Image of sustainable places

Contemporary moment requires redefinition and attentive attitude towards the phenomenon of place, his image, duration and especially the topic of his sustainability. The fact that all the architectural and urban design practice topical theme of responsibility and sustainability requires that such ideas are put into research focus and questions the concept, design thinking and design, and the planing critically assessed, analyzed and evaluated in the new framework of a paradigm. Images of contemporary place are reflected in images of modern cities, their parts, urban landscapes so they request to review the viability and make her to give new meaning seen in the idea of duration, the identity of place, scale and form.With this work we try to show some of the potential of the concept of sustainability through its basic building elements such as location, nature, time, duration, experience, form, change, and how these elements participate in the context of a new ideology of sustainability. Integrated and sustainable architectural design, which involves the formulation of ideas, concepts, shapes, materials, details and style, consistent with the properties of space on which to build, natural resources, capacities and needs of life processes will reflect, in many ways, to incorporate new process of thinking architecture, places and of its images, as the main impression (duration) of sustainability

Macroeconomic policy response to pandemic: A paradigm shift in sight?

Economic disturbances are always an opportunity to check the validity of an economic theory or paradigm. In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, an interesting question arises: whether monetary and fiscal policy responses were aligned with a dominant macroeconomic paradigm (New Consensus Macroeconomics) or we are witnessing a paradigm shift to some extent? The analysis in this paper aims to address this question by showing how the abandoning of the sound finance principle due to pandemics opened a room for reaffirmation of the functional finance approach and Modern Monetary Theory. Deficit financing of the aggregate demand was a necessity concerning economic disorder induced by pandemic and the evident inability of monetary policy to address this problem alone due to the liquidity trap. It confirms the rule that, as in all recent economic crises, Keynesian-type economic measures were implemented. Therefore, at least a slight change in the mainstream macroeconomic model regarding the treatment of the fiscal policy and the role of public debt management is suggested. The main conclusion is that the approach to economic policy and the coordination of the monetary and fiscal measures should be upgraded to provide more flexible mechanisms to respond to economic disturbances. Their role would be to ensure a more prompt reaction without previous considerations through the lens of fiscal discipline. Furthermore, the role of fiscal policy should be broadened from traditional public debt management to aggregate demand management, whereas monetary policy could be also used for a temporary reduction of debt burden.Publishe

The problem of cultural interactions of local communities and the Roman state: the case study of the area ascribed to the Scordisci

