Bulletin of the Association for Croatian Studies – No. 57 Fall 2011 1
ISSUE No. 57 Fall 2011
IN THIS ISSUE President‘s Note………................ …1
Panel Summaries………..…….…1-4
Frano Prcela...……...……..............4-7
ACS Members & Friends...............7-8
Featured Websites………………..8-9
Books & Reviews.…….…................9
In Memoriam………….…………..10
Membership Dues…..……….…….11
ASSOCIATION FOR CROATIAN STUDIES
The ACS is a professional organization dedicated to the advancement of scholarly studies related to Croatia and the Croatians. The ACS was founded in 1977 and it is affiliated with the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES). Officers: Aida Vidan—President John Kraljic—Vice-President Ivo Soljan—Secretary Ellen Elias-Bursać—Treasurer Newsletter Editor: Nancy Crenshaw
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT
OF SLAVIC STUDIES
The ASEEES (formerly AAASS) represents scholarship in the field of Russian, Central Eurasian, Central and East European studies. The association has twenty-eight affiliates that are concerned with particular topics, areas, or peoples within the field. The ASEEES publishes the quarterly journal Slavic Review. http://www.aseees.org
A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear ACS Members and Friends, The 2011 ASEEES Convention will take place at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, DC, November 17
th -20
th. The
convention theme is ―Authorities,‖ and we are happy to announce that the ACS will be presenting several interesting panels on this and other themes. It is particularly encouraging to see that, despite economic difficulties, collaboration between scholars on the American and Croatian shores remains vibrant and that several panels will host our colleagues from overseas. The full listing of the panels pertaining to Croatia is included in this Bulletin.
I am pleased to let you know that the Croatian Embassy in Washington will host a reception for ACS members and their guests on Friday, November 18 from 6-8 p.m. in the Croatian Embassy Building at 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20008. Our business meeting will take place the following day, Saturday, November 19, 2:45-4:30 p.m., in
the Council Room of the Omni Shoreham Hotel. We will discuss our collaborative efforts with the Croatian Academy of America towards making Croatian culture more visible in Western academic circles and, as usual, we will consider proposals for next year‘s conference. ACS members, friends, and anyone interested in Croatian studies are invited to the meeting.
I look forward to seeing you in Washington.
Aida Vidan
ASEEES CONVENTION 2011
PANELS PERTAINING to
CROATIA and BOSNIA and
HERZEGOVINA
Session 1 • THURSDAY
1:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
1-33 Political Processes in the
Western Balkans after 2000 -
Suite 315 Chair: Ron Linden, U of Pittsburgh
Papers: Andrew Konitzer, U of
Pittsburgh, ―Small Parties and the
Collapse of Oversized Coalitions: The
Cases of Serbia and Croatia;‖
Jim Seroka, Auburn U, ―Assessing
Regional Security and Foreign Policy
Integration Efforts in the Western
Balkans;‖ Paula M. Pickering,
College of William & Mary, ―How
Local and International Forces Shape
the Outcome of Local Governance
Reforms in the Western Balkans‖
Disc.: Mila Dragojevic, The U of the
South
Session 2 • THURSDAY
3:00 p.m. - 4:45 p.m. 2-03 Identity Formation and
Political Conflict in Eastern Europe
Bulletin of the Association for Croatian Studies – No. 57 Fall 2011 2
- Blue Room Pre-Function
Chair: Florian Bieber, U of Graz
(Austria)
Papers: Vjekoslav Perica, U of Rijeka
(Croatia), ―Foreign Intervention and
