Slavka Karakusheva | Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" (original) (raw)
Papers by Slavka Karakusheva
Ethnologia Bulgarica. Yearbook of Bulgarian Ethnology and Folklore, 2021
The text analyses the entanglements between the commemorative and the festive aspects of the even... more The text analyses the entanglements between the commemorative and the festive aspects of the events organized as anniversaries of the so called 'Revival Process' (the forced assimilation of Bulgarian Turks in mid-to late 1980s) and the protests against it. Following the example of the Day of Dzhebel, the study tracks the various forms of remembering the past. On the one hand, it is the 'top-down' constructed official memory of the traumatic events presented in the well-established discourses and cultural practices of the commemoration, while on the other hand is the recollection of the shared everyday life that transforms the event into a fest, reviving the memory of the lost social relations in the community.
Gladkova Anna, Sadia Jamil (eds.) Ethnic Journalism in the Global South. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021
The political, social, and technological transformations in Bulgaria in the last 30 years resulte... more The political, social, and technological transformations in Bulgaria in the last 30 years resulted in the appearance of new actors and channels in the media system that correspond to the diversity of interests, views, and attitudes. This chapter focuses on such new communication outlets—the online ethnic media of the biggest ethnic minority in Bulgaria, the Turkish one. Produced primarily in Turkish language in online domains, these channels reflect the interests of the members of the group, display their points of view, and address their concerns. The chapter aims at showing their role in (1) contributing to local news coverage, (2) reshaping the stigmatising minority portrayals in mainstream media, and (3) creating cross-border news networks, imaginary routes between places, and transnational connections between people.
В: Веселин Янчев, Мария Кипровска и Григор Бойков (съст.) Вакъфите в България. София: Университетско издателство "Св. Климент Охридски", 417–461, 2020
In: Laurajane Smith, Margaret Wetherell, and Gary Campbell (eds) Emotion, Affective Practices and the Past in the Present. London: Routledge, 2018, 179–194.
The chapter discusses the role of emotions and affects on heritage (un)making, alongside its rati... more The chapter discusses the role of emotions and affects on heritage (un)making, alongside its rational, ideological and political aspects. It focuses on the intense civil and political mobilisations which aroused after the Muslim denomination in Bulgaria had claimed on the ownership of several ancient mosques, having status of cultural properties. The text analyses the switch from aggressive refusal to paternalistic affection in relation to the Ottoman legacy in the country, explores the different ‘heritagising’ strategies of the local communities and shows how various stakeholders capture the emotionality of the demonstrations in order to moderate the heritage concept according to their own understanding of the past.
Българска етнология, 2018
The text analyses the entanglements between the commemorative and the festive aspects of the even... more The text analyses the entanglements between the commemorative and the festive aspects of the events organized as anniversaries of the so called “Revival Process” (the forced assimilation of Bulgarian Turks in mid- to late 1980s) and the protests against it. Following the example of the Day of Dzhebel, the study tracks the various forms of remembering the past. On the one hand, it is the “top-down”constructed official memory of the traumatic events presented in the well-established discourses and cultural practices of the commemoration, while on the other hand is the recollection of the shared everyday life that transforms the event into a fest, reviving the memory of the lost social relations in the community.
In: Karatzogianni, A., Nguyen, D., Serafinelli, E. (eds.) The Digital Transformation of the Public Sphere: Conflict, Migration, Crisis and Culture in Digital Networks, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016
The paper examines Pomak communities beyond state borders focusing on the role that social media ... more The paper examines Pomak communities beyond state borders focusing on the role that social media play in the processes of constructing collective identities today. The Pomaks establish transnational connections with friends and relatives across borders. This chapter demonstrates the ways they join groups on Facebook, follow YouTube channels or subscribe to forums in an attempt to learn more about themselves, to share expertise on the culture of the community or, in other words, to participate in a newly emerging transnational public space.
Семинар_BG, 2015
The article studies the Ottoman legacy in Bulgaria and the reluctance with which it is being perc... more The article studies the Ottoman legacy in Bulgaria and the reluctance with which it is being perceived as part of the national cultural heritage, as well as the appropriate limits within which this could happen. Analyzing the protests against the claims of Grand Mufti on the acquisition of property of the so called “vakıf lands”, the text follows the tensions in the periphery of the dominating official narrative about the patrimony of the nation. The research focuses on the mosques from the period of the Ottoman rule that have status of immovable cultural property today. The analysis is based on fieldwork in Samokov. Dupnitsa and Gotse Delchev, conducted in 2014, review of media coverage of the issue and its juristic aspects.
