Disputed Histories - Personal and Official Narratives in (Post) Yugoslav Era History Textbooks
Abstract
This paper examines the shift that took place when official historical narratives began to be conceived from the perspective of personal histories (and identÂities) in the post-Yugoslav context. It opens up a space in which to imagine new positions that can lead to the construction of more coherent official historical narraÂtiÂves, beyond narrow national perspectives. This paper is based on material arising from the experience of worÂking on the artistic/research project Disputed Histories, which consists of a library of history textbooks and a series of complementary workshops, which compare and analyse a series of different history curricula.
References
[1] D. Stojanović, Ulje na vodi (Oil on the Water), PeÅ¡Äanik, Belgrade, 2010. In her analysis of current Serbian History textbooks, Serbian historian Dubravka Stojanović drew a parallel between revised history curriculums with pre-military training guides, due to the prevalence of themes related to wars and conflicts in comparison to peacetime periods.
[2] Meaning that pupils can't purchase or inherit second hand books that would be free or much cheaper.
[3] This is not the case with the current textbooks in Serbia, due to contempt for the above-mentioned procedures.
[4] O. Pupovac, "Arbitrariness of the Signifier? The construction of peoplehood in the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia" (2004), in: Craig, Garry (ed.) "Race" and Social Research: five case studies, Working Papers in Social Sciences and Policy, University of Hull.
[5] Humans are social beings and historically societies have developed through communities. The principles by which these communities are regulated is an important political issue. Communities based on national principles as we know them today are the result of the parallel development of capitalist relations and modern states over the last two centuries. The constitution of modern nation states is a process that goes hand in hand with the development of capitalism. In the contemporary neoliberal phase, and in the context of post-Balkan wars, it keeps economically weaker social classes under control, impeding their ability for self-identification and social and political subjectivization. V.R.
[6] In words of Danko Grlić “Highlighting the national in our epoch primarily has (when it is not a question of anti-colonial movement) one basic function: to disguise, cover-up, camouflage and mystify class relations." (Marginalias on the problem of the nation, p. 554).
[7] Giambattista Vico's (1668–1744) theories claimed to set the bases for today’s understanding of history as a progressive rather than repetitive process.
[8] Due to the biological ability to give birth, women are much more closely bound to natural cycles than men, and this makes them more vulnerable to imbalances that may be provoked in nature. When this equilibrium is threatened, as in neoliberal capitalist relations, women are the first to note the damage. It is precisely there where 'the flow of capital obstructs the flow of rivers' where women are invited to act in defense of life. V.R.
[9] J. Derrida, "Choreographies", Points... Interviews, 1974-1994;“Maybe woman doesn't have history at all, and not because of some notion of 'the eternal feminine', but because she completely alone could resist a certain history and withdraw from certain history (just in order to be able to dance) in which is in principle inscribed the revolution or, at least, 'the term' revolution.â€.
[10] At this moment the library is located in the Center for Cultural Decontamination in Belgrade in a space called “Ignorant Schoolmasterâ€, which is a place for self-education and a public library - an archive of articles, journals and books on Yugoslav humanities. At the same time, the library or parts of it have been moving and taking part in exhibitions, such as Spaport Biennial in Banja Luka, Raumshiff Yugoslavia exhibition at the NGBK Gallery, Berlin, 52nd October Salon, Museum of Yugoslav History, Belgrade, Cartografias Contemporaneas, Fundacio La Caixa, Barcelona, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sarjevo, etc. V.R.
[11] Available at: http://irational.org/vahida/history/.
[12] The fall of the Berlin Wall symbolically marked the end of the Cold War, Bloc politics and Communist regimes. For Europe it also meant the reunification of Germany and undergoing a new course in EU politics. The fall of the Twin Towers, which is still surrounded by controversy, brought with it the enforcement of control and new types of wars such as the "War on Terror", which paved the way for the liberalization of markets, the privatization of public institutions, cut-backs of public funds, the infringement of human rights, etc. One of the ongoing tasks of the library is to detect and determine how these global shifts in perceiving history are reflected in the local regional context of the Balkans. V.R.
