Difficult Pasts and Joyful Memories: Collective Memory of Joy in History Textbooks in the Former Yugoslavia

• In Event: 1440 - Collective Memory

Abstract

Studies examining the (mis)use of collective memory in states with difficult pasts have typically focused on the exploitation of memories rooted in trauma (stories of loss of territory, victimhood, and perpetual enmity with neighbours), although glorification of the nation, ideas of who belongs to the nation, and what constitutes the nation, are also found in joyful memories. In this paper, I examine how collective memories of joy are accounted for in countries grappling with representations of difficult pasts. Which discursive strategies do textbooks use in instilling particular images of the nation in pupils’ heads, and how do they differ from those used in non-joyful events? Relying on content analysis of history textbooks currently used in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia, I examine how “joyful” memories are represented in memories of “banal” or everyday joy (memories of sports events, music, literature, and popular culture); and in memories of “hot” or explicit nationalism (memories of victories in battles, reclaiming territory, etc), and how they differ across the five countries. I conclude with reflections on the usefulness of studying memories of joy when examining issues of collective memory and nationalism.

Author

• Tamara Pavasovic Trost, University of Ljubljana