Mila Maeva - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Books by Mila Maeva
Maeva, M., M. Slavkova and M. Hristova (eds.) (2023). “Between the Worlds of Old and New Homes”. Vol. 5. Sofia: IEFSEM & Paradigma., 2023
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), over a billion people live and w... more According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), over a billion people live and work outside their home countries. In 2020, an estimated 281 million international migrants resided in countries other than their own, a significant increase from previous decades. Europe and Asia host the largest shares, while migration's impacts on families left behind remain a growing concern. While it provides economic benefits, such as remittances, it also imposes social costs on families left behind. Migrants also navigate identity dilemmas, transnational family ties, and integration challenges, often facing stigma and insecurity. This volume, part of the “Still in Bulgaria. Cultural and Social Effects of Labour Mobility and Migration on Bulgarian Society (1990-2019)” project, explores migration’s effects across history, covering national connectivity, family challenges, stigma, and evolving transnational communities. Migrations reshape home, culture, and identity, creating both opportunities and challenges for those who move and those who are left behind.
Living in more than one residential place is what is understood as multi-living. As such it invol... more Living in more than one residential place is what is understood as multi-living. As such it involves dealing with different contexts, different authorities, and different cultures. The distance and absence of a constant place are among the main issues that multi-living people face. Space and territory, in their interrelation, are essential components of everyday life for all social actors. Territory is a multidimensional notion that needs to be considered in all its meanings: an existential one (life cycles and living experiences), a physical one (frame: it gives the boundary, the definition) and an organisational one (society, public policies, etc.). Therefore, it includes different elements: a) political and administrative, b) economic, c) social (social capital, networking between actors, etc.), and d) geographical and cognitive aspects (symbolic/identity/imagined community). In its social scope, as far as human society is concerned, territoriality is a concept mainly used in planning, architecture, and urbanism, in geography, anthropology and sociology, as well as in law and political science. To a lesser extent, it is applied in other social sciences, such as economics or history. Linked with territory, its meanings range in each of these disciplines and each language. Therefore, we can think of national territories’ territorialities and local authorities or consider the appropriation of space and places.
The present collection results from the international conference “Territorialities of Multilocality,” held on November 25th and 26th, 2021, in Sofia, Bulgaria. At our scholar meeting, we tried to analyse multilocal and multi-territorial practices, their regional and local concreteness differences, and the specifics of an unusual situation of two or more residences instead of one.
Сборникът е изготвен по проект "Културни и социални последици от емиграцията върху българското об... more Сборникът е изготвен по проект "Културни и социални последици от емиграцията върху българското общество (ОСТАНАЛИ)", финансиран от фонд "Научни изследвания" (КП-06-Н40/9-10.12.2019 г.). Авторите на всички включени текстове изказват благодарност към проекта.
In the second decade of the 21st century, the dynamics and interrelations between people, spaces,... more In the second decade of the 21st century, the dynamics and interrelations between people, spaces, and rituals led to a desire to re-conceptualize those concepts through different anthropocentric, holistic, political-centric or cultural paradigms.
The social sciences and humanities are constantly enriched with new research perspectives that are blurred and mark new methodological boundaries between the different disciplines. The e-collection Between the Worlds: People, Spaces and Rituals explores societies in various geographical regions by initiating a debate on interactions between people in different spaces through interdisciplinary perspectives. It studies how entanglement between old and new, local, national and global perceptions, experiences and practices become more visible in the contemporary world and how individuals and communities react to cultural changes that affect their lives. Researchers from different fields focus on this complex process of interconnection between local and global cultures.
This is the first issue of the Between the worlds series to be released as an online edition of IEFSEM – BAS and Paradigma since 2019. It is the result of an international interdisciplinary conference, held on October 30 and 31, 2017, bringing together scientists and experts from Bulgaria, Spain, Russia, Norway, Switzerland, the USA and others. The texts included in issue 1 have undergone a double anonymous review.
Papers by Mila Maeva
Social Sciences
With the establishment of the state of emergency in Bulgaria on 8 March 2020 due to the spread of... more With the establishment of the state of emergency in Bulgaria on 8 March 2020 due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, several restrictive measures aimed at social distancing were being introduced, to which the public had a contractionary reaction. The so-called “COVID-19 nests” led to the quarantine of a number of settlements. The ski-resort town of Bansko and the village of Panicherevo were the first isolated settlements targeted by our study. We focused on the reactions of the local Roma population, which were largely determined by their perceptions and understandings of infectious disease. The research methodology included ethnographic field research carried out in 2021. The data from the semi-structured interviews and focus-group discussions presented local responses to the pandemic, which to a large extent also represented the diversity of attitudes not only in the Roma community but also in Bulgarian society. The main questions we focused on were the great extent to which R...