Period mlađeg gvozdenog doba (c. III v. pre n.e.–I v.n.e) na području centralnog Balkana i južne Panonije decenijama je u istoriografiji i arheologiji bio sagledavan kao vreme dominacije plemenske zajednice keltskih Skordiska. Razumevanjem populacija koje su u poslednja tri veka stare ere živele na pomenutom području kao kompaktne etničke celine, uslovilo je da se i njihovi kontakti i odnosi sa Rimskom imperijom tumače kao interakcije dva jasno omeđena etno-kulturna entiteta. Sleđenjem antičkih pisanih izvora, relacije između Rimljana i Skordiska shvatane su kao jednolinijski proces postepenog potpadanja pod rimsku vlast, od inicijalnih sukoba i manje-više konstantnih neprijateljstava do konačnog pokoravanja i romanizovanja Skordiska. U disertaciji se preispituju epistemološke osnove i teorijskometodološki pristupi pomoću kojih su formirana navedena tumačenja i ukazuje se na drugačije mogućnosti interpretacije ovog dela prošlosti i problema interkulturnih odnosa na relaciji lokalne zajednice i Rimska imperija. Upotrebom teorijskih postulata koji su unutar arheologije proklamovani postprocesnim pristupom, rad se fokusira na mogućnosti upotrebe konstruktivističke teorije o identitetima. Shvatanjem pojedinačnih i grupnih određenja kao pluralnih, situaciono uslovljenih i promenljivih načina svrstavanja, skreće se pažnja na pristupe lišene etničkog determinizma koji je, od kraja XIX veka, dominirao arheološkim i istoriografskim proučavanjima protoistorijske i antičke epohe u domaćem akademskom kontekstu. Kritičkim preispitivanjem konstitutivnih činilaca postojećeg akademskog narativa o Skordiscima i procesu njihove romanizacije, u radu se ukazuje da su dosadašnje interpretacije bile pod suviše jakim uticajem vizura iz antičkih pisanih izvora i modernih teorija o etnosu/naciji kao najvažnije vrste kolektivnog identiteta. Pošto su i antički literarni izvori i moderne teorije o nacionalnom grupisanju nastale u specifičnim socio-političkim i ideološkim okolnostima, njihove perspektive nemaju karakter objektivnih naučnih pristupa za tumačenje identitetskih određenja kasnogvozdenodopskih zajednica na označenom području. Odatle, u disertaciji se predlaže da je pojam Skordisci antička imagološka konstrukcija za okvirno označavanje i pseudo-etničko definisanje balkanskih i južnopanonskih „varvara“, koja je nekritički preuzeta i dalje reifikovana u domaćoj istoriji i arheologiji. Udaljavanjem od pretpostavke da Skordisci predstavljaju jedinstvenu etničku zajednicu u radu se predlažu drugačiji interpretativni putevi za sagledavanje kasnogvozdenodopskih socio-kulturnih struktura i njihove integracije sa Rimskom imperijom. Uzimanjem u obzir sheme naseljavanja i pogrebne prakse, ukazuje se da su u poslednja dva veka stare ere na području južne Panonije i Balkana postojale mnogobrojne zajednice na mikroregionalnim i regionalnim nivoima, koje se pre mogu okarakterisati kao heterogene i heterearhične/segmentarne/korporativne, nego kao hijerarhijski organizovana i centralizovana plemenska zajednica Skordiska. Ovakvim pristupom se problematizuje pitanje etniciteta, u smislu preispitivanja koliko je ovakav vid društvenog grupisanja uopšte bio važan u kasnogvozdenodospskom svetu. Posledično, interakcije sa Rimskom imperijom ne mogu se tumačiti kao jednosmeran socio-kulturni uticaj Rimljana na Skordiske, niti romanizovanjem skordističke kulture, već kao čitav niz različitih lokalizovanih odnosa, od nivoa pojedinaca do nivoa manjih geografskih područja. S tim u vezi, rad preusmerava pitanje interkulturnih odnosa od generalizirajućih koncepata kompaktnih kultura (rimske i skordističke) na partikularna iskustva i raznovrsne ishode interakcija, koji su zavisili od konteksta u kojima su se odigravali i različitih društvenih aktera koji su u njima učestvovali.Inside Serbian/Yugoslavian historiography and archaeology, the late Iron Age (c. III c. BCE–I c. CE) of the Central Balkans and Southern Pannonia has been for decades seen as a period of domination of the Celtic Scordisci. The understanding of the populations of mentioned areas as compact ethnic whole caused the interpretations of their contacts and relations with the Roman Empire as interaction between two clearly defined ethno-cultural entities. Following the ancient written sources, modern scholars have been conceptualized these interactions as linear process of the Scordiscian gradual subjugation by the Romans, starting from the initial conflict and almost constant enmity to consequent Romanization. The thesis reviews epistemological backgrounds and methodological approaches used in the construction of these interpretations, and points to other possibilities for studying the late Iron Age in the region as well as the problem of intercultural relations between the local communities and the Roman Empire. Drawing on theoretical postulates proclaimed inside the post-processual archaeology, thesis focuses to the possibilities of the usage of constructivist theory of identities. By understanding the individual and group identifications as plural, situational and changeable ways of affiliation, the attention is directed to the interpretative approaches deprived of ethnic determinism which dominated Serbian/Yugoslavian Iron Age and Classical studies since the end of the 19th century. Employing the discourse analysis of the constitutional elements of the academic narrative of the Scordisci and their Romanization, the thesis suggests its biased character caused by the strong influence of ancient perspectives (derived from the written sources) and modern notion of ethnic/national affiliation as the most important type of collective identity. Since both ancient written sources and modern theories of national social gathering were formed under specific socio-political and ideological contexts, their perspectives do not have the character of objective academic approaches for interpreting the late Iron Age identity constructions. Hence, the dissertation proposes that the Scordisci should be comprehended as ancient imagological construction for vague signification and pseudo-ethnic definition of the Balkan and south Pannonian “barbarians”, which was uncritically adopted and further reified in Serbian/Yugoslavian historiography and archaeology. Departure from the notion of the Scordisci as single ethnic group enables different interpretative approaches for studying the late Iron Age socio-cultural structures and their integration with the Roman Empire. Taking into consideration settlement patterns and funeral practices the thesis suggests existence of numerous communities on micro/regional and regional levels in the area of the Central Balkans and Southern Pannonia in the last two centuries BCE. These communities could be regarded as heterogeneous and heterarchical/segmentary/corporative instead of hierarchically organized and centralized tribal community of the Scordisci. This perspective also reconsiders the question of ethnicity by reviewing if this sort of social grouping was as important in the late Iron Age as previously presumed. Consequently, the interactions with the Roman Empire cannot be further regarded as one direction socio-cultural influence of the Romans towards Scordisci, or the Romanization of Scordiscian culture, but as a string of diverse localized relations, from the level of individuals to the level of small geographical areas. Thus, the dissertation diverts the question of intercultural relations from the generalizing concepts of compact cultures (i.e. Roman and Scodiscian) to the particularized experiences and versatile outcomes of interactions, dependent on the contexts and various social actors involved in the process

