Who Owns the Past?: The Politics of Time in a 'Model' Bulgarian Village | BERGHAHN BOOKS
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Who Owns the Past?: The Politics of Time in a 'Model' Bulgarian Village

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Volume 21

New Directions in Anthropology



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Who Owns the Past?

The Politics of Time in a 'Model' Bulgarian Village

Deema Kaneff

240 pages, bibliog., index

ISBN  978-1-57181-534-7 $135.00/£99.00 / Hb / Published (January 2004)

ISBN  978-1-84545-298-8 $34.95/£27.95 / Pb / Published (October 2006)

eISBN 978-1-78238-662-9 eBook

https://doi.org/10.3167/9781571815347


View CartYour country: - edit Buy the eBook from these vendorsRequest a Review or Examination Copy (in Digital Format)Recommend to your LibraryAvailable in GOBI®

Reviews

“It is an intelligent idea to look at society in terms of competing renditions of the past, and this can be rewarding for studies of other than socialist societies...The book demonstrates the significance of meaning for state formation.”  ·  Focaal

”…the book is an intelligent reading of rural socialist Bulgaria; it demonstrates the significance of meaning for state formation in general and places the artifacts of humanities, history tradition, and folklore right at the center of political science.”  ·  Focaal

"…a welcome addition to the literature on the relationship between politics and history in the rural areas of socialist Bulgaria…The book masterfully explains how the official socialist version of local history was created and disseminated through life history narratives, ceremonies, awards and textbooks…The book is very readable and could be successfully used in undergraduate classes."  ·  JRAI

Description

In the decades since the collapse of socialism in eastern Europe, time has been a central resource under negotiation. Focusing on a local community that was considered a "model" in the socialist period, the author explores a variety of state-sponsored and unofficial pasts - history, folklore, and tradition - and shows how they "fit" together in everyday life. During the socialist period, the past was a central dimension of local politics and village identity. Post-socialist development has demanded a revaluation of temporality - as well as public and private space. This has led to fundamental changes in social life and political relations, reduced local resources, threatened village identity and transformed political activity through the emergence of new political elites.

While the full implications of this process are still being played out, this study underlines some of the fundamental processes prevalent across eastern Europe that help explain widespread ambiguity vis-B-vis post-socialist reform.

Deema Kaneff is reader in Social Anthropology at the Centre for Russian, European and Eurasian Studies at the University of Birmighnam.

Subject: Anthropology (General)SociologyPolitical and Economic Anthropology
Area: Central/Eastern Europe


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