Между модернизация и традиционализъм. Всекидневната култура на селото в Югоизточна Европа
Between Modernization and Traditionalism. Everyday Culture in the Southeast European Village

Summary/Abstract: The article focuses on the modernizing changes which the Southeast European villages were exposed to since the late 19th century; these changes, however, never resulted in the same kind of modernity which is characteristic of the West European countries. This was due to a number of factors, among them the fact that modernization was imposed on the predominantly agrarian population by the urban elites and was met with skepticism or even resistance. The villages and agriculture were the big losers in this development process. The socialist governments continued this tradition: their modernizing impulse based on forced industrialization and collectivization was again imposed from “above”, and again the villages received little attention. The villagers reacted to these changes in a similar way: accepting some of them, modifying others, and rejecting many of them. As a result, social change in the socialist villages was two-sided: it brought both modernization and – as a result of strategies of life management under “real socialism” and of a lack of trust in the state – a recourse to pre-modern patterns and behaviors, a re-traditionalization of many social relations and structures. Everyday culture changed in the same way, preserving or reinforcing patriarchal patterns and mentalities and shaping a specific style of life management in the socialist period based on clear dichotomies (for example official and inofficia1, public and private, distrust in the state and trust in the family, socialist ideals and everyday realities). In the post-socialist era, the traditional attitudes and values, behaviors and social relations, continue to govern village life, impeding modernization, leaving the villages with a heavy burden for years to come.

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