'It was better when it was worse' : blue-collar narratives of the recent past in Belgrade

Thumbnail Image
Date
2018
Editors
Contact
Journal ISSN
Electronic ISSN
ISBN
Bibliographical data
Publisher
Series
ArXiv-ID
International patent number
Link to the license
EU project number
Project
Open Access publication
Collections
Restricted until
Title in another language
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Publication type
Journal article
Publication status
Published
Published in
Social History ; 43 (2018), 1. - pp. 30-55. - ISSN 0307-1022. - eISSN 1470-1200
Abstract
Based on oral history research conducted among networks of blue-collar workers in Belgrade, Serbia, this article develops three interrelated arguments regarding workers' appraisals of the recent past (1980-2014). Firstly, although the tumultuous years of late socialism and post-socialism in Serbia have been represented by scholars as a series of ruptures, I suggest that for blue-collar workers the boundaries between socialism and post-socialism and pre-conflict and wartime eras are blurry. Secondly, despite the conditions of war and economic collapse, blue-collar accounts of the 1990s in Serbia are not universally negative. Some individuals experienced upward social mobility, strongly influenced by class and gender positioning in late socialism. Female workers who had experienced hardship during the 1980s were often better equipped to navigate 1990s 'economies of makeshift'. Thirdly, social dislocation associated with neoliberal economic reforms since 2000 disproportionally affects blue-collar workers, reshaping narratives of late socialism and the 1990s (sometimes inducing workers to overlook or downplay coercive aspects of the Milošević regime). The accounts of this diverse group of (former) workers highlight that social class, gender and generational cohort condition the rather divergent ways in which the last three decades were experienced, are remembered and continue to be reevaluated in Serbia.
Summary in another language
Subject (DDC)
900 History
Keywords
Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia, working class, blue-collar workers, oral history
Conference
Review
undefined / . - undefined, undefined. - (undefined; undefined)
Cite This
ISO 690ARCHER, Rory, 2018. 'It was better when it was worse' : blue-collar narratives of the recent past in Belgrade. In: Social History. 43(1), pp. 30-55. ISSN 0307-1022. eISSN 1470-1200. Available under: doi: 10.1080/03071022.2018.1393997
BibTex
@article{Archer2018bette-47687,
  year={2018},
  doi={10.1080/03071022.2018.1393997},
  title={'It was better when it was worse' : blue-collar narratives of the recent past in Belgrade},
  number={1},
  volume={43},
  issn={0307-1022},
  journal={Social History},
  pages={30--55},
  author={Archer, Rory}
}
RDF
<rdf:RDF
    xmlns:dcterms="http://purl.org/dc/terms/"
    xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
    xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"
    xmlns:bibo="http://purl.org/ontology/bibo/"
    xmlns:dspace="http://digital-repositories.org/ontologies/dspace/0.1.0#"
    xmlns:foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/"
    xmlns:void="http://rdfs.org/ns/void#"
    xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#" > 
  <rdf:Description rdf:about="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/server/rdf/resource/123456789/47687">
    <dcterms:title>'It was better when it was worse' : blue-collar narratives of the recent past in Belgrade</dcterms:title>
    <dc:date rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime">2019-11-28T09:27:15Z</dc:date>
    <foaf:homepage rdf:resource="http://localhost:8080/"/>
    <dcterms:issued>2018</dcterms:issued>
    <dspace:isPartOfCollection rdf:resource="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/server/rdf/resource/123456789/32"/>
    <dspace:hasBitstream rdf:resource="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/bitstream/123456789/47687/1/Archer_2-6ceambjdrprp5.pdf"/>
    <dcterms:available rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime">2019-11-28T09:27:15Z</dcterms:available>
    <dc:language>eng</dc:language>
    <dc:creator>Archer, Rory</dc:creator>
    <dcterms:isPartOf rdf:resource="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/server/rdf/resource/123456789/32"/>
    <dcterms:abstract xml:lang="eng">Based on oral history research conducted among networks of blue-collar workers in Belgrade, Serbia, this article develops three interrelated arguments regarding workers' appraisals of the recent past (1980-2014). Firstly, although the tumultuous years of late socialism and post-socialism in Serbia have been represented by scholars as a series of ruptures, I suggest that for blue-collar workers the boundaries between socialism and post-socialism and pre-conflict and wartime eras are blurry. Secondly, despite the conditions of war and economic collapse, blue-collar accounts of the 1990s in Serbia are not universally negative. Some individuals experienced upward social mobility, strongly influenced by class and gender positioning in late socialism. Female workers who had experienced hardship during the 1980s were often better equipped to navigate 1990s 'economies of makeshift'. Thirdly, social dislocation associated with neoliberal economic reforms since 2000 disproportionally affects blue-collar workers, reshaping narratives of late socialism and the 1990s (sometimes inducing workers to overlook or downplay coercive aspects of the Milošević regime). The accounts of this diverse group of (former) workers highlight that social class, gender and generational cohort condition the rather divergent ways in which the last three decades were experienced, are remembered and continue to be reevaluated in Serbia.</dcterms:abstract>
    <dc:rights>Attribution 4.0 International</dc:rights>
    <dc:contributor>Archer, Rory</dc:contributor>
    <dcterms:rights rdf:resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"/>
    <bibo:uri rdf:resource="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/handle/123456789/47687"/>
    <void:sparqlEndpoint rdf:resource="http://localhost/fuseki/dspace/sparql"/>
    <dcterms:hasPart rdf:resource="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/bitstream/123456789/47687/1/Archer_2-6ceambjdrprp5.pdf"/>
  </rdf:Description>
</rdf:RDF>
Internal note
xmlui.Submission.submit.DescribeStep.inputForms.label.kops_note_fromSubmitter
Contact
URL of original publication
Test date of URL
Examination date of dissertation
Method of financing
Comment on publication
Alliance license
Corresponding Authors der Uni Konstanz vorhanden
International Co-Authors
Bibliography of Konstanz
No
Refereed
Yes