Prerequisits

There are no specific prerequisites for participating in this course and completing its requirements. However, prior knowledge of basic theories of memory, post-socialism, and cultural studies is recommended, as it will facilitate understanding of the topics discussed and enable active participation in discussions and practical tasks. Students should be prepared to analyse complex theoretical texts and engage in research activities.

Content (syllabus outline)

Remembering socialism as a cultural and discursive practice:

• Why study memory?
• Why study post- socialism?
• Terminological issues, post-socialism, post- socialism, transition, transformation,
• Characteristics of approaches to post-communist societies
• Forms of remembering socialism: web pages, museums, narratives, literature, film, etc.

Nostalgia for socialism: between justification and accusation:

• History of nostalgia,
• Nostalgia as socially relevant phenomenon,
• Functions and actors of nostalgia for socialism,
• Forms of nostalgia for socialism,
• Nostalgia for socialism and consumerism.

Remembering socialism in the former Yugoslavia:

• Characteristics of Yugoslav socialism and post-Yugoslav post- socialism,
• Remembering socialism between the national and supra-national,
• Dialogue between “official” and private memories.

Yugo-nostalgia as a social and cultural phenomenon:

• Functions and forms of Yugo-nostalgia,
• Characteristics of Yugo-nostalgic discourses,
• Forms of Yugo-nostalgia among former Yugoslavs,
• Yugo-nostalgia and diaspora.

Remembering socialism in the arts and other performative forms:

• Remembering socialism and cinematography.
• Remembering socialism and literature.
• Remembering socialism and other artistic forms.

Remembering socialism and shaping collective identities:

• Remembering socialism and the working class.
• Remembering socialism and former soldiers.
• Remembering socialism and partisans.
• Remembering socialism and women.
• Remembering socialism and members of minority communities

Readings

• Boym, Svetlana. 2001. The Future of Nostalgia, New York: Basic Books.
• Hann, Chris M. ur. 2002. Postsocialism: Ideals, Ideologies and Practices in Eurasia, Routledge.
• Forrester, Sibelan, Zaborowska, Magdalena in Gapova, Elena ur. 2004. Over the Wall/After the Fall: Post-Communist Cultures Through an East-West Gaze, Indiana University Press.
• Berdahl, Daphne. 1999, Where the World Ended: Re-Unification and Identity in the German Borderland, Berkeley – Los Angeles – London: University of California Press.
• Stewart, Kathleen. 1988. Nostalgia – A Polemic, Cultural Anthropology, 3/3.
• Nostalgia, Balcanis, 12-16, letnik 5, pomlad-zima 2004.
• Yuniverzum, Časopis za kritiko znanosti, 2006.

Objectives and competences

The aim of this course is to develop an understanding of the processes and practices of remembering socialism in post-socialist societies and to explore their impact on contemporary social and cultural discourses. Students will acquire competences for analysing memory as a cultural and discursive practice that enables the justification of social positions, strategies, and moral values in the period of post-communist transformations. Special emphasis will be placed on individual experiences and narratives, and their interplay with collective and “official” interpretations, which will facilitate a critical understanding of post-socialist transformations and their impacts on personal and social life.

Intended learning outcomes

Students will use the knowledge acquired in the course to produce a scientific contribution that can serve as a draft of a dissertation chapter or a research article. In doing so, they will develop the ability to critically analyse and interpret memory practices in the post-socialist context, synthesise the acquired information, and enhance their academic writing skills, contributing to their scientific and professional development.

Learning and teaching methods

Types of learning/teachin:

• Frontal teaching,
• Work in smaller groups or pair work,
• Independent students work,
• e-learning.

Teaching methods:

• Explanation,
• Conversation, discussion, debate,
• Work with texts,
• Case studies.

Assessment

• Long written assignements (80 %),
• Final examination (written/oral) (20 %).