manner in which they are carried out. In true academic fashion, the authors focus on the process by which we ask questions about the region, rather than attempting to provide answers. It is very complex, cerebral, and demands a certain level of prior familiarity with the history and culture of the region. For those who are interested in the region, or are history buffs in general, I would definitely recommend it, but not as an introduction.
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