Reclaiming Heritage from Anti-Communist Discourse

Main author: Causevic, Senija
Format: Journal Article           
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Summary: This article explores how challenging socio-political contexts have influenced the revival of antifascist heritage sites in post-Yugoslavian states. Despite the official politics of promoting national hegemony through adhering to neoliberal norms, these sites promote the values of shared humanity and antifascism. Drawing on long-term ethnographic fieldwork, this article argues that socialism and antifascism have returned via the rediscovery of utopian spatial possibilities that survive in these spaces. Nostalgia thrives through this process, yet not as a nostalgia for the past; rather, it is a nostalgia for a future that haunts through being unfulfilled due to nationalism and turbo-capitalism. Rediscovery of shared humanity and antifascism through tourism activity provides solace from socioeconomic injustices and empowers those hoping for better futures.
Language: English
Published: Elsevier 2019