Социологически проблеми, 2014
Текстът разглежда социалните медии като фактор в конструирането на мюсюлманска общност (умма) във... more Текстът разглежда социалните медии като фактор в конструирането на мюсюлманска общност (умма) във виртуалното пространство. Останала в маргинална позиция на проекта за национална идентичност и на достъпа до публичност, общността на мюсюлманите в България декларира религиозна принадлежност чрез членство в различни групи и страници във Фейсбук, където обменя информация, подкрепя каузи, намира съмишленици. Така, в резултат на липсата на адекватен дебат, признаващ съществуването и културните права на мюсюлманската общност в България, тя изгражда своя алтернативна публичност в социалните медии.
published in "The Evolution of European Identities: Biographical Approaches", eds. Robert Miller and Graham Day, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 21-44
The Evolution of European Identities, 2012
Семинар_BG, 2012
The paper attempts to explore the production and consumption of knowledge within the conditions o... more The paper attempts to explore the production and consumption of knowledge within the conditions of contemporary media with active users’ participation. It focuses on the talk behind the article ‘Pomaks’ in Wikipedia and regards it as a ‘contact zone’ of cultures, identity markers and historical discourses. What contemporary media provides is the opportunity for production of knowledge “from below”, from a position left in the periphery of the national identity construction. On the other hand, the collective participation in article production and the basic rules and principles in Wikipedia keep the knowledge in conventional frames and block any alternative story in which people may need to believe when there is lack of adequate public historical narrative considering the existence of the Bulgarian Muslims.
Българска етнология, 2011
Настоящият текст представлява изследване на турците, преселници от България в района на Бурса, гл... more Настоящият текст представлява изследване на турците, преселници от България в района на Бурса, главно в перспективата на идентичностни маркери и в контекста на съвременната социална ситуация. Той търси местонахожденията на „родината” като един от идентичност-задаващите конструкти – понятие, което обаче, в случая с преселниците, проблематизира категориите за „свое” и „чуждо” в собствените им концептуални рамки. „Родината” в представите на преселниците в Бурса се позиционира в три различни проекции (онагледени в настоящия текст чрез три биографични истории) и има две измерения, като в различните ситуации едното от тях надделява при конструирането (и трансформирането) на собствени идентичности.
Book Reviews by Slavka Karakusheva
Comparative Southeast European Studies, 2022
Tomasz Kamusella's book offers an interpretation of socialist Bulgaria's assimilation policies an... more Tomasz Kamusella's book offers an interpretation of socialist Bulgaria's assimilation policies and practices towards its Turkish minority in the mid-1980s (also known under euphemisms such as "Revival Process", "Rebirth Process", among others), with a special focus on the resulting forced mass migration of Turks from Bulgaria to Turkey in the summer of 1989. This topic has received significant scholarly attention in postsocialist Bulgaria ever since the emergent fields of minority and migration studies opened up new and promising horizons for research. Transborder research and academic exchange, facilitated by institutional and border control liberalization after the Cold War, enriched the field as well with new theoretical perspectives, primary sources, and methodologies. Thus the last three decades have witnessed the emergence of an impressive body of academic literature in various disciplines, in Turkish, Bulgarian, and other languages. The existing research takes as its subject the brutality of the Bulgarian state's policies and practices against its own citizens, as well as the traumatic individual and collective experiences and painful memories related to the forced assimilation campaign, the organized repressions, the oppression directed against the Turks' ethnic and religious identity and-as a result-the mass expulsion. Today, it is rare to find a study on Muslim and Turkish communities in/from Bulgaria that does not focus on or at least mention their assimilation in (but also before) the 1980s and the forced migration. Instead of being "forgotten" or "consigned to oblivion by deepening public amnesia" (74) and contrary to the alleged "continuing lack of research" (115) as claimed by Kamusella, this problem has become the sine qua non subject in the field's scholarly literature. The book's impressive bibliography provides evidence of such centrality. Given the enormous academic interest in the topic, it is surprising that there has not yet been a comprehensive historical monograph written in English for a broader international audience. In this sense, Kamusella's book is a pioneering and valuable study. One major contribution here is an extensive chronological reconstruction of events from the 1980s and the ensuing debates on their aftermath in political, social, economic, and cultural terms. Based primarily on secondary sources (analysis of published sources, literature, and media coverage), Kamusella's study
![Research paper thumbnail of Националното в епохата на неговата популярна възпроизводимост [The National in the Age of Popular Reproduction]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/63867713/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](Националното в епохата на неговата популярна възпроизводимост, тематичен брой на Критика и хуманизъм, 2012
Критика и хуманизъм, 2012
Call for papers by Slavka Karakusheva
Покана за публикации в тематичен брой на Семинар_BG. Онлайн списание за културни изследвания
Ethnologia Bulgarica. Yearbook of Bulgarian Ethnology and Folklore, 2021
The text analyses the entanglements between the commemorative and the festive aspects of the even... more The text analyses the entanglements between the commemorative and the festive aspects of the events organized as anniversaries of the so called 'Revival Process' (the forced assimilation of Bulgarian Turks in mid-to late 1980s) and the protests against it. Following the example of the Day of Dzhebel, the study tracks the various forms of remembering the past. On the one hand, it is the 'top-down' constructed official memory of the traumatic events presented in the well-established discourses and cultural practices of the commemoration, while on the other hand is the recollection of the shared everyday life that transforms the event into a fest, reviving the memory of the lost social relations in the community.
