Overview

The central role that the regime of Slobodan Milosevic played in the bloody dissolution of Yugoslavia is well known, but Marko Zivkovic explores another side of this time period: the stories people in Serbia were telling themselves (and others) about themselves. Zivkovic traces the recurring themes, scripts, and narratives that permeated public discourse in Milosevic's Serbia, as Serbs described themselves as Gypsies or Jews, violent highlanders or peaceful lowlanders, and invoked their own mythologized defeat at the Battle of Kosovo. The author investigates national narratives, the use of tradition for political purposes, and local idioms, paying special attention to the often bizarre and outlandish tropes people employed to make sense of their social reality. He suggests that the enchantments of political life under Milosevic may be fruitfully seen as a dreambook of Serbian national imaginary.

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Reviews

The use of 'imaginaries' in scholarship helps determine the limits of 'what it is possible to think'; they provide raw material for narratives of various sorts and play a psychological and cultural role akin to discourse in shaping practical and creative endeavors. Anthropologist ^DvZivkovi (Univ. of Alberta, Canada) takes readers a long way toward a long overdue, fair-minded, and full analysis of the Serbian imaginary. Although one might argue that most national imaginaries contain many self-serving, exotic elements, ^DvZivkovi tries to convince readers that 'the stories Serbs tell themselves' are so 'bizarre, outlandish, and strange' that they deserve the more provocative collective title of 'dreambook.' The author's colorful examples and relevant analyses provide short courses on various Serbian cultural touchstones, such as archaeology and the hunt for ancient, non-Slavic progenitors, and the enduring megalomania of a 'Byzantine Commonwealth.' From the historian's point of view, this intriguing work does not so much explain Serbian politics as explain how Serbs explain politics, and it offers a valuable chronicle of what one might call the 'default settings' for the (domestic) representation of Serbian history. ^DvZivkovi's focus is the Milo^Dvsevi period, corresponding to the bloody dissolution of Yugoslavia, although earlier and later periods call for similar treatment. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Most levels/libraries. --Choice J. K. Cox, North Dakota State University, March 2012 Anthropologist ivkovi takes readers a long way toward a long overdue, fair-minded, and full analysis of the Serbian imaginary... Highly recommended. -Choice I completely agree that dreams are 'a machine to think with,' and Serbian Dreambook is a powerful machine indeed. -Robert Rotenberg, DePaul University Serbian Dreambook is a must-read for all-graduate students and scholars in social sciences, even political scientists and journalists-interested in European identities, particularly southeastern European identities: how they are created, perpetuated, and sustained. It also contributes to the further understanding of present-day political realities in Serbia. -AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [E]ssential for anyone interested in Serbian and Yugoslav history and Balkan studies more generally. -SLAVIC REVIEW [The author] analyzes the ways in which intellectuals contributed to and directly supported the nationalistic discourse of Milosevic's Serbia, relying on the Kosovo narrative of victimhood and exceptionalism. -WORLD LITERATURE TODAY [A] fascinating addition to Indiana University Press's series on 'New Anthropologies of Europe,' as well as a contribution to the broader academic literature related to the decline of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Unlike most studies of this period, which focus on the larger ethnonationalist, political, and historical processes that divided Yugoslavia under the leadership of Slobodan Milosevi, ivkovi draws attention to the private narratives that Serbian civilians used to make sense of their shifting roles and social realities in the new Serbia. In doing so, ivkovi reveals a complex matrix of ethnonationalist mythologies that were revised and reinvented by Serbian civilians in their efforts to come to terms with the lived experiences of political upheaval, war, and mass atrocities. -ORAL HISTORY REVIEW ivkovi proves to be an engaging, but also well-informed, guide to ways in which certain key aspects of Serbian history, geography and culture are not only produced but also endlessly debated and assigned new meanings. Primarily addressed to readers in social and cultural anthropology, the book will also be of use to historians: the theory is sophisticated, but worn relatively lightly, with attempts to engage the lay reader. Quite lengthy endnotes provide necessary context and explanation for the uninitiated, as do a dozen or so suggestive illustrations. -English Historical Review

I completely agree that dreams are 'a machine to think with', and Serbian Dreambook is a powerful machine indeed. Robert Rotenberg, DePaul University

""I completely agree that dreams are 'a machine to think with', and Serbian Dreambook is a powerful machine indeed."" Robert Rotenberg, DePaul University ""From the historian's point of view, this intriguing work does not so much explain Serbian politics as explain how Serbs explain politics, and it offers a valuable chronicle of what one might call the 'default settings' for the (domestic) representation of Serbian history. ... Highly recommended."" Choice, March 2012

Author Information

Marko Živković is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Alberta.

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