[13] It is well known that discussions involving history can easily turn passionate due to their power to provoke emotional identification.
[2] Meaning that pupils can't purchase or inherit second hand books that would be free or much cheaper.
[3] This is not the case with the current textbooks in Serbia, due to contempt for the above-mentioned procedures.
[4] O. Pupovac, "Arbitrariness of the Signifier? The construction of peoplehood in the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia" (2004), in: Craig, Garry (ed.) "Race" and Social Research: five case studies, Working Papers in Social Sciences and Policy, University of Hull.
[5] Humans are social beings and historically societies have developed through communities. The principles by which these communities are regulated is an important political issue. Communities based on national principles as we know them today are the result of the parallel development of capitalist relations and modern states over the last two centuries. The constitution of modern nation states is a process that goes hand in hand with the development of capitalism. In the contemporary neoliberal phase, and in the context of post-Balkan wars, it keeps economically weaker social classes under control, impeding their ability for self-identification and social and political subjectivization. V.R.
[6] In words of Danko Grlić “Highlighting the national in our epoch primarily has (when it is not a question of anti-colonial movement) one basic function: to disguise, cover-up, camouflage and mystify class relations." (Marginalias on the problem of the nation, p. 554).
[7] Giambattista Vico's (1668–1744) theories claimed to set the bases for today’s understanding of history as a progressive rather than repetitive process.
[8] Due to the biological ability to give birth, women are much more closely bound to natural cycles than men, and this makes them more vulnerable to imbalances that may be provoked in nature. When this equilibrium is threatened, as in neoliberal capitalist relations, women are the first to note the damage. It is precisely there where 'the flow of capital obstructs the flow of rivers' where women are invited to act in defense of life. V.R.
[9] J. Derrida, "Choreographies", Points... Interviews, 1974-1994;“Maybe woman doesn't have history at all, and not because of some notion of 'the eternal feminine', but because she completely alone could resist a certain history and withdraw from certain history (just in order to be able to dance) in which is in principle inscribed the revolution or, at least, 'the term' revolution.â€.
[10] At this moment the library is located in the Center for Cultural Decontamination in Belgrade in a space called “Ignorant Schoolmasterâ€, which is a place for self-education and a public library - an archive of articles, journals and books on Yugoslav humanities. At the same time, the library or parts of it have been moving and taking part in exhibitions, such as Spaport Biennial in Banja Luka, Raumshiff Yugoslavia exhibition at the NGBK Gallery, Berlin, 52nd October Salon, Museum of Yugoslav History, Belgrade, Cartografias Contemporaneas, Fundacio La Caixa, Barcelona, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sarjevo, etc. V.R.
[11] Available at: http://irational.org/vahida/history/.
[12] The fall of the Berlin Wall symbolically marked the end of the Cold War, Bloc politics and Communist regimes. For Europe it also meant the reunification of Germany and undergoing a new course in EU politics. The fall of the Twin Towers, which is still surrounded by controversy, brought with it the enforcement of control and new types of wars such as the "War on Terror", which paved the way for the liberalization of markets, the privatization of public institutions, cut-backs of public funds, the infringement of human rights, etc. One of the ongoing tasks of the library is to detect and determine how these global shifts in perceiving history are reflected in the local regional context of the Balkans. V.R.
[13] It is well known that discussions involving history can easily turn passionate due to their power to provoke emotional identification.
Published
2015-08-01
How to Cite
RAMUJKIć, Vahida.
Disputed Histories - Personal and Official Narratives in (Post) Yugoslav Era History Textbooks.
Култура/Culture, [S.l.], n. 9, p. 9-18, aug. 2015.
ISSN 1857-7725.
Available at: <https://journals.cultcenter.net/index.php/culture/article/view/128>. Date accessed: 23 mar. 2026.
Section
English Articles
Keywords
history textbooks, history curriculum, official historical narratives and identities, private histories and identities, socially engaged art practice, art and ideologies, history and ideology, Post-Yugoslav nati¬o¬na-lisms, socialist era
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