Historical Memories of Kosovo Serbs in the Post-War Period and Conflicting Serbian National Narratives About Kosovo
Historical Memories of Kosovo Serbs in the Post-War Period and Conflicting Serbian National Narratives About Kosovo

Summary/Abstract: The paper is aimed at complementing the research of historical memories and national narratives in Central and Eastern Europe by analysing the Serbian case in relation to the issue of Kosovo. Focusing on the historical memories of the Kosovo Serbs in the post-war years, the paper aims to find out the prevalent forms of memorialisation, identifying the events chosen by the Kosovo Serbs to remember and the mechanisms employed to shape, maintain and transmit memories. Drawing on ethnographic observations made during five years of field research all over Kosovo, national collective memory of the Kosovo Serbs is traced through the dominant historical images, publically displayed symbols and commemorative discourses related to the collective experiences of the post-war period. The second part of the paper analyses the competing Kosovo-related narratives in Serbia, identifying the main messages shaped by the narratives with regard to the relationships between the citizen, the nation and the state, the dichotomy between ethnocultural solidarity and the concept of civic nation, as well as the relationship between the citizen and the narrative itself. Straipsnyje nagrinėjama Kosovo serbų pokario istorinė atmintis, nustatant svarbiausius atmenamus įvykius, vyraujančias atminimo įamžinimo formas ir atminties formavimo, palaikymo bei perdavimo mechanizmus. Remiantis etnografiniais stebėjimais, išskiriami vyraujantys istoriniai vaizdiniai, simboliai ir atminimo diskursai, atskleidžiantys nacionalinę kolektyvinę atmintį. Analizuojami konkuruojantys naratyvai apie Kosovą, išskiriant jų numanomus požiūrius į piliečio, tautos ir valstybės santykius, etnokultūrinio solidarumo ir pilietinės tautos sampratų priešpriešą bei piliečio ir naratyvo santykį.

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