Project 1.1: Contestation, Conflict and Normative Frames in the Balkans

Auspice: Social Sciences Research Centre/ Doctoral School

Leader: Assoc. Prof. K. Giakoumis

Duration: Until December 2017

Summary

The project looks at various historical and anthropological aspects of contestation, conflict and related normative frames in the Balkans.

Contestation is viewed both in symbolical and physical terms and researches how political, religious and cultural elites contest over physical, sacred or liminal space in the Balkans. One of this project’s tracks builds on work done by Eade and Sallnow and extends it to the study of the uses of religion in contestation of space, physical or not. In a historical anthropology fashion the project studies various case studies of contestation of sacred and space in the West Balkans in the longue durée. The other track refers to the contestation of sacred and space by totalitarian regimes. We revisit the dominant phenomenological paradigm of approaching totalitarian regimes as political religions, by drawing religious or sociological parallels indicating similarities between religion and despotic regimes. We further investigate how totalitarian regimes acquired such an outlook at the first place. Building up on the theoretical premises of Feuerbach and their influence on Chernyshevsky and through the latter to Lenin, this project aspect looks at various symbolic representations of communism in Albania as religious isomorpheme. There are strong indications that the centuries-old religious environmental conditions of peoples in a space contested by totalitarian regimes forced the latter to develop as a religious isomorpheme in order to win sooner and more easily the minds and hearts of ‘the proletariat’.

Conflict in the Balkans is researched in its symbolical systemic dimension with a focus in education. This project track examines the image of the “Other” in history school textbooks in the Albanian-speaking South Eastern Europe from 1886 until 2010s. The primary samples are history textbooks published in: 1. Albania, both, in Albanian and in Greek (for the educational needs of the ethnic Greek minority in S. Albania); 2. Former Yugoslavia, in Albanian, for the educational needs of the Albanian-speaking minority enclaves in the Republic of Macedonia,, Kosovo and Montenegro; 3. And Yugoslavia’s successor states, after the fall of the Berlin War, for the same needs. The sampling units to be analyzed will be selected from critical junctures in the history of Albania, Yugoslavia (and successor states of the Republic of Macedonia,, Kosovo and Montenegro).Utilizing a spiral (qualitative-quantitative-qualitative) research design, we investigate the image of the “Other” in identifications and identification shifts of the study time and regions vis-à-vis majority/minority group, domestic and international developments, new states, bilateral and multilateral relations. Findings are compared to the image of the “Other” in history school textbooks in Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Turkey.

The historical study of normative frames in the Balkans currently focuses on the history of family jurisprudence in Albania and Epiros from the 13th century to the 19th century, as well as its social and demographic implications. A total of 44 identified and transcribed divorce acts of Orthodox Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire, dating from 1786 to 1864, are being translated from the original Greek to English and Albanian, annotated and commented for the purpose of identifying the Roman and Byzantine sources of law used to rationalize decisions of the ecclesiastical courts of Gjirokastër and Korçë during this period, as well as the development of legal provisions in the Ottoman Empire. The acts were extracted from MS. F. 139, D. 2 (the Codex of Bishop Dositheos of Dryinoupolis and Gjirokastër) and MS. 99 of Korçë (former F. 141, D. 622).The acts considered from both manuscripts are indispensable sources for deep insights on the legal, social and demographic history in regions of Southern Albania and to some extent North-Western Greece in the 18th and 19th century. The sources provide glimpses to every-day-life problems (e.g. quarrels, accusations, slanders, assassination attempts, adultery, impotency, or incurable pre-matrimonial and post-matrimonial health problems), as well as socio-economic problems (e.g. immigration or criminality) leading to marriage dissolution. The project demonstrates the remarkable continuity of Roman Family Law, both in substance and procedure, to 18th and 19th-century Southern Albania through the Byzantine Family Law, the development of family law thought in the course of the Ottoman rule, as well their local customary adaptations. The rights of women and children and matters pertaining to gender relations and issues are of particular focus in the project.