Local Identity: The Cultural Impact of
the U.S. Humanitarian/Peacekeeping
Operation in Spalato, Dalmatia, 1919-
1921;‖ Magdalena Dembinska, U of
Montreal (Canada), ―A Nation in the
Making? Elite Identity Discourse and
Societal Responsiveness in
Transnistria;‖ Mila Dragojevic,
Sewanee: The U of the South, ―The
Salience of Invisible Social
Boundaries: Refugees and Locals in
Serbia‖
Disc.: Pamela Ballinger, Bowdoin
College Francesco Moro, Università
degli Studi di Firenze (Italy)
2-14 Public and Private Spaces in
Socialist and Post-socialist Cities -
Embassy Room
Chair: Emily Gunzburger Makas,
UNC at Charlotte
Papers: Veronica Aplenc, Rosemont
College, ―Private Enclaves in Planned
Socialist Public Space(s): State-
Owned Apartments, Illegal
Construction, and Personal Gardens in
1960s-1980s Slovenia;‖ Maroje
Mrduljas, Zagreb U (Croatia),
―Contemporary Croatian Architecture:
Testing Reality;‖ Sonia A. Hirt,
Virginia Tech, ―Public and Private in
Socialism and After: Spatial
Dynamics as a Reflection of Cultural
Changes‖
Disc.: Katya Makarova, U of Virginia
2-21 Teaching and Researching CE
and SE Europe at Regional and
Non-Title VI Universities
(Roundtable) - Presidential
Boardroom
Chair: Jeffrey Pennington, Inst of
Slavic, East European, and Eurasian
Studies; UC Berkeley
Part.: Melissa Bokovoy, U of New
Mexico; Jill A. Irvine, U of
Oklahoma; Sarah A. Kent, U of
Wisconsin-Stevens Point; Carol Lilly,
U of Nebraska at Kearney
2-31 Long Term Performance of the
Banking Sector in Eastern Europe
in the Context of Crisis Impact
(from Interwar Period to Current
Crisis) - Suite 268
Chair: Raymond Miller, Bowdoin
College
Papers: Zarko Lazarevic, Inst for
Contemporary History (Slovenia),
―Banking Performance in Eastern
Europe in the Interwar Period;‖
Stephan Barisitz, Oesterreichische
Nationalbank (Austria), ―Crisis-
Response Policies in Russia, Ukraine,
Kazakhstan and Belarus - Stocktaking
and Comparative Assessment;‖ Evan
Kraft, Croatian National Bank
(Croatia), ―Banking in Southeastern
Europe: from Boom to Crisis‖
Disc.: John R. Lampe, U of Maryland
Session 3 • THURSDAY
5:00 p.m. - 6:45 p.m. 3-15 Funding Opportunities for
Researchers and Students
(Roundtable) - Empire Ballroom
Chair: Beth Holmgren, Duke U
Part.: Cynthia Buckley, U of Texas at
Austin; Dan E. Davidson, American
Councils for International Education;
Robert T. Huber, NCEEER; Ed
Roslof, CIES; Joyce Warner, IREX
3-28 Peace at the Local Level:
Microhistories of the Transition
from War to Peace - Suite 253
Chair: Maria Todorova, U of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign
Papers: Steven Del Corso, U of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, ―Knin:
From Ethnic Serbian Town to
Medieval Croatian Capital;‖ Anca
Glont, U of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign, ―No More Sacrifice for
the Motherland: the 1918 Jiu Mining
Strike and Negotiating Labor in
Peacetime;‖ Svitlana Frunchak, U of
Toronto (Canada), ―Difficult Peace:
Soviet Takeover, Holocaust
Survivors, and Jewish Culture in
Postwar Chernivtsi, 1944-1949‖
Disc.: James W. Frusetta, Hampden-
Sydney College
Session 4 • FRIDAY
8:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. 4-21 Their Authority, Our
Freedom: Croatian Culture
Between the East and the West -
Presidential Boardroom
Chair: Sarah A. Kent, U of
Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Papers: Nives Rumenjak, U of
Pittsburgh, ―Heroes or Outlaws? The
Triple Border‘s Uskoks and Hajduks
in 19th-Century Croatian Literature;‖
Ivo Soljan, Grand Valley State U,
―Chains and Wings: Oppression and
Freedom in Croatian Poetry;‖ Aida
Vidan, Harvard U, ―Captive Maidens
and Conquered Lands: Public vs.
