Memoirs

After almost one year of devoted interest - not constant, but still with high fidelity - I am left by any kind of interest for "childhood memories" from the "Eastern side of history". In Germany, during the last year they were published an impressive amount of books dedicated to this recollections of memories, written by people born in late 70s. The patterns are almost similar: memories about the first rock band concert, the free trip on the other side of the wall, cartoons, being a "pioneer" etc. Small life stories, repeated over and over again. But, for me, it is enough. There are too many similarities and too many repetitions to determine me to go to explore other areas. Mentally and geographically.

The hard past

Even my research focused on the post-communist period - most precisely the first ten years of transition in Romania and Hungary - at the beginning of my research I focused considerably on the minority policies from the communist period. Even too much, I dare to say, and as a consequence of this situation, the first draft of my paper dedicated 45% to the editorial space to this time.

Beyond the relevance for understanding the origins of the current situation, it was as well - psychanalitically speaking - also an interest for understand a period I lived to, even shortly and whom I always regarded with a lack of any academic detachement: I simply hated what happened for more than 40 years.

Finally, I went beyond this memory blockage and was able to focus successfully on my topic.

During this intensive research, I had the occasion to read various memories written by former member of the nomenklatura who survived the transition. Some of them staying on the side of Ceausesc until the very last moment. They wanted now to share their memories, but without any critical perspective. All you got, is a never-ending lamentation, rephrased on hundred of pages about the ridiculous political transition, the former "comrades" who "betrayed" the communist values, they still believe in. Like grandparents, they, who neglected the fact that people were starving and were humiliated every minute of their life, they lecture about how they tried to change something or meditated about the values of communism while on vacation of various selected resorts strictly designed for the members of the ruling elite.

Ethnic Literature

Using minorities as characters in books might demands lots of documentation and research.

It depends of your audience - if it is familiar or not with different ethnic identities or if it is made by the members of the minority itself.

When it is about literary works, the most important dimension you have to find is authenticity. In this case, the careful details provided by the documentation are offering the information necessary to set up the credible characters. You don't have to give the reader a lesson of history, culture or even geography but to make your characters able to speak with their own original voice.

These are a couple of thoughts, giving me a couple of insights for a work-in-process about how to better communicate about minorities, following the meeting with Kemelman's Rabbi Small.

Autogeography

How much biography is in our writings? How much by our own perspective we are recreating an entire geographical space in a very personal way?

A very interesting perspective, here.

I am still pondering for my own opinion, made up of various mixed personal writing and literary experiences.

Glamourous CVs

Holding an academic degree for traditional sounding names academic fora is a sure way to a successful academic career. Of course, qualifications are not enough and given the high number of undergraduates, you need to prove your degrees by the practical experience. But, anyway, to be a LSE, or Princeton, or Harvard graduate is a good personal brading.

But...

Directly related to this high interest for getting high degrees and acquire more qualification, there are some business interests too. Of course, not all those who are enrolled and finally get the degrees are able to face the pressures of the daily academic challences. Some are dropping, but for the others, who still insist to get the academic degree, if they have enough money, it is still a chance. And here, intervenes the business I mentioned. There are either individuals or specialized companies working for you, making your papers and doing the researches according to the academic standards required. Find them, pay them and the future is yours.

Hence, do not wander if you'll meet amazing successful graduates who, in fact, are hardly able to write a coherent one page essay about a very simple topic.

Academic disabilities

The academic conferences, in my humble opinion, must represents occasions where experts and professionals from various domains are gathering together to share the results of their researches and analyse it using the tools of the critical thinking.

But, when the topics are connected to more or less recent histories, where the place of built and manipulated memories is playing the a very - if not the only - important role, these conferences are opportunities to display historical frustrations and precarious identities. The critical thinking is the last resort used for understanding and reading the realities.

The conferences with historical and political topics, addressing unsolved issues as the Balkans and the Caucasus are a good example in this direction. And I will randomly mention a couple of situations I observed in my last academic peregrinations: Hungarians claiming their right over Transylvania; Romanians claiming their predominance over Transylvania; representatives from the former Yugoslav countries fighting over who killed more and finding as well explanations and excuses for doing so; Armenians and Turks harshly fighting if it was or not an Armenian genocide; Armenians and Azeris accusing each other of aggressions. The pathetic discourses, and the passionate perspectives are killing any hope for critical appreciation. What matters is to claim that you - and only you - have and tell the truth and to deconstruct - and nullify - the point of view of the other.

What for so many hours spent in libraries and so many efforts to write presentations introduced as academic prodigies, when the basic level of the approach is not going too far of the usual information you could find in the "yellow media"?

The cultural weapon

used by the Slovakian establishment. This kind of policies will function as long as there will be individuals to answer the nationalistic messages. And you have this potential target-group because for decades, nationalism was in this part of Europe the answer to structural disfunctions, incapacity to understand the functioning of economic markets and the late modernisation. It is a vicious circle and it is how the members of the societies from this region are considering appropriate to win and request symbolic and electoral support.