Overview
Assessing issues related to the Orthodox Church from an academic, secular point of view is a sensitive matter. However, by tracing and interpreting the engagement of the Serbian Church with the memory of Serbian heroic victimhood in World War II through a kind of “methodological agnosticism,” this volume has managed to tackle the subtle topic in a very delicate and value-neutral way. Arguing that the search for a collective memory is particularly urgent in the face of societal uncertainty and that religious institutions often use their memory potential to reaffirm their public relevance, the book examines the motivations, forms, strategies, and outcomes of a wide range of mnemonic activities the Serbian Orthodox Church engaged in following the upheavals caused by the collapse of Yugoslav socialism, the violent dissolution of the country, and the fall of the Milošević regime. These activities, taking place within the memory fields framed by the post-socialist, post-conflict, and post-secular horizons, took liturgical and non-liturgical forms, often involving a hybrid fusion of the two. As a result of this mnemonic endeavor, the author argues, the Church was successful in reasserting its power and legitimacy in the public sphere of post-2000 Serbia.
Full Product Details
Author: Karin Roginer Hofmeister (Post-doctoral researcher, lecturer, Malach Centre for Visual History at Charles University)
Publisher: Central European University Press
Imprint: Central European University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 1.70cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.548kg
ISBN: 9789633867433
ISBN 10: 9633867436
Pages: 282
Publication Date: 30 June 2024
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.
Reviews
"""This is an important book that effectively explores the commemorative practices of the Serbian Orthodox Church. In doing so, it shows how the Church commemorated key events during World War II in the post-Milosevic era and how it contributed to the larger historical narratives in Serbia. Through an impressive range of sources and detailed analysis, the book managed to close an important gap in understanding the position of the Church in Serbian society today and how it has shaped the public understanding of World War Two in Serbia."" --Florian Bieber ""This is an excellent book dealing with the mnemonic agency and engagement of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the production and transformation of World War II public memory. Through meticulously constructed and elaborated methodology, Roginer Hofmeister provides an in-depth study of how commemoration actually works, analyzing all its intricacies, and explores the encounter of the national dimension of social memory production and the transnational level of memory work. Remembering Suffering and Resistance carefully examines the Church's efforts to enter the mnemonic fields of World War II memory production--as exemplified by the appropriation of the globally appealing symbolism and vocabulary of Holocaust memorialization--in order to (re)establish its position of power and (re)assert its legitimacy in the public sphere of post-2000 Serbia."" --Bojan Aleksov"
""This is an important book that effectively explores the commemorative practices of the Serbian Orthodox Church. In doing so, it shows how the Church commemorated key events during World War II in the post-Milosevic era and how it contributed to the larger historical narratives in Serbia. Through an impressive range of sources and detailed analysis, the book managed to close an important gap in understanding the position of the Church in Serbian society today and how it has shaped the public understanding of World War Two in Serbia."" --Florian Bieber ""This is an excellent book dealing with the mnemonic agency and engagement of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the production and transformation of World War II public memory. Through meticulously constructed and elaborated methodology, Roginer Hofmeister provides an in-depth study of how commemoration actually works, analyzing all its intricacies, and explores the encounter of the national dimension of social memory production and the transnational level of memory work. Remembering Suffering and Resistance carefully examines the Church's efforts to enter the mnemonic fields of World War II memory production--as exemplified by the appropriation of the globally appealing symbolism and vocabulary of Holocaust memorialization--in order to (re)establish its position of power and (re)assert its legitimacy in the public sphere of post-2000 Serbia."" --Bojan Aleksov
Author Information
Karin Roginer Hofmeister is a post-doctoral researcher and lecturer in Holocaust Studies at the Institute of International Studies at Charles University in Prague, and coordinator of the Malach Centre for Visual History. She holds Ph.D. in Area Studies from the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University. She also studied at the SSEES, UCL, and the University in Belgrade. Her research focuses on contemporary history in Southeast Europe, especially on religious institutions and their engagement in re-constructing collective memory and identity.