Hidden Narratives in Croatian
Renaissance Drama and Moreška‖ Disc.: Larry Wolff, New York U
4-22 From Debacle to Rebellion:
New Research on the April War
and the Communist Uprising in
Yugoslavia 1941 - Senate Room
Chair: Michael Eoghan Allen,
Rutgers U
Papers: Mario Jareb, Croatian Inst of
History (Croatia), ―Chetniks or
Partisans? The Character of the
Uprising of July 27, 1941, in Croatia
and Bosnia and Herzegovina;‖ John
Kraljic, Croatian Academy of
America, ―‘Down With the Imperialist
War!‘—The Reaction of the
Communist Party of Yugoslavia to the
Fall and Occupation of Yugoslavia;‖
Hrvoje Capo, Croatian Inst of History
(Croatia), ―Those Who Swore:
Croatian Soldiers of the Royal
Yugoslav Army in the April War of
1941‖ Disc.: John Paul Newman, U College Dublin (Ireland)
4-29 Language Contact at the
Margins: New Approaches to
Southeast Europe - Suite 263
Chair: Amanda Greber, U of Toronto
(Canada)
Papers: Cammeron Girvin, UC,
Berkeley, ―Shared Balkan Proverbs: A
Sprachbund Phenomenon?‖; Eric
Heath Prendergast, UC, Berkeley,
―Contested Grammars—Contested
Identities: Object Reduplication in the
Republic of Macedonia;‖ Andrew
Dombrowski, U of Chicago, ―From
Bulletin of the Association for Croatian Studies – No. 57 Fall 2011 3
Prizren to Novgorod: Slavic and Non-
Slavic in Russia and Kosovo‖ Disc.: Lenore Grenoble, U of Chicago
Session 5 • FRIDAY 10:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
5-29 Female Politicians in Croatia:
A New Authority? - Suite 263
Chair: Tatjana Bujas Lorkovic, Yale
U
Papers: Ljiljana Saric, U of Oslo
(Norway), ―Ideology and Evaluation
in Text and Image: Croatian Media
Presentations of the Prime Minister;‖
Vesna Kesic, Freelance
Journalist/Independent Scholar,
―Women in Politics: Doing and
Talking;‖ Mirjana Nelson Dedaic,
Georgetown U, ―Metaphoric
Construction of Female Politicians in
the Croatian Print Media‖ Disc.: Nanette Funk, CUNY, Brooklyn College
Session 6 • FRIDAY 2:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
6-12 The Diffusion of Economic
Reforms in Eastern Europe -
Diplomat Ballroom
Papers: Mitchell A. Orenstein, Johns
Hopkins U, SAIS, ―Policy Diffusion
Pathways: Explaining the Spread of
Pension Privatization and Flat Tax;‖
Juliet Johnson, McGill U (Canada),
―Dangerous Diffusion?: Post-
communist Central Banking and the
Financial Crisis;‖ Rachel Epstein, U
of Denver, ―Policy Diffusion and
Foreign Bank Ownership in Central
and Eastern Europe‖ Disc.: Bojan Bulgaric, U of Ljubljana (Slovenia), Milada Anna Vachudova, UNC at Chapel Hill
6-17 Violence: Theory and Practice
- Forum Room
Papers: John Paul Newman, U
College Dublin (Ireland), ―War and
Charismatic Authority in Yugoslavia:
Stjepan Radic and Aleksandar
Karadjodjevic;‖ James Ryan, U
College Cork (Ireland), ―Lenin as a
Theorist of Violence;‖ Susan Grant, U
College Dublin (Ireland), ―Care and
Compassion in a Violent Society:
Nurses in Soviet Russia, 1918-1922‖ Disc.: Joshua Sanborn, Lafayette
College
Session 7 • FRIDAY 4:00 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.