Migration and populism in Bulgaria
Journal of Contemporary European Studies
Documentation of the pre-industrial elements in Bulgarian minorities' culture during the 20th century - phase II
Documentation of the pre-industrial elements in Bulgarian minorities' culture during the 20th century
Bulgarian Immigration in Norway
Balkanologie, 2008
Avertissement Le contenu de ce site relève de la législation française sur la propriété intellect... more Avertissement Le contenu de ce site relève de la législation française sur la propriété intellectuelle et est la propriété exclusive de l'éditeur. Les oeuvres figurant sur ce site peuvent être consultées et reproduites sur un support papier ou numérique sous réserve qu'elles soient strictement réservées à un usage soit personnel, soit scientifique ou pédagogique excluant toute exploitation commerciale. La reproduction devra obligatoirement mentionner l'éditeur, le nom de la revue, l'auteur et la référence du document. Toute autre reproduction est interdite sauf accord préalable de l'éditeur, en dehors des cas prévus par la législation en vigueur en France. Revues.org est un portail de revues en sciences humaines et sociales développé par le Cléo, Centre pour l'édition électronique ouverte (CNRS, EHESS, UP, UAPV).
Comparative Southeast European Studies
The study considers disaster as a social phenomenon that affects individuals, communities, and so... more The study considers disaster as a social phenomenon that affects individuals, communities, and societies. It focuses on a specific technological catastrophe—a train explosion in the village of Hitrino in Shumen region, Bulgaria, that killed seven, left 23 injured, and demolished 23 houses. The article describes and analyses the local community’s reactions based on fieldwork, i.e. ethnographic and sociological surveys conducted in 2018 to 2019. Attention is paid to the behaviour, management, and methods of coping with the short-term and long-term consequences of the disaster on individual, group, and institutional levels, as well as to the changes in social and ethnic relations. Hitrino is defined as a community in crisis in relation to the degree of its ability to develop a local strategy in advance, and due to the experience it accumulated. The study shows that disaster recovery strategies must include work with local communities which play a key role in reducing the negative impac...
Family Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Bulgaria
Psychological Research (in the Balkans)
Bulgarian Elderly Migration to the United Kingdom, or: “Grandparents are Our National Pride”
Ethnologia Balkanica, 2017
Call for Papers International Conference: 'Between the Worlds: Migrants, Margins, and Social Environment' 1st - 2nd of December 2021, Sofia, Bulgaria
The article focuses on British politics and stereotypes about Bulgarian citizens in the period af... more The article focuses on British politics and stereotypes about Bulgarian citizens in the period after 1989. The article is based on a review of official British documents concerning the migration of Bulgarians from 1990s onwards. Various data originating from tabloids from the period 2004-2015 that had an effect on Bulgarian migrants residing in the UK was also explored. The main part of the paper is based on a round of ethnographic field studies of Bulgarian immigrants multilocally conducted in Britain and in Bulgaria. It explores the influence of British immigration policy and media informations on Bulgarian movements and settlement in the UK. The special attention is put on Bulgarian feelings and perceptions of discrimination. The study seeks to answer questions about the effectiveness and appropriateness of British policies and the migrants' future adaptation and loyalty towards the host country.
„Етнография на България“. Научни четения в памет на Христо Вакарелски и по случай 40-годишнината от издаването на „Етнография на България“
Пътят на север и намирането на дом
Maeva, M., M. Slavkova and M. Hristova (eds.) (2023). “Between the Worlds of Old and New Homes”. Vol. 5. Sofia: IEFSEM & Paradigma., 2023
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), over a billion people live and w... more According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), over a billion people live and work outside their home countries. In 2020, an estimated 281 million international migrants resided in countries other than their own, a significant increase from previous decades. Europe and Asia host the largest shares, while migration's impacts on families left behind remain a growing concern. While it provides economic benefits, such as remittances, it also imposes social costs on families left behind. Migrants also navigate identity dilemmas, transnational family ties, and integration challenges, often facing stigma and insecurity. This volume, part of the “Still in Bulgaria. Cultural and Social Effects of Labour Mobility and Migration on Bulgarian Society (1990-2019)” project, explores migration’s effects across history, covering national connectivity, family challenges, stigma, and evolving transnational communities. Migrations reshape home, culture, and identity, creating both opportunities and challenges for those who move and those who are left behind.
