https:\/\/www.uni-lj.si\/dogodki\/2026-01-13-predavanje-prof-dr-marie-todorove-kako-pristopiti-k-raziskovanju-balkana<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nDo the Balkans need their own epistemology?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nOne of the most prominent methodological issues is the conceptual apparatus we use. Balkan scholars are informed and borrow highly influential discourses and categories from adjacent areas and disciplines. Some of these categories are, in my opinion, appropriate, like empire and imperiality, marginalization and peripherality, scale, power, dependence, entanglement, and so on. Others I deem less appropriate or not at all, and in this lecture I want to address two problematic trends that have been influential lately in Balkan studies. First, I seek to contextualize the different approaches around \u201cempire\u201d and \u201ccolonialism\u201d and the usages of their derivatives, like postcolonial, postcoloniality, neocolonial, quasi-colonial, decolonization, transcoloniality, as well as imperialism, imperiality, inter-imperiality, etc. Special attention will be paid to the ubiquitousness and functions of the concept of decoloniality. Secondly, I will focus on the employment of the category \u201crace\u201d and race theory to the Balkans, and the controversies this has generated. I will argue for the felicitous deployment of \u201cracialization\u201d, as theorized in a different context by Lo\u00efc Wacquant. Finally, going back to the question posed in the title, I address the antinomy of distinctiveness\/uniqueness versus universalism and whether to approach the Balkans as part of a universal, if not entirely homogenizing and singular modernity, or in terms of alternative or multiple modernities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reading:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wacquant, L. (2022). Resolving the trouble with \u201crace\u201d. New Left Review, (133\/134), 69\u201388.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maria Todorova is a prominent historian and professor of history, best known for her groundbreaking work on Balkan historiography and identity. Born in Bulgaria, she earned her PhD from Sofia University and later established an international academic presence, holding positions at leading universities including the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Todorova\u2019s most influential work, Imagining the Balkans (1997), critically examines Western perceptions of the Balkans and has become a foundational text in postcolonial and Southeast European studies. Her research explores nationalism, historical memory, and the politics of representation in the region, contributing significantly to interdisciplinary debates on identity and cultural history. Todorova has received numerous academic honours and fellowships, reflecting her international impact. In addition to her scholarly work, she actively mentors young researchers and promotes cross-cultural dialogue. Her contributions continue to shape global understandings of Southeast Europe\u2019s past and its place in the modern world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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