Autorité et comment l’obtenir: Pausanias, Description de la Grèce et les fouilles archéologiques d’Olympie

Teren i tekst, naročito na polju klasične arheologije, uvek su u dijalektičkom odnosu: terenska praksa i tekstovi (kako oni koji prethode, tako i oni koji proističu iz iskopavanja) se međusobno prožimaju, potvrđuju i preoblikuju. Stoga, osim ključnih ličnosti ili institucija i tekstovi mogu imati autoritet koji se vremenom stiče, potvrđuje ili pak gubi. Pausanijin Opis Helade jedno je od dela koje je upisano u disciplinarne temelje klasične arheologije. Ovo delo uticalo je na pravce istaživanja na polju klasične arheologije Grčke, njihov obim i metodologiju, kao i konačnu interpretaciju. O uzajamnom prožimanju arheologije i Pausanijinog Opisa Helade najbolje govore iskopavanja u Olimpiji, koja su u ovome radu uzeta kao studija slučaja. S jedne strane, iz višegodišnjih temeljnih istraživanja, kojima je prethodila višedecenijska diplomatska borba za dozvolu za iskopavanja, proisteklo je bolje razumevanje Pausanijinog dela, dok je s druge, preoblikovana ne samo terenska praksa, nego i epistemološke osnove klasične arheologije. Cilj ovoga rada jeste da još jednom podseti na neodvojivost praktičnog i interpretativnog, odnosno na neodvojivost terenskog i kabinetskog rada u arheologiji.One of the key products of archaeological work, the clear disciplinary distinction separating it from amateur curiosity or lucrative treasure hunt, is the text. Not only it stands at the end of almost every archaeological endeavour, text in its various forms often presents the source of fieldwork: archaeological excavations are preceded by (repeated) reading of previously written landscape, either represented through old travelogues, or through recent reports from archaeological surveys. In short, fieldwork and text are dialectically linked: fieldwork practice and texts mutually intertwine, confirm and (re)shape one another. Therefore, along with “founding fathers” of the discipline, some texts may also posses authority – achieved over time, confirmed, or lost. Opposed to the authors and works of the classical canon, Pausanias and his Description of Greece were not of noble origins, that would secure the position of indisputable authority in the field of classical archaeology. Therefore the reputation of the author and his work was built – through confirmations and refutations – in the very landscape of Greece, primarily through archaeological fieldwork. During the 19th century Description of Greece served as a kind of travel guide for researchers to the long-abandoned sites and grand archaeological discoveries, such as Schliemann in Mycenae. The Erechteion in Athens is today known by the name given to the temple by Pausanias. His authority, built in the field of classical archaeology, spread out of the domain of the discipline: on the grounds of the data from the Description of Greece and the esteem of its author, the administration of the new independent Greek kingdom started changing the Slovene, Albanian, Turkish or Italian toponyms in its territory. The excavations at Olympia – the case-study presented here, speak most eloquently about the mutual intertwining of archaeology and Description of Greece. On the one side, the years-long excavations, enabled by the decades-long diplomatic struggle for the licence, deepened the understanding of the work of Pausanias, but on the other side, the fieldwork practice has also changed, as well as the epistemological foundations of classical archaeology. The aim of this paper is to point once more to the inseparable ties linking practical and interpretive aspects, i.e. fieldwork and study in archaeology

Les antiquaires entre nature et culture

Uzеvši u оbzir znаtаn dоprinоs аntikvаrа u uspоstаvlјаnju disciplinаrnih оsnоvа аrhеоlоgiје, оvај rаd – krоz оsvrt nа оvо znаčајnо rаzdоblје u rаzvојu nаukе uоpštе, tе kоnkrеtnо nа rаd аntikvаrа – imа zа cilј dа ukаžе nа drugаčiје mоgućnоsti sаglеdаvаnjа prоšlоsti – prе svеgа vаn оkvirа pоpulаrnе dihоtоmiје аrtеfаkti-еkоfаkti – tо јеst dа pоnudi nаčin(е) prеvаzilаžеnjа јоš uvеk аktuеlnih pоdеlа unutаr disciplinе