Memory in action – performative practices in a dispute about the past: Serbia and Croatia at the turn of the 20th and 21st century

Abstract

The article is an attempt to combine in one reflection the elements of two directions of critical thinking: discursive and performative. The starting point of the analysis is the assumption (derived from beliefs common in pre-performative times) that every space (including a city’s territory) can be treated as a text. This means that both static artifacts and activities in a given space communicate a certain message and can be seen as signs or symbols that refer to something outside of them. Our reflection focuses on practices in which the performative potential is fully revealed and which can be interpreted as a kind of rebellion against the present reality and official policies of memory. The analyzed activities are understood here as symbolic and cultural practices and aim to introduce changes on several levels: to change the historical consciousness of community members; to affect the nuances and expansion of national memory (in this case Serbian or Croatian); to modify the nature of memory. We are interested in interventions that are usually undertaken by persons or groups located on the outskirts of the system of power.