Idylls of socialism : the Sarajevo Documentary School and the problem of the Bosnian sub-proletariat

This historical overview of the Sarajevo Documentary School considers the films, in the light of their recent re-emergence, as indicative of both the legacy of socialist realism (even in the context of Yugoslav media) and attempted social engineering in the Bosnia of the 1960s and 1970s. The argument is made that the documentaries, despite their questionable aesthetic status (in respect of cinma-vrit and ethnography) and problematic ideological strategies and attempted interventions, document a history and offer insights that counter the prevailing revisionist trends in the presentation of Eastern and Central European history

The politics of performance: transnationalism and its limits in former Yugoslav popular music, 1999–2004

This paper examines transnational relations between the Yugoslav successor states from the point of view of popular music, and demonstrates how transnational musical figures (such as Djordje Balaševi?, Mom?ilo Bajagi?-Bajaga and Ceca Ražnatovi?) are interpreted as symbolic reference points in national ethnopolitical discourse in the process of identity construction. Another symbolic function is served by Serbian turbofolk artists, who in Croatia serve as a cultural resource to distance oneself from a musical genre associated by many urban Croats with the ruralization (and Herzegovinization) of Croatian city space. In addition, value judgements associated with both Serbian and Croatian newly composed folk music provide an insight into the transnational negotiation of conflicting identities in the ex-Yugoslav context. Ultimately the paper shows how the ethnonational boundaries established by nationalizing ideologies created separate cultural spaces which themselves have been transnationalized after Yugoslavia's disintegration

'I want to leave Slovenia for a sunny, relaxed and open Australia': imagining Australia in Slovenia

This article deals with the imagery of 'Australia' in contemporary Slovenia. In an analysis of both Slovene media texts and interviews with 32 Slovenes who want to immigrate to Australia, we explore a constructed image of Australia. We closely consider the symbolic imagery that shapes our informants' discourses about Australia in order to focus on sociocultural elements of migration, where the imagination plays a key role. We suggest that a closer examination of Slovene informants' narratives about Australia will reveal more important contemporary global migration factors and the power of media in affecting potential migrants' migration decisions. The article assesses the image of Australia in Slovenia, with the overall objective of demonstrating the urgency of critically rethinking the sense of belonging to both motherland and host country. We suggest that images and stereotypes of Australia are not just invented, but are also actively encouraged and negotiated within Slovene society

Management through spiritual self-help discourse in post-socialist Slovenia

From the 1990s, during and after the post-communist transitions in Eastern Europe, different self-help texts advancing spiritual or personal well-being continue to be a highly popular discourse in Slovenia. In this article we examine the appropriation of self-help discourse in one of Slovenia's most influential management magazines, Manager. On the basis of a critical discourse analysis of Manager's articles, we argue that the magazine predominantly uses spiritual self-help vocabulary and accordingly transforms definitions of basic business vocabulary. It offers a spiritual self-growth discourse as a solution to any current management or social problems and in doing so supports the (neo)liberal capitalism. This discourse attempts to advise managers as to how to adapt to the new competitive business environment. It furthermore promotes the belief that solely spiritual self-growth will help managers and their business partners to resist political and economic barriers and assure the business success in times of global corporate `survival'