Description
Book SynopsisThis book investigates the study of
memory activism and
memory of activism, emerging after conflict, as a political civic action. It examines the appearance and growth of memory activism in Serbia amid the legacies of
unwanted memories of the wars of the 1990s, approaching the post-Yugoslav region as a region of memory and tracing the alternative calendars and alternative commemorative practices of memory activists as they have evolved over a period of more than two decades. By presenting in-depth accounts of memory activism practices, on-site and online,
Memory Activism and Digital Practices after Conflict: Unwanted Memories analyses this evolution in the context of generational belonging and introduces frameworks for the study of #hashtag #memoryactivism, alternative commemorations and commemorative solidarity.
Trade Review"Orli Fridman has provided a fascinating account of memory activism in Serbia and the post-Yugoslav region. Lucidly written and meticulously researched, it adds greatly to our understanding of how commemoration and political dissent work together: essential reading."
- Ann Rigney, Utrecht University
"Attuned to the fine-grained singularities and complexities of memory activism, this is a sensitive account of the commemorative performativity that keeps historical time open in the present. Relaying the multiplicity of experiences involved in memory activism in Serbia in the aftermath of the violent dissolution of Yugoslavia, it offers compelling insights into the unresolved ongoingness of contemporary contingencies -including war, nationalism, inequality, and political loss. At the same time, it guides our attention to the capacity of counter-memory activism as a constitutive strand of peace activism to map terrains of dissent and social justice. Fridman’s thoughtful critical engagement summons possibilities for the transformative afterlife of unwanted and suppressed memories."
- Athena Athanasiou, Professor of Social Anthropology at Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences - author of
Agonistic Mourning: Political Dissidence and the Women in Black (Edinburgh University Press, 2017).
Table of ContentsPreface
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Memory Activism and Alternative Commemorative Practices after Conflict
Chapter 1. Unwanted memories of (the wars of) the 1990s
Chapter 2. ‘Not in My Name’ – From Anti-War to Memory Activism: The 1st Generation
Chapter 3. ‘Too Young to Remember, Determined Never to Forget’: The 2nd Generation
Chapter 4. Hashtag Memory Activism: Digital Memory Practices and Online Commemorations
Chapter 5. Regions of Memory: The Post-Yugoslav Space as a Region of Memory Activism
Epilogue: Unwanted Pasts in an Unresolved Present
Appendix 1. YIHR Transitional Justice Calendar
Appendix 2. March 2010 YIHR Announcement of ‘Action to commemorate crimes committed in Kosovo in March and April 1999’
Appendix 3. CPI Brochure: ‘Program of guided tours to places of "Suppressed memories"’
Appendix 4. Women’s Court Invitation to Hear Public Testimonies in Sarajevo, May 2015
Bibliography