7-11 The Shifty Balkans? Debating
Multinationality and Transient
Loyalties in the (Post-) Ottoman
Balkans (Roundtable) - Council
Room
Chair: Pieter Judson, Swarthmore
College
Part.: Max Bergholz, U of Toronto
(Canada); Keith S. Brown, Brown U;
Theodora Dragostinova, Ohio State U;
Emily Greble, City College of New
York; Alex Stoyanov Toshkov,
Columbia U
7-23 Language Decay or Language
Revitalization? The Case of Minor
Slavic Languages between the
Languages of Authority - Suite 153
Chair: Matthew C Curtis, Ohio State
U
Papers: Sabine Pawischitz, U of
Vienna (Austria), ―Language Decay in
Burgenland-Croatian: A Comparative
Analysis of the Use of the Perfective
Aspect in Present Tense in
Burgenland-Croatian and Standard
Croatian;‖ Tomasz Dominik
Kamusella, Cracow U of Economics
(Poland), ―Vacillating Language
Decay or Language (Re-)Generation
in the Slavic-Germanic Community in
Upper Silesia: Noticing and
Standardizing Silesian;‖ Motoki
Nomachi, Hokkaido U (Japan), ―The
Grammaticalization of Kashubian
Perfects: Between German and Polish
Grammar‖ Disc.: Wayles Browne, Cornell U
Session 8 • SATURDAY 8:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
8-23 Current Trends in Bosnian
Cinema - Suite 153
Chair: Raisa Sidenova, Yale U
Papers: Maria Hristova, Yale U,
―Geography of Ethnic Conflict in
New Bosnian Cinema;‖ Natasa Milas,
Yale U, ―Laughter in the Dark: Danis
Tanovic and Bosnian Film;‖ Zdenko
Mandusic, U of Chicago, ―Scarred
Bodies, Hidden Hope: Positions of
Identification in the Films of Jasmila
Zbanic‖ Disc.: Aida Vidan, Harvard U
Session 9 • SATURDAY 10:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
9-26 New Research in South Slavic
Linguistics - Suite 209
Chair: Elisabeth Elliott, Northwestern
U
Papers: Amanda Greber, U of
Toronto (Canada), ―Good Language,
Good Citizen—Language and the
Shaping of Identity;‖ James Joshua
Pennington, Ohio State U, ―Double-
edged Allomorphy in Bosnian-
Croatian-Serbian: An ‗Official‘
Novohrvatism and an ‗Unofficial‘
Sociolinguistic Variable;‖ Anita Peti-
Stantić, Faculty of Humanities and
social Sciences, U of Zagreb, ―Is
There a Language Academy in
Croatia?‖ Disc.: Andrea Dorothy Sims, Ohio State U
Session 10 • SATURDAY
12:45 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. 10-11 Encounters between Central
and South Eastern Europe in
Modern History (Roundtable) -
Council Room
Chair: Irina Livezeanu, U of
Pittsburgh
Part.: Ulf Brunnbauer, U of
Regensburg (Germany); Patrice M.
