Identity and Conflict in the Balkans

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Identity and Conflict in the Balkans

• Sixth Week

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Kosovo in the News
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Reaction in Mitrovica
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Ethnic divisions
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Kosova Issues

• PM Hashim Thaçi

• President Fatmir Sejdiu

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Bridge on the Drina

• Ivo Andrics Bridge on the Drina

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History of the bridge

• 16th century
• Years to build follow the seasons
• Slave labor (early years)

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Cultures, hierarchies, identities

• References to conversions
• Tension between Christians and Muslims
• History and myth
• Power struggles
• Violence

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Cultures, hierarchies, identities

• References to conversions
• Tension between Christians and Muslims
• History and myth
• Power struggles
• Violence

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Influence of Historical Events

• Decline of the Han
• Great floods
• Effects of Serbian revolts against Turks
• Guardhouse and its victims

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Next Kaplan Chapters

• Old Serbia
• Albania
• Macedonia
• Beograd

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Serbia Issues

• Religion Serbian Orthodoxy as strong part of
  identity
• Spirituality, suffering, martyrdom as themes
• Importance of monasteries Gracanica

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History Nemanjic dynasty (Kaplan)

• Stefan Nemanja first independent state, end of
  12th (free from Byzantine control)
• Beginning of 14th King Milutin glory days
• Grandson Stefan Dushan huge kingdom B-H
  Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, N. Greece,
  Bulgaria
• Succeeded by son last of dynasty
• Elected Prince (Knez) Lazar (famous for 1389 loss)

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Ottoman Yoke Origins of Myth

• Serbia sacrificed to save Europe
• Serbia will be rewarded in heaven
• Turkish domination for centuries
• Post-Ottoman transformation TurksAlbanians
• Kosovo can be returned to Serbia now
• Famous speech by Miloevic in 1987
• Tito held all in fragile equilibrium

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Myth of Kosovo

• Based on folk epics
• Sung and passed down by guslar
• One-stringed instrument gusle

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Long literary and cultural heritage

• Cultural-political meaning lost battle must be
  avenged forces of good vs. evil
• Be patient accept suffering revolt redemption

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20th Century King Alexander I

• 1921-29 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenians
• 1929-1934 Kingdom of Jugoslavia
• Assassination 1934 by Croat
• Newsreel

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Religion and Politics

• Close alliance in Serbia
• Victimization and suffering
• World War II experience, anti-Communism intensify
  feeling
• Momentum for violence builds from late 80s

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Conflict

• Focus on Kosovo Christianity vs. Islam
• Threat Albanians plan to cleanse land of Serbs

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Population

• Serbia 9.4 million
• Kosovo 1.8 million

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Kosovo

• Pritina-capital
• Tito built it from village
• Built university

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Kosovo, Kosova
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Albania

• 20th Century World Wars, Tito and Hoxha
• Post-Tito Kosovo again

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Albania

• Population 3.5 million
• Illyrian heritage (pre-Greek)
• Occupied territory long before Slavs
• Distinctive language
• Centuries of Turkish occupation
• Occupied Kosovo, but never held it long
• Complex role in WWII
• Very secular state
• Animosity based on memory of massacres

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Ottoman domination 1479-1912

• 1878 Albanian League begins struggle for
  independence (in Kosova)
• Uprisings in 1881, 1910, 1912
• Declaration of Independence in 1912
• Territory ceded to Serbia in 1913 by London
  Ambassadors Conference

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WWI-WWII

• Occupied by Greece, France, Italy, Serbia,
  Austria-Hungary
• Enver Hoxha (Communist) led resistance in 1940s,
  WWII
• Peoples Republic in 1946
• Maintained independence and isolation from world
  powers, with special Chinese connections

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After Communism

• Hoxha died in 1985
• Communist rule ended in 1992
• Severe economic problems
• Migration of workers abroad
• Territory claims by Greece (which calls part of
  Albania Northern Epiros)
• Support for Kosova and Macedonian Albanians

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Enver Hoxha
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Albania
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Greater Albania
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Politics

• President Alfred Moisiu
• Prime minister Fatos Nano

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Kaplan Chapter 3 Macedonia

• Complex stories
• Competing nationalisms
• Common elements hatred and fear

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Skopje Bridge over Vardar
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Churches
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Mosques
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Macedonia
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Topics

• 1877 Treaty of San Stefano
• 1878 Congress of Berlin
• Gotse Delchev
• Balkan wars, 1912 and 1913
• WWI
• Bulgaria and Bulgarians
• Okhrid

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Short History

• Part of territory of Macedonia
• Controversy over name
• Orthodox 66, Muslim 33
• Population 2 million

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Political leaders

• Branko Crvenkovski (President)
• Nikola Gruevski (PM)

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Alexander the Great and the Macedonian Empire
(4th c. BCE)

• Whether the Macedonians of Alexander's time and
  before were Hellenes (Greeks) is disputed by
  scholars
• The question partly depends on the classification
  of the Ancient Macedonian language
• It also depends on how HE saw himself and his
  heritage, and how others saw him

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Empire
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Macedonias Complex History
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FYROM Today (use for Kaplan)
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Ethnicities

• Slavs
• Albanians
• Turks
• Greeks
• Bulgars

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Film Before the Rain

• "Before the Rain refers to the feeling of heavy
  expectation, when the skies are pregnant with the
  possibility of an outburst, when the people are
  silent, waiting for a tragedy of cleansing,"
  writer/director Milcho Manchevski
• 1994 directed by Milcho Manchevski
• Rade erbedia
• Macedonia-Great Britain

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Milcho Manchevski
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Awards

• Released in 1995
• Independent Spirit Award,
• Best Foreign Film, 1996
• Oscar nominee, 1995 Golden Lion for the Best
  Movie, Venice, 1995
• 30 awards overall

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Film Before the Rain

• Novice Kiril discovers visitor
• Murder suspect-fugitive-Albanian
• Relatives of victimsearch
• Violence
• Suspense

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Eastern Orthodoxy

• Orthodox churches
• Icons, iconostasis
• Monastic life
• Macedonian setting

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Language and culture differences

• Macedonian Orthodox
• Macedonian Muslim/Albanian
• Different languages
• Peaceful coexistence?
• Identity language, religious label (not
  doctrine), heritage

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Human message (so far)

• Violence close to the surface
• Children, ninja games, bullets in the fire
• Macedonian men seeking revenge random violence
  (against cat)
• Rain coming
• Garden provides sustenance (tomatoes given to
  girl)
• Monks offer protection

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Film Devices

• Time three parts, but the audience must
  coordinate
• Puzzles the Orthodox funeral who is being
  buried?
• Suggestion the Albanian girl is involved
• Narrative devices
• Unconventional chronology

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Second showing day

• Words was title for first part
• Message you cant save yourself by remaining
  silent

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Rain-2

• Kiril and Zamira are discovered
• Kiril is kicked out of the monastery
• Kiril and Zemfira leave together
• Zemfiras grandfather and brothers/cousins find
  them
• Zemfira tries to leave with Kiril and is killed
  by her brother

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Rain 3

• Second section (Faces first was Words)
• Anne showers, weeping
• Anne finds out shes pregnant

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Rains - 4

• Anne meets her mother
• Alexander joins them
• Alex and Anne in the taxi wants her to come to
  Macedonia (his home)
• She refuses note long look at interior of
  Catholic church

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Rain 5

• Be ready for narrative surprises, shifts in
  chronology
• More violence why?
• Who is Alex (or Alexander)? Photographer,
  returned from Bosnia won a Pulitzer

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(No Transcript)