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Lecturer(s)
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Kaplická Yakimova Vera, Mgr. Ph.D.
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Course content
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1. Introduction. The Balkans and its real and imaginary borders. Theoretical thinking about the Balkan space between "imagination" and "self-colonization". 2. Stereotype or characteristic? Crossroads of cultures Case study: "Whose song is this?". Adely Peeva's documentary road movie on (non)impenetrable Balkan borders. 3. Stereotype or characteristic? Dust barrel. (two meetings) Case study: And then they started shooting - the disintegration of Yugoslavia and its representation in literature and film. 4. Azbuka or Cyrillic, and why it is so "important" whose Cyril and Methodius are. Searching for identity - Slavic, Proto-Bulgarian, Muslim, Macedonian. Case Study: The Architecture of Contemporary Skopje and the Creation of Macedonian Identity 5. Literary Balkans 1. Impossible ways out. Balkans away from home. Case study: Aleko Konstantinov and his Baj Ganjo. 6. Literary Balkans 2. News from "the saddest place in the world". Contemporary Balkan literature. Case Study: Georgi Gospodinov and the Globalized Balkans. Novel Physics of grief. 7. "New" and old waves. Snippets from the history of Balkan film. Case Study: Romania's New Wave 8. Carnival of the Balkans. Representation of the Balkans in the films of Emir Kusturica. Case Study: Black Cat, White Cat (1998) 9. "Balkan rythms" and the functions of popular music inside and outside the Balkans. Case study: Comparison of lyrics and music of the Bosnian band Dubioza Kolektiv and the Bulgarian band Wickeda 10. Turbofolk and čalga as metaphors of the Balkans. Mass culture and politics. Case study: Two "fairy tale" stories: Ceca and Arkan as a Hollywood story against the background of nationalism and Azis as a queer provocation to traditional values. 11. Dreaming of the sea. Czechs in the Balkans, Czechs on the Balkans, Czechs by the seaside. Discussion of mutual stereotypes. 12. Burek, banica, pita. Balkan cuisine for beginners. Final meeting
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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Monologic (reading, lecture, briefing), Dialogic (discussion, interview, brainstorming)
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Learning outcomes
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The course introduces the students to the cultural characteristics and problems associated with the space traditionally called the "Balkans". The Balkans have a specific position on the edge of two cultural spaces - Western Europe and the Orient - and are strongly influenced by the desire to belong to the former and not to fail. At the same time, his position created a special mix of cultures, religions, languages and historical experiences. The lectures will be devoted mainly to cultural issues, the history or current political situation in the region will also be interpretated. Emphasis will be placed on literary, film or music representations of the Balkans, which will illustrate the selected topics.
The student will have a basic orientation in the current problems of the Balkan region and will understand their historical context.
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Prerequisites
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The course presupposes the ability of argumentation and basic knowledge in the field of modern literature, culture and history.
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Interview
Active participation, preparation of assigned tasks (reading an article or literary text, watching a film, etc.).
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Recommended literature
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ČVORO, Uroš. Turbo-Folk Music and Cultural Representations of National Identity in Former Yugoslavia. Farnham: Ashgate, 2014..
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DELIĆ, Zlatan. Turbo-folk zvijezda: (konstruiranje ženskog subjekta u tekstovima/pjesmama Lepe Brene, Svetlane Cece Ražnatović, Severine Vučković i Jelene Karleuše). Sarajevo: Šahinpašić, 2013..
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GOCIĆ, Goran. Notes from the Underground: The Cinema of Emir Kusturica. London: Wallflower Press, 2001..
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GOLDSWORTHY, Vesna. Inventing Ruritania: The Imperialism of the Imagination. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998..
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HLADKÝ, Ladislav. Bosna a Hercegovina: historie nešťastné země. Brno: Doplněk, 1996..
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IORDANOVA, Dina. Cinema of Flames: Balkan Film, Culture and the Media. London: British Film Institute, 2001..
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KIOSSEV, Alexandar. "The Dark Intimacy: Maps, Identities and Acts of Identification." In Balkan as Metaphor: Between Globalization and Fragmentation, edited by D. I. Bjelic and O. Savic, 165-90. Cambridge: MIT, 2002..
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KIOSSEV, Alexandar. "The Self-Colonization Metaphor," Atlas of Transformation (2008), http://monumenttotransformation.org/atlas-of-transformation/html/s/self-colonization/the-self-colonizing-metaphoralexander-kiossev.html..
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TODOROVA, Marija. Imagining the Balkans. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009..
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