The Culture of Ilegalja:
Albanian Militant Self-Organisations in Late Socialist Yugoslavia
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Date
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10 December 2013
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Time
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6:00 - 7:30pm
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Venue
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Cañada Blanch Room, (COW 1.11), 1st floor, Cowdray House, LSE, London WC2A 2AE
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Speaker
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Dr Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers, University of Bournemouth
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Chair
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Dr James Ker-Lindsay, LSEE Research on SEE, London School of Economics
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Dr Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers is a social anthropologist whose work focuses on Albania and Kosovo. She is a senior lecturer at the University of Bournemouth.
"[The Kosovar and Albanian cultural heritage is one of] public morality, obvious to those able to understand the messages conveyed via specific cultural tropes that underpin the symbolism of national commemorations, political speeches and even of many private remembrance rituals. These tropes (for example, the amanet) conjure up ideals of cross-generational obligation, ethno-national unity and self-sacrifice for the greater cause. All major parties have vied for popular support in these terms. I further claim that there is a more implicit socio-political legacy resulting from decades of experiencing state persecution and fears of infiltration, and this is evident in low degrees of interpersonal trust and routine evocations of mutual suspicion. Cultural tropes of unity (as well as of treachery) appear so emphasised exactly because social reality was so unreliable and fractured. Lastly there is a clear political legacy in terms of the new political elites, who, beyond the political parties, include the powerful Association of Former Political Prisoners and the Association of War Veterans", comments Dr Schwandner-Sievers for the LSEE Blog.
Read the full interview here|.
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