VAHIDA RAMUJKIC: DISPUTED HISTORIES / ISTORII DISPUTATE
PREZENTARE, DISPLAY, WORKSHOP
TRANZIT.RO/ IAŞI
STRADA AL. LĂPUŞNEANU, NR. 7-9, IAȘI

Marea schimbare socială şi politică ce s-a petrecut în lume spre sfârşitul secolului XX prin dezmembrarea blocului socialist şi (re)instaurarea capitalismului ca ordine socio-economică şi ideologie dominantă, şi care nu doar a adus în atenţia profesioniştilor şi a publicului larg revizuiri chestionabile în interpretarea evenimentelor istorice, dar şi a atras atenţia asupra unei serii de redefiniri şi re-conceptualizări ale înşişi termenilor elementari utilizaţi pentru a explica procesele sociale şi relaţiile sociale corespunzătoare (precum fascism, anti-fascism, comunism, socialism, liberalism, capitalism, democraţie, totalitarism, etc.). În actualul cadru cultural, politic şi economic dominant, tendinţa prevalentă a fost ca interpretările istorice să dobândească un caracter relativ unison, devenind adesea singurul cadru de interpretare atât a evenimentelor politice curente cât şi a celor istorice. Astfel, naraţiunile istorice regăsite în manualele de şcoală generală reprezintă un instrument de bază nu numai pentru explicarea modului în care s-au petrecut lucrurile în trecut, ci şi pentru justificarea regimul politic actual de la putere şi pentru asigurarea continuităţii lui în viitor. Pentru o cercetare mai aprofundată şi o analiză a scopurilor şi motivaţiilor revizuirilor mai noi şi mai vechi ale naraţiunilor istorice oficiale în manualele şcolare, s-a iniţiat în 2007 o Bibliotecă a Istoriilor Disputate.
http://disputedhistories.irational.org/

În bibliotecă se găsesc acum peste 350 ce manuale din diverse perioade şi programe naţionale (cu accent iniţial pe regiunea Yugoslaviei), care au fost folosite pentru a organiza o serie de ateliere practice care explorează evoluţia interpretării diferitelor evenimente istorice sau contradicţii expuse în diverse naraţiuni naţionale.
Metodologia dezvoltată cu ajutorul atelierelor de lucru combină abordarea practică ce derivă din artă şi design, precum colajul şi formatul fanzin, cu discuţii şi analize comparative ale conţinuturilor manualelor, pentru a produce un material nou şi palpabil care să poată fi folosit mai departe.
Vahida Ramujkic, februarie 2019

VAHIDA RAMUJKIC: DISPUTED HISTORIES
PRESENTATION, DISPLAY, WORKSHOP
TRANZIT.RO/ IAŞI
AL. LĂPUŞNEANU STREET, NO. 7-9, IAȘI

Great social and political turn which took place in the world by the end of the XX c. by dismantling of the socialist block and (re)establishing of capitalism as the dominant socio-economic order and ideology had brought to the attention of the professional and the general public not only the questionable revisions in interpreting earlier historical events, but also had drawn attention to the series of redefinitions and re-conceptualizations of the very basic terms used to explain social processes and related social relations (eg fascism, anti-fascism, communism, socialism, liberalism, capitalism, democracy, totalitarianism, etc.). In the currently dominant cultural, political and economic framework prevailing tendency became that interpretations of history gain a relatively unison character, which often becomes the only framework for interpretation of both day-political and historical events. Therefore official historic narratives found in elementary school text-books present the basic instrument not only for explaining how things have occurred in the past but for justifying the present political regime on power and securing its future continuation. For the reason of more in depth research and analysis of the aims and motivations of more recent and past revisions of official historic narratives in the school text-books a Disputed Histories Library has been initiated in the year 2007.
http://disputedhistories.irational.org/
The library at the moment containing over 350 textbooks from diverse periods and national programs (with initial focus to the former Yugoslav region) has been used to organize series of practical workshops exploring transition in interpretation of different historic events or contradictions exposed in diverse national narratives.
Methodology developed through the workshops combine practical approach deriving from art and design, such as collage and fanzine layout, with the discussions and comparative analysis of text-book contents in order to produce new palpable material which could have further use.
Vahida Ramujkic, February 2019