Living in more than one residential place is what is understood as multi-living. As such it invol... more Living in more than one residential place is what is understood as multi-living. As such it involves dealing with different contexts, different authorities, and different cultures. The distance and absence of a constant place are among the main issues that multi-living people face. Space and territory, in their interrelation, are essential components of everyday life for all social actors. Territory is a multidimensional notion that needs to be considered in all its meanings: an existential one (life cycles and living experiences), a physical one (frame: it gives the boundary, the definition) and an organisational one (society, public policies, etc.). Therefore, it includes different elements: a) political and administrative, b) economic, c) social (social capital, networking between actors, etc.), and d) geographical and cognitive aspects (symbolic/identity/imagined community). In its social scope, as far as human society is concerned, territoriality is a concept mainly used in planning, architecture, and urbanism, in geography, anthropology and sociology, as well as in law and political science. To a lesser extent, it is applied in other social sciences, such as economics or history. Linked with territory, its meanings range in each of these disciplines and each language. Therefore, we can think of national territories’ territorialities and local authorities or consider the appropriation of space and places.
The present collection results from the international conference “Territorialities of Multilocality,” held on November 25th and 26th, 2021, in Sofia, Bulgaria. At our scholar meeting, we tried to analyse multilocal and multi-territorial practices, their regional and local concreteness differences, and the specifics of an unusual situation of two or more residences instead of one.
Сборникът е изготвен по проект "Културни и социални последици от емиграцията върху българското об... more Сборникът е изготвен по проект "Културни и социални последици от емиграцията върху българското общество (ОСТАНАЛИ)", финансиран от фонд "Научни изследвания" (КП-06-Н40/9-10.12.2019 г.). Авторите на всички включени текстове изказват благодарност към проекта.
In the second decade of the 21st century, the dynamics and interrelations between people, spaces,... more In the second decade of the 21st century, the dynamics and interrelations between people, spaces, and rituals led to a desire to re-conceptualize those concepts through different anthropocentric, holistic, political-centric or cultural paradigms.
The social sciences and humanities are constantly enriched with new research perspectives that are blurred and mark new methodological boundaries between the different disciplines. The e-collection Between the Worlds: People, Spaces and Rituals explores societies in various geographical regions by initiating a debate on interactions between people in different spaces through interdisciplinary perspectives. It studies how entanglement between old and new, local, national and global perceptions, experiences and practices become more visible in the contemporary world and how individuals and communities react to cultural changes that affect their lives. Researchers from different fields focus on this complex process of interconnection between local and global cultures.
This is the first issue of the Between the worlds series to be released as an online edition of IEFSEM – BAS and Paradigma since 2019. It is the result of an international interdisciplinary conference, held on October 30 and 31, 2017, bringing together scientists and experts from Bulgaria, Spain, Russia, Norway, Switzerland, the USA and others. The texts included in issue 1 have undergone a double anonymous review.
Social Sciences
With the establishment of the state of emergency in Bulgaria on 8 March 2020 due to the spread of... more With the establishment of the state of emergency in Bulgaria on 8 March 2020 due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, several restrictive measures aimed at social distancing were being introduced, to which the public had a contractionary reaction. The so-called “COVID-19 nests” led to the quarantine of a number of settlements. The ski-resort town of Bansko and the village of Panicherevo were the first isolated settlements targeted by our study. We focused on the reactions of the local Roma population, which were largely determined by their perceptions and understandings of infectious disease. The research methodology included ethnographic field research carried out in 2021. The data from the semi-structured interviews and focus-group discussions presented local responses to the pandemic, which to a large extent also represented the diversity of attitudes not only in the Roma community but also in Bulgarian society. The main questions we focused on were the great extent to which R...
Migration and populism in Bulgaria
Journal of Contemporary European Studies
Documentation of the pre-industrial elements in Bulgarian minorities' culture during the 20th century - phase II
Documentation of the pre-industrial elements in Bulgarian minorities' culture during the 20th century
Bulgarian Immigration in Norway
Balkanologie, 2008
Avertissement Le contenu de ce site relève de la législation française sur la propriété intellect... more Avertissement Le contenu de ce site relève de la législation française sur la propriété intellectuelle et est la propriété exclusive de l'éditeur. Les oeuvres figurant sur ce site peuvent être consultées et reproduites sur un support papier ou numérique sous réserve qu'elles soient strictement réservées à un usage soit personnel, soit scientifique ou pédagogique excluant toute exploitation commerciale. La reproduction devra obligatoirement mentionner l'éditeur, le nom de la revue, l'auteur et la référence du document. Toute autre reproduction est interdite sauf accord préalable de l'éditeur, en dehors des cas prévus par la législation en vigueur en France. Revues.org est un portail de revues en sciences humaines et sociales développé par le Cléo, Centre pour l'édition électronique ouverte (CNRS, EHESS, UP, UAPV).