Research Teams

Project 1, Track 1: Contesting the Sacred and the Space in the West Balkans

1.       Assoc. Prof. K. Giakoumis, Lead Researcher, kgiakoumis@unyt.edu.al.

2.       Dr. C. Lockwood, Researcher, christopherlockwood@unyt.edu.al.

3.       Dr. E. Cenko, enila.cenko@unyt.edu.al

Research Output

Giakoumis K. (2014), “From Religious to Secular and Back Again: Christian Pilgrimage Space in Albania”, in Eade J. – Katić M. (2014), Pilgrimage, Politics and Place-Making in Eastern Europe: Crossing the Borders, London: Ashgate, pp. 103-118 [cf. http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781472415936].

Giakoumis K. (2013), “The Politics and Pragmatics of Saint John-Vladimir’s Veneration and Pilgrimage”, in International Conference of Cyril & Methodius, 28-30 November 2013, Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki, November 29, 2013, Thessaloniki.

Giakoumis K. (2014), “Christian Mythology of Communism and Vice-Versa: A Case-Study on Albanian Communist Cinema”, in BASEES Annual Conference, 5-7 April 2014, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.

Giakoumis K. (2014), “Contesting the Sacred in Space: Saint John Vladimir and the Westernmost Dominions of Tsar Samuel”, paper presented at the International Conference “South-Eastern Europe in the Second Half of the 10th – the Beginning of the 11th Centuries: History & Culture”, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, 6-8 October 2014, Sofia.

Giakoumis K. – Lockwood C. (2014), “Pilgrimage Centered at Text and Memory: The Lapidar in Qukës–Pishkash”, in Oei van Gervain V. (2014), Lapidars, [forthcoming].

Giakoumis K., Anderson T., Lockwood C. (08.11.2014), “The Making of the Socialist Martyr: Pjetër Llesh Doda and Rrugë të Bardha”, paper presented at Tirana International Film Festival, Panel on the Albanian Cinema, Saturday, November 8, 2014, Tirana [cf. http://tiranafilmfest.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1655:the-albanian-cinema&catid=180:workshop-seminar&Itemid=511].

Giakoumis K., Lockwood C. and Cenko E. (2015), “Fear of Death and Mountainous Pilgrimage in Albania”, in Katić M., Birt D., Mirošević L. (2015), International Interdisciplinary Conference “Movements, Narratives and Landscapes”, University of Zadar, Department of Geography – Department of Ethnography and Cultural Anthropology, Zadar, 5th-7th June 2015, Zadar: University of Zadar, Croatia, pp. 70-71.

Giakoumis K. – Lockwood C. (2015), “Pilgrimage Centered at Text and Memory: The Lapidar in Qukës–Pishkash”, in Oei van Gervain V. [ed.] (2015), Lapidari, Brooklyn NY: Punctum Books, v. 1, pp. 89-96 (Albanian translation on pp. 97-104).

Giakoumis K. (2015), “Contesting the Sacred in Space: Saint John Vladimir and the Westernmost Dominions of Tsar Samuel”, in Gjuzelev V. – Nikolov G.N. (eds.) (2015), South-Eastern Europe in the Second Half of the 10th – the Beginning of the 11th Centuries: History & Culture. International Conference Proceedings, Sofia, 6-8 October 2014, Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, pp. 607-630.

Giakoumis K. (2015), “Glimpses from the Politics and Pragmatics of St. John-Vladimir's Veneration & Pilgrimage in the Longue Durée”, in Delikari A. (ed.) (2015), Διεθνές ΕπιστημονικÏŒ Συνέδριο “Κύριλλος και ΜεθÏŒδιος: Το Βυζάντιο και ο κÏŒσμος των Σλάβων”, 28-30 Νοεμβρίου 2013, Thessaloniki: Municipality of Thessaloniki, pp. 133-144.