Gladkova Anna, Sadia Jamil (eds.) Ethnic Journalism in the Global South. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021
The political, social, and technological transformations in Bulgaria in the last 30 years resulte... more The political, social, and technological transformations in Bulgaria in the last 30 years resulted in the appearance of new actors and channels in the media system that correspond to the diversity of interests, views, and attitudes. This chapter focuses on such new communication outlets—the online ethnic media of the biggest ethnic minority in Bulgaria, the Turkish one. Produced primarily in Turkish language in online domains, these channels reflect the interests of the members of the group, display their points of view, and address their concerns. The chapter aims at showing their role in (1) contributing to local news coverage, (2) reshaping the stigmatising minority portrayals in mainstream media, and (3) creating cross-border news networks, imaginary routes between places, and transnational connections between people.
В: Веселин Янчев, Мария Кипровска и Григор Бойков (съст.) Вакъфите в България. София: Университетско издателство "Св. Климент Охридски", 417–461, 2020
In: Laurajane Smith, Margaret Wetherell, and Gary Campbell (eds) Emotion, Affective Practices and the Past in the Present. London: Routledge, 2018, 179–194.
The chapter discusses the role of emotions and affects on heritage (un)making, alongside its rati... more The chapter discusses the role of emotions and affects on heritage (un)making, alongside its rational, ideological and political aspects. It focuses on the intense civil and political mobilisations which aroused after the Muslim denomination in Bulgaria had claimed on the ownership of several ancient mosques, having status of cultural properties. The text analyses the switch from aggressive refusal to paternalistic affection in relation to the Ottoman legacy in the country, explores the different ‘heritagising’ strategies of the local communities and shows how various stakeholders capture the emotionality of the demonstrations in order to moderate the heritage concept according to their own understanding of the past.
Българска етнология, 2018
The text analyses the entanglements between the commemorative and the festive aspects of the even... more The text analyses the entanglements between the commemorative and the festive aspects of the events organized as anniversaries of the so called “Revival Process” (the forced assimilation of Bulgarian Turks in mid- to late 1980s) and the protests against it. Following the example of the Day of Dzhebel, the study tracks the various forms of remembering the past. On the one hand, it is the “top-down”constructed official memory of the traumatic events presented in the well-established discourses and cultural practices of the commemoration, while on the other hand is the recollection of the shared everyday life that transforms the event into a fest, reviving the memory of the lost social relations in the community.
In: Karatzogianni, A., Nguyen, D., Serafinelli, E. (eds.) The Digital Transformation of the Public Sphere: Conflict, Migration, Crisis and Culture in Digital Networks, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016
The paper examines Pomak communities beyond state borders focusing on the role that social media ... more The paper examines Pomak communities beyond state borders focusing on the role that social media play in the processes of constructing collective identities today. The Pomaks establish transnational connections with friends and relatives across borders. This chapter demonstrates the ways they join groups on Facebook, follow YouTube channels or subscribe to forums in an attempt to learn more about themselves, to share expertise on the culture of the community or, in other words, to participate in a newly emerging transnational public space.
Семинар_BG, 2015
The article studies the Ottoman legacy in Bulgaria and the reluctance with which it is being perc... more The article studies the Ottoman legacy in Bulgaria and the reluctance with which it is being perceived as part of the national cultural heritage, as well as the appropriate limits within which this could happen. Analyzing the protests against the claims of Grand Mufti on the acquisition of property of the so called “vakıf lands”, the text follows the tensions in the periphery of the dominating official narrative about the patrimony of the nation. The research focuses on the mosques from the period of the Ottoman rule that have status of immovable cultural property today. The analysis is based on fieldwork in Samokov. Dupnitsa and Gotse Delchev, conducted in 2014, review of media coverage of the issue and its juristic aspects.
