Политики на поменене и на забрава: Юбилейните чествания на български културни дейци (20-те-40-те години на ХХ в.)
Policies of Remembrance, Policies of Forgetfulness:The Anniversaries of Bulgarian Cultural Figures (the 1920s-1940s)

Summary/Abstract: My paper treats the official anniversary celebrations of prominent personalities in the Bulgarian culture during the 1920s-1940s. This practice, wide spread after the First World War, is based on anniversaries’ precedents in the end of the 19th century, on the state cultural policy and on the conceptions of Bulgarian intelligentsia during the interwar period. The paper compares these so called ‘personal anniversaries’ to the celebrations of historical events and of cultural institutions’ establishment. A particular stress is laid on the first anniversaries of few prominent women. My text comments the personal anniversaries as a cultural practice that has transformed the collective (national and cultural) memory and has created ‘canon’ in the social consciousness. On the other hand, my research analyses the personal anniversaries as an initiative that has been marked important social changes. Also these personal anniversaries have made visible some firm cultural stereotypes (for example, in the field of gender) and have imposed ‘policies of forgetfulness’ on exact personalities and on whole social groups.

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