Giakoumis K. (2015), “Contesting the Sacred: Albanian Anthroponymy in Votive Inscriptions of 18th to 20th Century Artworks at the “Onufri” Museum, Berat”, paper read in “Diachronic and Synchronic Dimensions of Linguistic and Cultural Interaction Between Greeks and Albanians”, 2nd International Conference of Greek-Albanian Studies, Tirana, March 27-28, 2015.

Giakoumis K. (2015), “Preparing for martyrdom: The decorative programme of Ardenica Monastery, Myzeqe”, paper read at the Conference Art Readings 2015. Heroes / Cults / Saints. On the Occasion of the 500th anniversary since the martyrdom of St George the New Martyr of Sofia, Sofia, 8-9 May 2015.

Giakoumis K. – Lockwood C. – Anderson T.A. (March 2016), “The Making of the Socialist Martyr: Pjetër Llesh Doda and Rrugë të Bardha”, KinoKultura Special Issue 16. Stable URL: http://www.kinokultura.com/specials/16/albania.shtml.

Affiliated Projects

1. Albanian Lapidary Survey, http://departmentofeagles.org/2014/albanian-lapidar-survey/
2. Tirana International Film Festival, http://tiranafilmfest.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1655:the-albanian-cinema&catid=180:workshop-seminar&Itemid=511

Research Teams

Project 1, Track 2: The Image of the “Other” in Historiography and History School Textbooks of the Albanian-Speaking Regions of SEE (1886-2010s)

1.       Assoc. Prof. K. Giakoumis, Ph.D., Lead Researcher, kgiakoumis@unyt.edu.al.

2.       Dr. I. Kalemaj, Researcher, ilirkalemaj@unyt.edu.al.

3.       Dr. D. Stojanov, Researcher, d_stojanov_sk@hotmail.com

4.       Dr. P. Todorov, Researcher, todorovpetar@yahoo.com

5.       Mr. Aleksandër Naçi, Research Assistant.

Research Output

Giakoumis K. – Kalemaj I. (2014), “Continuities and Changes in Perceiving the Greek as an “Enemy” in the Albanian National Identity-Building Process: Albanian National Movement to 2010s”, Strategies of Symbolic Nation-Building International Conference, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Rijeka, May 8-10, 2014, Rijeka.

Haxhi E., Kavaja K., Kalemaj I., Giakoumis K. (2014), “Continuity and Change in Perceptions of the Greek as an “Enemy” in the Albanian National Identity-Building process (Albanian National Movement up to 2010s)”, paper presented at the International Conference on “Myths in South-Eastern European Textbooks”, Tirana, 22-24 October, 2014, Tirana.

Giakoumis K., Kalemaj I., Haxhi E., Kavaja K. (2014), “The Politics & Pragmatics of Representation of War & Revolution In History School Textbooks of Albania from National Awakening to 1939”, paper read at the International Conference “Balkan Worlds II: Balkan Perception of War and Revolution in the Long Nineteenth Century (1789-1918)”. Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, November 27-29, 2014, Thessaloniki.

Kalemaj I. – Giakoumis K. (2014), “Oscillating between Inclusionary Autonomy and Secessionist Independence: Identification Shifts and the Dynamics of Albanian Perceptions of the Young Turks Movement”, in Stamatopoulos D. [ed.] (2015), Balkan Nationalism(s) and the Ottoman Empire, III (The Young Turk Revolution and Ethnic Groups), Istanbul: Isis Press, pp. 155-171.

Kalemaj I., Giakoumis K. (2015), “The Image of Greek-Albanian Lingual and Cultural Relations in Albanian School History Textbooks (1886-1939)”, paper read in “Diachronic and Synchronic Dimensions of Linguistic and Cultural Interaction Between Greeks and Albanians”, 2nd International Conference of Greek-Albanian Studies, Tirana, March 27-28, 2015.