DISPUTED HISTORIES (2006 – ongoing)
http://disputedhistories.irational.org/

Research & production:
Lost Highway Expedition, 2006
Elementary Balkans, CK13, Novi Sad, Serbia, 2008
Georg Eckhart Institute, Braunschweig, Germany 2013
Exhibitions, workshops and booklets:
Where Everything is Yet to Happen, SpaPort Biennale, Banja Luka, BIH, 2010
Raumschiff Yugoslavia, NGBK, Berlin, 2011
It’s Time to get to know each other, 52. October Salon, Museum of Yugoslav History, Belgrade, 2011
Culture of Memory: Present of the Past, Šabac Library, Šabac, Serbia, 2012
Franz Ferdinand’s Principal, BLArt, Incel, Banja Luka, 2014
Contemporary Cartographies, CaixaForum, Barcelona, 2012
SPAPORT Review, Bosnia and Herzegovina Art Gallery, Sarajevo, BIH, 2013
Biennial de Fronteras, Tamaulipas, Mexico, 2015

Workshops and produced booklets:
Last 50 years in regional text-books, SpaPort Biennale, Banja Luka, BIH, 2010
Booklet: Vol.1. Our Newest Hysteria
Our own World History, NGBK, Berlin, 2011
Booklet: Vol.2. Migrations and Expulsions
Joint History from Serbian and Kosovo text-books, Center for Cultural Decontamination, Belgrade, 2010
The False Truths, Museum of Yugoslav History, Belgrade, 2011
Booklet: Vol.3. Istina/E Verteta
Povijest_historija, OKC Abrasevic, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2013
April War, Šabac Library, Šabac, Serbia, 2012
Socialism then and never, SIZ, Molekula, Rijeka, 2013
Booklet: Vol.4. Socialism then and never
Sarajevo Assassination, BLArt, Incel, Banja Luka, 2014
Booklet: Vol.5. Sarajevo Assassination

Workshops in the framework of the project DEFRAMING HISTORIES, ECF (2016/17)
Day to Day, Cultural Center Rex, Belgrade, Dec. 2016
Collaborationism in The WWII from text-books in serbian and Albanian, Youth Center ACTIV, Kosovska Mitrovica, Kosovo, Dec. 2016
Keywords and Phrases of Historic Revisionism, Prijedor, BIH, Jan. 2017
Nation and Emancipation?, Youth Center ACTIV, Kosovska Mitrovica, Kosovo, Feb. 2017
Human Rights in the text-books during Socialism, Transition and Capitalist Restoration, Documenta, Zagreb, Croatia, Apr. 2017

Disputed History library physical placement:
Crna Kuća Youth Center, Novi Sad, 2007 – 2012
Ignorant Schoolmaster, Belgrade, 2012 – 2017
Cultural Center Rex, 2017 – 2018
Published articles:
Disputed Histories: Art and Design Methodologies Tackling Contradictory Narratives in Historical Textbooks, The Design Journal, Volume 18, 2015 – Issue 4: Visual Communication Design in the Balkans, p. 595-606.

Participation in International conferences:
Fascism and Antifascism in Our Time, The Federal Agency for Civic Education, Bonn, the Hamburg Institute for Social Research, and Rutgers University, New Jersey, Hamburg, 2017
World History Association Annual Conference, Ghent, 2016
Cultural Memory, Center for Culture and Cultural Studies, Skopje, 2013
Albanian-language history textbooks and teaching in South-eastern Europe, Georg Eckhart Institute, Priština, Kosovo, 2013
Culture For Eastern Partnership, Lublin, Poland, 2013
Balkan Locus-Focus, Visual Communication Design in the Balkans, Izmir, Turkey, 2012
Provisional Futures, Europe Lost and Found, Skopje, 2007

Institutional acquisition:
Disputed Histories Vol.1-5. and documentation from the workshops, Cultural Center Belgrade, 2015