Page 57 - Dark Shades of Istria
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3.4 Chapter Conclusion
ory’ with the focus on recent history-related issues; the media were then a
necessary medium for the transmission of these messages to the people.
Thus, the media (journalism) also re- and co-constructs memory with
regard to discrete events (and everyday life) as well as across time and
place; furthermore, they link them to memory studies and historiography
(Edy, 1999; Kitch, 2002; 2008). In this context the media stories/reports
are ‘presented as historical truth, but they are actually narrative visions,
pictures that are prescriptive as well as descriptive, mythology as much as
reporting’ (Kitch, 2002, p. 61).
3.4 Chapter Conclusion
Memory and memory-related issues have apparently been employing hu-
mankind in general for a long time. It is matter of belonging, of iden-
tity, of everyday life, of history and heritage and transmission among
generations. Memory practices link old traditions to new practices and
challenges. People frequently become nostalgic when thinking about the
past, especially when memories are pleasant. Although the concepts of
memory and nostalgia may be similar, they should not be equated or
swapped.²¹ Not to be neglected is the fact that in the post-Yugoslav area
and context, the term Yugo-nostalgia is often used and even abused.²²
However, addressing issues related to memory is very relevant and mean-
ingful in the former Yugoslav area, including the Istrian peninsula, which
will be further elaborated below. The turbulent history with frequent
(military) conflicts preserves the state in which the first-, second- and
third-generation memory or the autobiographical, historical, or collec-
tive memory and history – to repeat the typologies listed in the sub-
chapter 3.1 ‘Memory Concept’ – are permanently actual. Victories, de-
feats, victims and heroes are subject to memory/remembrance as well as
to silence and amnesia. The latter cannot be automatically equated with
collective amnesia, since damnatio memoriae is basically understood as
a series of formal measures. However, for the purposes of this study, the
explanations in the introductory chapter will be used.
Based on the definitions, typologies and other topics discussed in this
²¹ More about nostalgia can be found in Boym (2001; 2007), Starobinski (2009), and
Smeekes (2015). The term is only mentioned here since its more detailed elaboration
would not be consistent with the purpose and objectives of the research.
²² More about Yugo-nostalgia can be found in Volčič (2007), Velikonja (2008) and Šuligoj
(2018).
57
ory’ with the focus on recent history-related issues; the media were then a
necessary medium for the transmission of these messages to the people.
Thus, the media (journalism) also re- and co-constructs memory with
regard to discrete events (and everyday life) as well as across time and
place; furthermore, they link them to memory studies and historiography
(Edy, 1999; Kitch, 2002; 2008). In this context the media stories/reports
are ‘presented as historical truth, but they are actually narrative visions,
pictures that are prescriptive as well as descriptive, mythology as much as
reporting’ (Kitch, 2002, p. 61).
3.4 Chapter Conclusion
Memory and memory-related issues have apparently been employing hu-
mankind in general for a long time. It is matter of belonging, of iden-
tity, of everyday life, of history and heritage and transmission among
generations. Memory practices link old traditions to new practices and
challenges. People frequently become nostalgic when thinking about the
past, especially when memories are pleasant. Although the concepts of
memory and nostalgia may be similar, they should not be equated or
swapped.²¹ Not to be neglected is the fact that in the post-Yugoslav area
and context, the term Yugo-nostalgia is often used and even abused.²²
However, addressing issues related to memory is very relevant and mean-
ingful in the former Yugoslav area, including the Istrian peninsula, which
will be further elaborated below. The turbulent history with frequent
(military) conflicts preserves the state in which the first-, second- and
third-generation memory or the autobiographical, historical, or collec-
tive memory and history – to repeat the typologies listed in the sub-
chapter 3.1 ‘Memory Concept’ – are permanently actual. Victories, de-
feats, victims and heroes are subject to memory/remembrance as well as
to silence and amnesia. The latter cannot be automatically equated with
collective amnesia, since damnatio memoriae is basically understood as
a series of formal measures. However, for the purposes of this study, the
explanations in the introductory chapter will be used.
Based on the definitions, typologies and other topics discussed in this
²¹ More about nostalgia can be found in Boym (2001; 2007), Starobinski (2009), and
Smeekes (2015). The term is only mentioned here since its more detailed elaboration
would not be consistent with the purpose and objectives of the research.
²² More about Yugo-nostalgia can be found in Volčič (2007), Velikonja (2008) and Šuligoj
(2018).
57