Giakoumis K., Kalemaj I., Stojanov D., Todorov P. (2015), “Representing War and Revolution in School History Textbooks from Neighbouring States: A Comparison between Macedonia and Albania”, paper read in the conference Historiography and History Education in the South Slavic- and Albanian-Speaking Regions, Skopje, 3-4 June 2015.

Giakoumis K. (2015), “Tracing Self-Identifications of Bregdeti Inhabitants: 16th to 18th Century (Gjurmimi i IdentifikimevetëVetësprejBanorëvetëBregdetitnëShek. XVI-XIX)”, paper read at the Konferenca Ndërkombëtare Albanologjike “Urat Kulturore mes Himarrës dhe Diasporës Arbërore në shek. XVI-XVIII (Kronikë Identitare dhe Eurocentriste)”, “Ismail Qemali” University, Vlora, November 10-11, 2015.

Giakoumis K. (2015), “The Baptism of Fire: Preparing the New Albanian Socialist Man through 1945-6 Primers”, paper read at the workshop After the War – A New Beginning? A Comparative Examination of Reading Primers Published and Used in 1945 in Europe, Georg Eckret Institute, Braunschweig, November 13-14, 2015.

Giakoumis K. (2016), “Self-Identifications by Himarriots, 16th to 19th Centuries”, Erytheia. Revista de EstudiosBizantinos y Neogriegos, v. 37, pp. 9-50.

Petar Todorov, “Teaching history in Macedonia after 2001: Representation of inter-ethnic relationship in Macedonian history textbooks”, a paper read in the First Georg Arnhold Summer School, Teaching and Learning About the Past in The Aftermath of (Civil) War and Mass Violence: The Challenges and Promises of History Education in Divided and Post-War Societies – Georg Eckert Institute, Braunschweig, Germany, 24-29 July 2014.

Petar Todorov, “The representations of Yugoslavia in post-socialist history textbooks in Republic of Macedonia”, paper raed in the International Conference “Transition in Retrospect: 25 Years After the Fall of Communism”, Tirana, 27-28 November 2015.

Petar Todorov, “The Image of Other: Representations of ethnic Albanians in Macedonian history textbooks”, paper read in the conference Historiography and History Education in the South Slavic- and Albanian-Speaking Regions, Skopje, 3-4 June 2015.

Coordinated by Giakoumis K., Stojanov D., Todorov P. and Lichnofsky C. a workshop on Fostering Pedagogies of Intercultural Understanding Through Common Heritage, Tirana, Mondial Hotel, 10-12 December 2015. The workshop involved academics, teachers and policy-makers and was organized by UNYT, the Institute of National History, Skopje and GEI, Braunschweig, Germany.

Research Teams

Project 1, Track 3: Family Law In Epiros and Albania (13th 19th centuries)

1.       Assoc. Prof. K. Giakoumis, Lead Researcher, kgiakoumis@unyt.edu.al.

2.       Mr. Aleksandër Naçi, Research Assistant.

3.       Nisjeta Sulshabanaj, student research assistant.

4.       Artenis Peka, student research assistant.

5.       Adriela Kanushi, student research assistant.

6.       Krios Hyqmeti, student research assistant.

Research Output

A monography will be produced in English and in Albanian in 2017.

Summary

The “Onufri” Museum in the Castle of Berat is host of some of the most important cultural treasures in Albania. In spite of the Museum’s collateral attractions (the Byzantine Castle with its important Byzantine and post-Byzantine churches, the rich Ottoman heritage of the city), the “Onufri” Museum together with the city’s Ethnographic Museum attract altogether a very limited number of visitors per annum (7,889 visitors in 2013).

Considering the number of visitors with the low price of tickets, the number of museum employees with the increasingly insufficient state funds to address the soaring yet for years neglected needs of the Onufri Museum, the need to adopt new models of cultural heritage management linked with the market is imperative.The reasons, for which the Onufri Museum, in its current way of functioning, is financially unsustainable in the middle-run, are complex. First and foremost, the Museum is static, with a rather obsolete conceptualization which has remained the same from the Museum’s founding to date. The second reason, yet closely linked with the first, is the absence of Museum awareness and Museum culture in Berat.

