Naslov
Isolation and Disappearance of Identities: Facing the Consequences of the Earthquake in the Border Area of Croatia (Banovina/Bania)

Autori
Mihaljević, Lucija ; Podjed, Dan

Kolaboracija
Bilateralni slovensko-hrvatski projekti

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, ostalo, znanstveni

Izvornik
27th Annual World Convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN) / Arel, Dominique - New York (NY) : Columbia University Press, 2023

Skup
27th Annual World Convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN)

Mjesto i datum
New York (NY), Sjedinjene Američke Države, 18.05.2023. - 20.05.2023

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
isoaltion, Croatia, Banija, containers, earthquake

Sažetak
Social science studies have confirmed that social inequalities are related to economic and geographical isolation (Tilki et al. 2009 ; Leavey et al. 2007). Consequently, isolation is related to individual perceptions of group belonging (see Phillipson et al. 2001 ; Askham et al. 2006). However, people facing political isolation in post-conflict areas (Croatia, Cyprus, Turkey, etc.) may witness abuses of social structures, which can alter and realign prevailing perspectives on hidden political practices (Gelo 2003 ; Navaro-Yashin 2009 ; Fowles 2010 ; Azoulay 2013 ; Bloch & Parry 1982). Notwithstanding the generally positive economic development and prosperity of Croatian society, isolated and demographically empty spaces are a problematic social reality and a hidden side of national progress (Akrap & Ivanda 2019). In the former socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the emptiness and potential revitalization of isolated spaces are often misunderstood and represented by extreme examples and stereotypes. A positive stereotypical example is a successful individual, usually a better educated man, whose entrepreneurial initiative has become a common case of a successful revitalization strategy. At the same time, a negative stereotypical story highlights an elderly woman living alone in an empty village. Both presented stereotypes consequently demonstrate feminization and senilization of isolated and rural areas due to the migration patterns (Dzenovska 2020 ; Dugački et al. 2021). The range of different interpretations of isolation or revitalization is constructed as an exclusively individual choice or a transitional phenomenon where there is no capacity for change, with a lack of focus on the responsibility of political elites in the transition period from socialism to capitalism (Castells 2017 ; Kallis 2011). Therefore, to better understand what it means to be isolated, it is crucial to locate and compare the different experiences of individual isolation, and to develop a new anthropological approach for the analysis. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Croatia was hit by the strong earthquake in Petrinja (the fieldwork site), which further endangered and isolated people, especially national minorities living in the Bania/Baranja region along the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Earthquakes, Covid-19, and isolation undermined Croatian policies of rapid social prosperity, security, and advancement according to EU development criteria. The range of different interpretations of isolation or revitalization is constructed as an exclusively individual choice or a transitional phenomenon where there is no capacity for change, with a lack of focus on the responsibility of political elites in the transition period from socialism to capitalism (Castells 2017 ; Kallis 2011). Therefore, to better understand what it means to be socially and geographically isolated, it is crucial to locate and compare the different experiences of individual isolation, and to develop a new anthropological approach for the analysis.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Etnologija i antropologija

POVEZANOST RADA