The Political Dimension of Post-Socialist Memory Practices: Self-Organized Choirs in the Former Yugoslavia
The Political Dimension of Post-Socialist Memory Practices: Self-Organized Choirs in the Former Yugoslavia

Summary/Abstract: Abstract. The article discusses cultural and social practices that take a positive approach to the Yugoslav socialist past. These practices represent a potential source of emancipation, reflection, and resistance. They potentially imply a call for collectivity and solidarity in various post-Yugoslav worlds, as well as across ethnic boundaries. In particular, the article discusses the self-organized youth choirs that sing songs from the Yugoslav socialist period. The phenomenon of self-organized choirs in the former Yugoslavia is considered a paradigmatic example of a pro-active, autonomous and emancipatory approach to the Yugoslav past. An approach, the author argues, that is a precondition for imagining and negotiating a “decent”, “normal”, “European” future in the post-Yugoslav space.

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