/ 1968
pdf

FOUR AND A HALF DECADES OF “CONFUSED SILENCE”

/in , , /by

The purpose of this paper is a search for verified non-ideological significance and an analysis of the reasons for public neglect of the event called “Congress of Cultural Action in SR Serbia”, held in Kragujevac at the end of 1971. The paper starts from the fact that the Congress was the biggest relevant event in the field of redefinition of national cultural policy in Serbia in the 20th century, whose content should be viewed outside of the ideological framework. The first special hypothesis is that the main reason for the institutional neglect of this event was related to the opposite political views; the other hypothesis is that the so-called “marginal events” were autochthonous and were not directly connected with the Congress; and the third one implies that the most appropriate type of oblivion of this event is what we could call “forgetting as a confusing silence.” The aim of the research is to determine the real picture of the events preceding, during and after the Congress of Cultural Action, its significance and the reasons for forgetting such an event. We relied primarily on the method of “oral history”, with an analysis of the content of secondary sources. The paper strives for recommendations that would define the importance of abstracting ideological assumptions in a study of content that has scientific potential.

/ 1968
pdf

A DARING CHALLENGE

/in , , /by

This paper provides an analysis of how the Čik magazine, an entertainment magazine with crosswords, puzzles and games, became a kind of an informal youth magazine in interaction with its readers, and how it began to publish articles about social issues and sociopolitical problems, especially in 1967 and 1968, when it became the most popular magazine in the socialist Yugoslavia. On the basis of this example, it is concluded that the “mass” or “popular” culture in the socialist Yugoslavia could have been, and in certain circumstances was, a dynamic field for avoidance of domination and control, the field for negotiation, resistance and (sometimes) conflict, too. Finally, it is suggested that further research should be focused much more on the social dynamics of everyday life in socialism.

/ 1968
pdf

WOMEN’S PRESS IN SOCIALIST YUGOSLAVIA

/in , , /by

The position of women had changed significantly in the socialist Yugoslavia after World War II. However, despite the declarative and ideological equality between men and women, such equality was not reflective of reality. Women’s magazines which were an important part of the popular culture also testify to this. In addition to its entertainment function, women’s press, including the Bazar magazine, was intended to enlighten women. Women were required to be beautiful and attractive, and they were taught the roles of wives, mothers, housewives and the role of workers only to a certain degree. Domestic (household) domain was reserved for women, while public domain remained reserved for men. This paper will attempt to answer whether popular culture in the socialist Yugoslavia was liberal, and whether women’s press promoted freedoms or supported patriarchal ideology. The goal was to use the qualitative analysis method to analyze the first issue of the magazine Bazar and to prove that women’s popular culture in socialism emphasized pre-established gender roles, despite regulatory changes whose aim was emancipation of women.

/ 1968
pdf

ROUTING OF POPULAR MUSIC BY THE POLITICAL PARTY IN THE YUGOSLAV SOCIALIST SOCIETY

/in , , /by

This paper shows how the experts and the analysts of the Communist party/Communist Alliance (through their Youth Organization and interaction with artists and cultural workers) have traced the road of development of the Yugoslav popular music as an integrative factor of the socialist society of Yugoslavia.

/ 1968
pdf

YUGOSLAVIA AT VUK’S FAIRS

/in , , /by

Vuk’s Fair, a festival dedicated to the Serbian language reformer, Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, has been held in Tršić since 1933. It is easy to follow, through the history of these fairs, all of the ever-changing cultural policies and ideologies that existed in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, post-war Yugoslavia, and modern Serbia. This paper, however, will focus on the period during which the first State Board for the Organisation of Vuk’s Fairs operated, from the late 60s to the early 70s – as one of the key eras in the post-war Yugoslavia. It was during this period that Vuk’s Fair gained all the characteristics of an “annual state-party ritual”.

/ 1968
pdf

YUGOSLAVS AND YUGOSLAVISM AT THE END OF THE 1960s AND THE BEGINNING OF THE 1970s

/in , , /by

At the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s, one of the questions that used to divide the Yugoslav public and additionally inspire national disputes was the question of defining the terms “Yugoslav” and “Yugoslavism”. The leadership of the Communist Alliance of Yugoslavia and the state, considered Yugoslavism does not mean existence of the Yugoslav nation, and they did not allow any national or ethnic reading of the term. In Croatia and Slovenia particularly, any mention of Yugoslavism would receive a negative, unitarian connotation. The only Yugoslavism that was allowed was in support of the political course of the socialist self-management. However, the negation of the nationalistic Yugoslavism, which arrived from the top people in power, could not deter many former fighters, members of the Army, young people, spouses and children from mixed marriages, population of the multi-ethnic communities and some communists from declaring as Yugoslavs. Although the top Party members made some attempts to prevent this, the Communist Alliance of Yugoslavia had to allow the citizens their right to declare as Yugoslavs in the 1971 Census, even though they did not fail to insist that it did not count as nationality.