Comparative Southeast European Studies
The study considers disaster as a social phenomenon that affects individuals, communities, and so... more The study considers disaster as a social phenomenon that affects individuals, communities, and societies. It focuses on a specific technological catastrophe—a train explosion in the village of Hitrino in Shumen region, Bulgaria, that killed seven, left 23 injured, and demolished 23 houses. The article describes and analyses the local community’s reactions based on fieldwork, i.e. ethnographic and sociological surveys conducted in 2018 to 2019. Attention is paid to the behaviour, management, and methods of coping with the short-term and long-term consequences of the disaster on individual, group, and institutional levels, as well as to the changes in social and ethnic relations. Hitrino is defined as a community in crisis in relation to the degree of its ability to develop a local strategy in advance, and due to the experience it accumulated. The study shows that disaster recovery strategies must include work with local communities which play a key role in reducing the negative impac...
Family Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Bulgaria
Psychological Research (in the Balkans)
Bulgarian Elderly Migration to the United Kingdom, or: “Grandparents are Our National Pride”
Ethnologia Balkanica, 2017
Call for Papers International Conference: 'Between the Worlds: Migrants, Margins, and Social Environment' 1st - 2nd of December 2021, Sofia, Bulgaria
The article focuses on British politics and stereotypes about Bulgarian citizens in the period af... more The article focuses on British politics and stereotypes about Bulgarian citizens in the period after 1989. The article is based on a review of official British documents concerning the migration of Bulgarians from 1990s onwards. Various data originating from tabloids from the period 2004-2015 that had an effect on Bulgarian migrants residing in the UK was also explored. The main part of the paper is based on a round of ethnographic field studies of Bulgarian immigrants multilocally conducted in Britain and in Bulgaria. It explores the influence of British immigration policy and media informations on Bulgarian movements and settlement in the UK. The special attention is put on Bulgarian feelings and perceptions of discrimination. The study seeks to answer questions about the effectiveness and appropriateness of British policies and the migrants' future adaptation and loyalty towards the host country.
„Етнография на България“. Научни четения в памет на Христо Вакарелски и по случай 40-годишнината от издаването на „Етнография на България“
Пътят на север и намирането на дом
On the Way North and Finding a Home
The article discusses the migratory movements from Bulgaria towards Norway, based on a field ethn... more The article discusses the migratory movements from Bulgaria towards Norway, based on a field ethnographic research. The journey to the north and the accommodation in an almost unknown and cold country are analysed on the basis of oral history methods. The personal stories of the Bulgarian migrants present their view of the journey, their notions of Norway and the settling in afresh as a personal experience in the context of the complex migratory situation there. The specifics of the Bulgarian settlement in Norway predetermine the manner in which home and journey are perceived. The successful and relatively rapid advancement, the high living standard, the social model and the ability to quickly unite separated families, transform the migration north from a plain movement into a stationary lifestyle. For the Bulgarians, the newly established home in Norway acquires different aspects – it is the centre of the family, of comfort and security. For those immigrants the journey north also involves certain return to the ‘native Bulgarian’ expressed through the creation of a ‘Bulgarian Home’ via different immigrant institutions and organizations. The new transnational and cross-cultural home of the Bulgarians in Norway is becoming their ‘zone of comfort’.
Език и етнокултурна идентичност на българските турци преселници в Република Турция
Memories about Socialism into the Internet Forum of Bulgarian Emigrants in United Kingdom
Navigating Landscapes of Mediated Memory, 2011
The image of the Turks in the republic of turkey through the eyes of the Bulgarian Turks who have moved to Turkey
… BULGARICA. Yearbook of Bulgarian Ethnology and …, 2006
История и идентичност на българите мюсюлмани от град Неделино
ейковска, П., Й. Гешева, М. Маева, Н. Филипова, Ст. Димитров (съст.). Миграции, общности и културноисторическо наследство. София, Издателство на БАН "Проф. М. Дринов", с. 534-548, 2021
The article traces the influence of emotional processes on the migration and mobility of Bulgaria... more The article traces the influence of emotional processes on the migration and mobility of Bulgarians abroad. It is an attempt to conceptualize emotions as a better tool for understanding population movement. The study has several goals. The first is the examination and analysis of the emotions that motivate leaving the homeland, settling, integrating and adapting in the host country. Part of the study are the emotional connections between emigrants from Bulgaria and their attachment to the homeland and the search for and finding a new home.
The article is based on fieldwork studies of Bulgarian cases from France, Great Britain and Norway. Ethnographic qualitative research and semi-structured interviews, personal history (autobiographical) methods and narrative analyses conducted from 2001 to 2017 were used as the main methodology. Ethnographic description and analysis of emotions such as excitement, anger, fear, guilt, hope, disappointment and joy, etc. will contribute to an in-depth look at the topic of migration.