Социологически проблеми, 2014
Текстът разглежда социалните медии като фактор в конструирането на мюсюлманска общност (умма) във... more Текстът разглежда социалните медии като фактор в конструирането на мюсюлманска общност (умма) във виртуалното пространство. Останала в маргинална позиция на проекта за национална идентичност и на достъпа до публичност, общността на мюсюлманите в България декларира религиозна принадлежност чрез членство в различни групи и страници във Фейсбук, където обменя информация, подкрепя каузи, намира съмишленици. Така, в резултат на липсата на адекватен дебат, признаващ съществуването и културните права на мюсюлманската общност в България, тя изгражда своя алтернативна публичност в социалните медии.
published in "The Evolution of European Identities: Biographical Approaches", eds. Robert Miller and Graham Day, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 21-44
The Evolution of European Identities, 2012
Семинар_BG, 2012
The paper attempts to explore the production and consumption of knowledge within the conditions o... more The paper attempts to explore the production and consumption of knowledge within the conditions of contemporary media with active users’ participation. It focuses on the talk behind the article ‘Pomaks’ in Wikipedia and regards it as a ‘contact zone’ of cultures, identity markers and historical discourses. What contemporary media provides is the opportunity for production of knowledge “from below”, from a position left in the periphery of the national identity construction. On the other hand, the collective participation in article production and the basic rules and principles in Wikipedia keep the knowledge in conventional frames and block any alternative story in which people may need to believe when there is lack of adequate public historical narrative considering the existence of the Bulgarian Muslims.
Българска етнология, 2011
Настоящият текст представлява изследване на турците, преселници от България в района на Бурса, гл... more Настоящият текст представлява изследване на турците, преселници от България в района на Бурса, главно в перспективата на идентичностни маркери и в контекста на съвременната социална ситуация. Той търси местонахожденията на „родината” като един от идентичност-задаващите конструкти – понятие, което обаче, в случая с преселниците, проблематизира категориите за „свое” и „чуждо” в собствените им концептуални рамки. „Родината” в представите на преселниците в Бурса се позиционира в три различни проекции (онагледени в настоящия текст чрез три биографични истории) и има две измерения, като в различните ситуации едното от тях надделява при конструирането (и трансформирането) на собствени идентичности.
Comparative Southeast European Studies, 2022
Tomasz Kamusella's book offers an interpretation of socialist Bulgaria's assimilation policies an... more Tomasz Kamusella's book offers an interpretation of socialist Bulgaria's assimilation policies and practices towards its Turkish minority in the mid-1980s (also known under euphemisms such as "Revival Process", "Rebirth Process", among others), with a special focus on the resulting forced mass migration of Turks from Bulgaria to Turkey in the summer of 1989. This topic has received significant scholarly attention in postsocialist Bulgaria ever since the emergent fields of minority and migration studies opened up new and promising horizons for research. Transborder research and academic exchange, facilitated by institutional and border control liberalization after the Cold War, enriched the field as well with new theoretical perspectives, primary sources, and methodologies. Thus the last three decades have witnessed the emergence of an impressive body of academic literature in various disciplines, in Turkish, Bulgarian, and other languages. The existing research takes as its subject the brutality of the Bulgarian state's policies and practices against its own citizens, as well as the traumatic individual and collective experiences and painful memories related to the forced assimilation campaign, the organized repressions, the oppression directed against the Turks' ethnic and religious identity and-as a result-the mass expulsion. Today, it is rare to find a study on Muslim and Turkish communities in/from Bulgaria that does not focus on or at least mention their assimilation in (but also before) the 1980s and the forced migration. Instead of being "forgotten" or "consigned to oblivion by deepening public amnesia" (74) and contrary to the alleged "continuing lack of research" (115) as claimed by Kamusella, this problem has become the sine qua non subject in the field's scholarly literature. The book's impressive bibliography provides evidence of such centrality. Given the enormous academic interest in the topic, it is surprising that there has not yet been a comprehensive historical monograph written in English for a broader international audience. In this sense, Kamusella's book is a pioneering and valuable study. One major contribution here is an extensive chronological reconstruction of events from the 1980s and the ensuing debates on their aftermath in political, social, economic, and cultural terms. Based primarily on secondary sources (analysis of published sources, literature, and media coverage), Kamusella's study
Националното в епохата на неговата популярна възпроизводимост, тематичен брой на Критика и хуманизъм, 2012
Критика и хуманизъм, 2012
Покана за публикации в тематичен брой на Семинар_BG. Онлайн списание за културни изследвания