Dabrowski, U of Massachusetts,
Amherst; Alex Drace-Francis, U
College London (UK); Malgorzata
Fidelis, U of Illinois at Chicago; Irina
Dimitrova Gigova, College of
Charleston
Session 11 • SATURDAY
2:45 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Association for Croatian Studies - (Meeting) - Council Room 11-15 The End of Yugoslavia:
Perspectives on Real-time Analysis
Twenty Years Later (Roundtable) -
Empire Ballroom
Chair: Robert M. Hayden, U of
Pittsburgh
Part.: Steven L. Burg, Brandeis U;
Robert Donia, U of Michigan; David
Kanin, CENTRA Technology/Johns
Bulletin of the Association for Croatian Studies – No. 57 Fall 2011 4
Hopkins U; Susan L. Woodward, The
Graduate Ctr, CUNY
Session 12 • SATURDAY 4:45 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
12-32 International Assistance:
Lessons from the Balkans—Suite
300
Chair: Jon Western, Mt. Holyoke
College
Papers: Jill A. Irvine, U of Oklahoma
and Patrice McMahon, U of Nebraska,
Lincoln, ―American Aid to the
Balkans: Lessons for Afghanistan;‖
Valerie Bunce, Cornell U, and Sharon
Wolchik, George Washington U,
―When Democracy Assistance
Works;‖ Jill Benderly, School for Intl
Training/World Learning,
―International Assistance, Local
Impact‖ Disc.: Andrew Konitzer, U of Pittsburgh; Julie Mostov, Drexel U
ASEEES Awards Presentation
and President’s Address (open to
all) – 7:30 PM - Blue Room Bruce Grant, New York U, will deliver the President‘s Address
Session 13 • SUNDAY 08:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
13-34 EU in search of a Balkan
Policy (Roundtable) - Suite 368
Chair: John Kraljic, Croatian
Academy of America
Part.: Djuro Njavro, Zagreb School of
Economics and Management
(Croatia); Branko Salaj, Zagreb
School of Economics and
Management (Croatia); Franjo Topic,
Theological Faculty; Davor Vidas,
The Fridtjof Nansen Inst (Norway);
Ivan Grdešić, Faculty of Political
Science, Zagreb (Croatia)
Session 14 • SUNDAY
10:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. 14-10 Rebelling against Zagreb:
Reflections on the War in Croatia,
1991-1995 - Congressional B
Chair: Susan Smith, Independent
Scholar
Papers: Davor Paukovic, Center for
Political Research (Croatia), ―Croatia
between Democratic Transition and
War;‖ Vjeran Pavlakovic, U of Rijeka
(Croatia), ―Sites of Memory on the
Road to War: WW2 Commemorative
Culture in Croatia, 1985-1995;‖ John
E. Ashbrook, Sweet Briar College,
―Storming to Partition: Croatia, the
United States, and Krajina in the
Yugoslav War‖
Disc.: Jared Manasek, Columbia U
Session 15 • SUNDAY
12:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. 15-18 Staging Memories of
Yugoslavia: Narratives, Practices,
Representations—Governor’s
Boardroom
Papers: Tanja Petrovic, Scientific
Research Ctr of the Slovenian
Academy of Sciences & Arts
(Slovenia), ―Army Stories Getting
Staged: Post-1990 Literary and Film
Representations of the JNA Service;‖
Martin Pogacar, Slovenian Academy
of Sciences & Arts (Slovenia),
―Youtube and Post-Yugoslav
Memories of Anti-fascism;‖ Sanjin
Pejkovic, Film Studies at Centre for
Languages and Literature, Lund U,
―Once Brothers? Documentaries and
Contested Representations of the Role
of the Popular Culture and Sports in
Yugoslav History‖
Disc.: Max Bergholz, U of Toronto
(Canada)
The Search for Identity between the
Conflicting Priorities of Nation and
Religion in Croatia
Frano Prcela, O.P.
Institut M.-D. Chenu, Schwedter Str.
23, D-10119 Berlin, Germany
When Croatians talk about national
identity, particular weight or even an
exclusive role is ascribed to the
Catholic Church. Modern
interpretations of national identity do
not accept religion, church or faith
affiliation as a basic feature of this or
even a special position in this identity.
Identity does not belong to the
essence of people but rather to their
consciousness. In the consciousness of
the majority of Croatians, the role of
the Catholic Church in the
development and preservation of the
Croatian national identity is given an
outstanding importance, a sort of
―Super-Role.‖
Because of historical
circumstances, the majority of
Croatians are Catholics. To put that in
another way, almost all the Catholics
in that region have become Croatians.
For nearly nine centuries the
framework provided by an
independent political state was
lacking, which, as a consequence,
meant that the Catholic Church took
on the role of national homogenising
and as the preserver of the Croatian
identity. For the Croatians, nation and
denomination are, therefore, almost
coterminous.
In this article we shall call
attention to the risk of, on the one
hand, reducing the Croatian national
identity to Catholicism and, on the
other hand, a certain reduction of
Catholicism into simply being
Croatian. For this is not only
outmoded, but moreover also brings
dangers for both sides with it.
