We invite you to a guest lecture, which will be held in co-organization with the Institute for Cultural and Memory Studies ZRC SAZU, within the cultural-historical doctoral module, by Mladen Zobec:
Negotiating ‘Brotherhood and Unity:’ Albanian Migrant Entrepreneurs in Socialist Slovenia.
During socialism, Albanian migrant businesses constituted the most prominent and visible example of an ethnic economy in Yugoslavia. The presence of Albanian ice-cream shops, fast-food kiosks, and bakeries became ubiquitous across the federation. Focusing on socialist Slovenia, this presentation offers a microhistory of a group of Albanian craftsmen and businessmen from Polog, Macedonia. Using oral history and archival sources, emphasis is given to the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion within Slovenian society in the broader context of Yugoslav socialism. Although Yugoslavia championed ideals of national equality, the experiences of Albanian entrepreneurs in Slovenia reveal exclusionary practices ranging from orientalist representations to harassment by the secret police. Despite discrimination, however, Albanian businesses thrived during socialism. The presentation delves into how Albanian migrants were not merely passive bystanders subjected to historical events but active agents navigating the historical political conditions. Addressing this question illuminates both the specificities of the group and the wider Yugoslav societal, political, and economic trends pertaining to socialist modernity.
The lecture in English will take place on Monday, 11 November 2024, at 1:30 PM at Križevniška dvorana, Gosposka ulica 16, Ljubljana.
Mladen Zobec is a sociologist specializing in the Balkans, with a focus on the social, political, and economic history of Yugoslavia, labor migration, ethnic migrant entrepreneurship, and socialist modernity. Currently a visiting researcher at the Institute for Cultural and Memory Studies (ZRC SAZU), he lives and works between Ljubljana and Vienna. Research for his ongoing PhD project was conducted within the FWF-supported project “To the Northwest! Intra-Yugoslav Albanian Migration (1953-1989),” led by Rory Archer at the Centre for Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz. His dissertation focuses on the “Albanian ethnic economy in socialist Slovenia (1945-1990)” and explores the lived experiences of Albanian-speaking migrant entrepreneurs during Yugoslav socialism. Additionally, he is an administrator of the Balkan Academic News (BAN) newsletter.
Kindly invited!
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