/ 1968
pdf

MARKING THE FIGHTER’S DAY IN TITOVO UŽICE IN 1961

/in , , /by

In the first post-WW2 years in the communist Yugoslavia, gradual abolishment of religious holidays started, diminishing the religious domain to the home and household members, and the church to its churchyard. Yugoslav legislation established new, federal republic and other holidays. Due to paper limitations, the manner of celebrating secular holidays will be reviewed on the example of the Fighter’s Day, which was announced federal holiday on April 26, 1956. Marking of the twentieth anniversary of the insurrection of the peoples of Yugoslavia will be viewed through three narratives: the first narrative (“a view from the outside”) consists of the data on celebrations of this holiday from the archives and press, while the second and the third narrative (“views from within”) consists of the data from interviews which the text author conducted in 2009 and 2010 with the producer and a participant of the celebration. Based on these data, the primordial event and its formal/structural characteristics and function of the subject holiday will be analysed.

/ 1968
pdf

THE HOUSES OF YUGOSLAV CULTURE

/in , , /by

This paper deals with the Houses of Culture in former Yugoslavia, which are anticipated as a reflection of concepts and goals of (new) Yugoslav culture, in the complex socio-political context of the Yugoslav socialist community. It builds on the assumption that a specific type of institution – House of Culture – was taken for a basic unit for developing infrastructural network for culture, and refined into specific, almost autochthone modalities. These modalities represent specific contributions within autochton type, considering its programme concept, its multiple socio-political functions and its aspirations to reflect particularities of the Yugoslav cultural project. Such a broadly set framework of Yugoslav culture opened up an equally wide interpretative field for architecture, through which the belonging to European (avant-garde) cultural space was emphasized. These works of architecture, whether just competition entries or actual buildings, have condensed the newly established social values through creative programme and visual researches of social realities and their reflections on the body of architecture. Various approaches of different authors, found between the two ends of the spectrum, the experiment and the social realm, have left behind some authentic layered works and designs, which are paradigmatic for understanding the relations of social realms, culture and architecture.

/ 1968
pdf

DIALECTICS OF MEMORY AND LOGIC OF FORGETTING

/in , , /by

Inspired by the experience of the Soviet Union in the aftermath of World War II, many cities of former Yugoslavia created the so-called children’s railways. These pioneer railways played multiple roles in the society at that time. Apart from the fact that their construction was ideologically motivated, another purpose of the pioneer railways in the post-war period was to provide a happy childhood to children. Also, the idea was for the young people to develop their orientation to technical professions from the early days, as well as admiration and respect for the railroad professions and traffic engineering in general. Although they did not last for long, analysis of the children’s railways can give us a picturesque insight into the ambitious cultural and educational policies of that time, the use of propaganda machinery to support the project, and in particular, it shows general social lethargy that has overcome the preservation and use of heritage. Specifically, the educational function of the pioneer railways was extremely emphasized, since they were intended to develop ethical values, the will for unselfish work for the community, and work discipline. This paper particularly case studies the reasons and origins of establishment, the duration and the factors for the disappearance of the Pioneer Railway in Košutnjak, Belgrade. In case of this particular railway, we actually do not have any doubts as to how such an ambitious educational vision happened to be overturned overnight – the answer to that is clear. Unfortunately, it did not become an unsustainable megalomaniacal project over time: it was like that from the very beginning. Also, the main question remains: Why did we allow lack of wider social care or in other words, how did we lose almost every memory of this educational vision?

/ 1968
pdf

EMERGENCE OF TRAVEL AGENCIES IN YUGOSLAVIA AS DRIVERS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRAVEL CULTURE

/in , , /by

Although the idea of the creation of the first travel agency in Yugoslavia existed in the middle of the 19th century, it took more than sixty years to establish the first travel agency, Putnik, in Belgrade in 1923. Founding of a tourist agency initiated numerous trips, both domestic and foreign, to the places of former Yugoslavia. The most popular destinations in Yugoslavia in the first half of the 20th century were in southern Serbia, Slovenia and the Adriatic. During 1930, business operations of Putnik were marked by cruises and thematic exhibitions in Paris, London, Nice, as well as the opening of a large number of branches in different cities, in the country and abroad. Until the beginning of World War I, important events for the development of tourist travels in Yugoslavia occurred: printing of posters, brochures, promotions of destinations, opening of the Belgrade Fair, making of the first tourist film in colour. After World War II, which had a very negative effect on tourism in the whole world, including Yugoslavia, a period of the country’s restoration followed and a golden age of tourism in Yugoslavia started, which by the number of tourists, their overnight stays and tourism revenues have never been exceeded. The appearance of agency activity in Yugoslavia contributed to the creation of a travel culture that has had multiple benefits for both travellers and hosts, but also for the society as a whole.