When Croatians talk about the
history of the Croatian people, this
usually becomes a presentation of the
role of Christianity or of the Catholic
Church as the central bearer of the
promotion and preservation of
Croatian identity. Croatian culture,
politics and the general achievements
of civilisation are closely linked to
(western) Christianity. Nevertheless,
there is a danger that Croatian identity
will be reduced to Catholicism or
even to the institution of the Catholic
Church. Doing this would discard the
many facets of eastern Christianity,
which are primarily found on the
Adriatic coast. The equation of
Croatian with Catholic would, further,
mean the obliteration of the Jewish
and Protestant traditions, as well as
many other religious, cultural, and
political traditions, which have also
become an important part of Croatian
identity.
Thus the Catholic Church has, in the
Bulletin of the Association for Croatian Studies – No. 57 Fall 2011 5
course of (modern) history, created
certain positive prejudices about itself
by stressing its link with the Croatian
people. It is always the mutual going
together and suffering together of the
Catholic Church and the Croatian
people which is stressed—not only by
the Catholic hierarchy, but also by
many historians, intellectuals and, of
course, many politicians. In doing
this, certain historical events,
personalities or even terminological
syntagma are used, which, in the
course of time, have become a fixed
part of the self-understanding and
self-presentation of Croatian
Catholics. Examples of such syntagma
are: Croatians are a Catholic and
Marian people, or that Croatia is the
―Antemurale Christianitatis‖
(Bulwark of Christianity). In addition,
there are some more modern terms,
which are no less in danger of leading
to self-deception: a Catholic country
or the Catholic Church in Croatia is
the ―Stepinčeva Crkva (Stepinac´s
Church) etc.
At any rate, it is significant that
their own positive prejudices of the
Catholic Croatians form the source for
several negative prejudices in the
perception of others. One such
example is the designation of Croatia
by the Church as a Catholic country.
For the Croatians are silent when, for
example, the nuncio refers to Croatia
in an interview as the most Catholic
country (see the interview in ―Glas
Koncila‖, No. 1571, 01.08.2004). This
silent listening to the words of a
representative of the Vatican has
apparently been taken as a
compliment. When, however,
someone else, who already has a
profile as a critic of the same Church,
does the same thing and cites Croatia
as a Catholic state, this excites the
minds of Catholic Croatians a lot.
When the Croatians talk about
their Catholic Church themselves, this
soon becomes a listing of the merits of
the Church in education and in the
preservation of Croatian identity. In
fact, the first historical mention of the
name of Croatia, the beginnings of
Croatia becoming a state, and the first
documents about Croatia and Croatia
with the Church, are all linked with
the Catholic Church.
During the time of Communist
Yugoslavia, the Catholics appeared to
the outside world to be a very
homogenous community. The
enormous changes arising from the
Second Vatican Council caused only a
few ripples in the Catholic Church in
Croatia, compared to the greater
effects elsewhere in the West. The
changes were limited to the necessary
minimum. Discussions within the
Church were avoided as far as
possible. The priority was to save
one‘s strength for the daily
confrontations with the overpowering
Communist regime. The climate was
such that one assumed that everything
would be in order as soon as the
totalitarian Communist regime
disappeared from the political stage.
Encouraged by the fall of the Iron
Curtain, the first democratic elections
took place in one republic after
another of the then Yugoslavia. This
first took place in the two majority
Catholic republics of Slovenia and
Croatia in the spring of 1990. Very
soon Croatia experienced
disillusionment through the war which
followed and lasted until the summer
of 1995. The Church played a very
important role during the war, both in
the humanitarian field and more still
through spiritual support, as well as
through her homogenising function.