In recognition of these problems, this current programme aims at generating awareness about the cultural values and pedagogical opportunities that the Museum provides, thereby cultivating a Museum culture at a local level and beyond. The project objectives are:

1. To increase the number of visitors of the “Onufri” Museum paying ticket.
2. To organize a thematic exhibition with the Museum’s holdings combined with some of the Regional Directorate of National Culture’s ‘sleeping’ repository holdings.
3. To develop apedagogical cross-disciplinary pilot-module for students aged 11-14 based on the exhibits.
4. To transmit the know-how regarding the organization of such events to cultural managers, educators and other members of the local community to eventually guarantee sustainability.

Research Team

Project 1, Track 1: Raising Museum Awareness & Museum Culture in Berat

1. Prof. Assoc. K. Giakoumis, Lead Researcher, kgiakoumis@unyt.edu.al.
2. Dr. A. Cela, Researcher and Project Manager, arianacela@unyt.edu.al.
3. Mr. Agron Polovina, Project Partner.
4. Mr. Eugen Kallfani, Project Partner.
5. Mr. Selman Hodaj, Project Partner.
6. Mr. Ajet Nallbani, Researcher.
7. Mr. Arjan Prifti, Research Assistant.
8. Ms. Rezarta Pilafi, project partner.
9. Ms. Majlinda Xhamo, project partner.
10. Ms. Genta Krasniqi, research assistant.
11. Mr. Kristi Nikolla, research assistant.
12. Ms. Bijona Troqe, research assistant.
13. Ms. Evllotina Ferro, Workbook VII co-author.
14. Ms. Aida Çanollari, Workbook VII co-author.
15. Ms.Zamira Kushova, Workbook VII co-author.

Research Output

Giakoumis K. (ed.) (2015), Water in Arts and Crafts in the Berat Region. 4th Century B.C. to 19th Century A.D., Tirana: Gentgrtafik – University of New York Tirana.

Giakoumis K., Cela A., & Meka E. (2015), Building audiences through thematic exhibitions: Preliminary lessons from Berat, paper presented in International Conference on “50 years of study and restoration of Albanian Cultural Heritage”, 22-23 October 2015, Tirana, Albania.

Giakoumis K. (ed.) (2016), Fletore për Nxënësit e Klasës VII. Modulet Pedagogjike e Ekspozitës “Ujinë Arte dhe Zejtarinë Rajonin e Beratit, nga shek.IV para Krishtit deri në shek. XIX pas Krishtit”, Tirana: Gentgrtafik – University of New York Tirana.

Giakoumis K. (ed.) (2016), Fletore për Nxënësit e Klasës VII. Modulet Pedagogjike e Ekspozitës “Ujinë Arte dhe Zejtarinë Rajonin e Beratit, nga shek.IV para Krishtit deri në shek. XIX pas Krishtit”, Tirana: Gentgrtafik – University of New York Tirana.

Giakoumis K. (ed.) (2016), Manuali për Mësuesit e Moduleve Pedagogjike të Ekspozitës “Uji në Arte dhe Zejtarinë Rajonin e Beratit, nga shek.IV para Krishtit deri në shek. XIX pas Krishtit”, Tirana: Gentgrtafik – University of New York Tirana.

Giakoumis K., Cela A., Meka E. (2016), “Building Audiences through Thematic Exhibitions and Internationalization of Heritage: A Case from Berat (Rritja e Audiencës nëpërmjet Ekspozitave Tematike dhe Ndërkombëtarizimit të Trashëgjimisë. Rasti i Beratit)”, Monumentet, v. 54, pp. 55-71 (Albanian synopsis on pp. 72-73).

Cela, A., & Giakoumis, K. Managing Culture Heritage: School children perceptions toward heritage, In preparation.