Very soon after this the
disillusionment came, especially
concerning the real structure of the
faith of Croatian Catholics. Through
the disappearance of the ideological
enemy—the Communist regime—the
Catholic Church was then able to take
part in the newly-won democratic
structures in a very intensive way,
with many new opportunities for its
pastoral and societal work (religious
instruction in schools, media work,
military and hospital chaplaincies
etc.). The very democracy which the
Church helped intensively to create
came as a surprise for the Church. The
newly-won freedom did not come at
once, but nevertheless the Church was
not prepared for it and was not able to
come to terms with the many new
possibilities (and the pluralist society
which went along with this!), and still
less with the expectations for the
Church itself—and that is still the
case today.
Particularly at the beginning of
the 1990s, during the war, the Church
was very present in the Croatian
public eye. At every celebration and
every official event the
representatives of the Church were
expected to be present. And the
officials of the Church did not miss a
single chance for this. The fact that
the Church was being used in a certain
way did not worry it at first very
much. With hindsight, this using of
the services of the Church in
situations where she was not to be
concerned about the ―contents‖ was
basically outsiders or even she herself
instrumentalising her. Frankly
speaking, the Church neglected her
own mission and misused her role
through her intensive public
appearances in Croatia by turning
herself into an institution for public
news instead of spreading her true
message amongst the people.
It appears paradoxical that,
through this intensive public presence,
an impression was made that Croatian
citizens were especially bound to the
Church, which later could be shown to
be a deceptive picture of the Catholic
Church. For that reason, the current
crisis of faith amongst Croatian
Catholics is not so much the result of
increasing secularisation as the
Church hierarchy likes to maintain. It
is rather more the result of the Church
―forgetting‖ to convey her own
message, by instead concerning itself
with image and institutional influence
in Croatian society. The result of this
process is that today most Croatians
are (on paper) Catholic (baptised), but
not Christianised—that is, they are not
Bulletin of the Association for Croatian Studies – No. 57 Fall 2011 6
informed or educated about their faith.
So Croatian Catholicism is
characterised by a formalist practice
of the faith and a traditional view of
the Church, with a strong tendency to
uphold Church traditions. This
practice of the faith, which can be
particularly seen at mass events,
survives without, one could say,
seeking a deep faith: it is restricted to
a ―situational Christianity‖
(―Christmas‖, ―Sacramental‖,
―Formal‖ or ―Sunday‖ Catholicism).
For more than two decades, the
Catholic Church has been in the
position to equip its members with a
substantially better communication of
faith as well as a higher intellectual
quality when communicating the
contents of faith. But this does not
happen enough, although the
prerequisites have never been so good
throughout the course of Croatian
history (the Church has religious
instruction in state schools, a strong
media presence, and many new
theological faculties within the state
universities). It is impossible to avoid
the impression that the Church is
more concerned about its position in
Croatian society than a continuous
offer of dialogue about the contents of
faith or theological themes in
society‘s discussions. As a
consequence of this intellectual
apathy concerning discussions in
society in matters of faith, it often
happens that the Church puts more
importance into the political points of
view of its members than their
theological positions. In doing this,
the faith of Catholic Croatians has
become a matter of inheritance (a
matter of tradition) rather than taking
the form of true discipleship.
Finally, the following question
remains to be asked: what, therefore,
are the current challenges for the
Catholic Church in Croatia?
When the Catholic Church in
Croatia talks about preserving
identity, it is principally the
preservation of tradition that is meant.
But if tradition is stressed too much,
the impression inevitably arises that
one wants to hold on to the status quo.
This presents the Church with the
urgent task of producing a creative
distance to tradition. The current
assurance about the merits and the
role of the Catholic Church itself in
the historical development of the
Croatian people does not at all mean
that these should be exhibited in the
museum of Croatian identity. What is
required is the Here and Now of the
Church in Croatian society!
There is no question that the
Catholic Church in Croatia has
endorsed the process of
democratisation and has become an
important subject of society in the
country. In the 1990s, Croatian
society went through an important
development towards more pluralism.
Around the end of the 1990s, the
influence of the Church was
disappearing more and more, and the
Catholic authorities were taken less
and less seriously by the media, and
were even sometimes discredited.
How could it come to that? For
this we offer the following
explanation: the Church at first
accepted pluralism as something good
and also accepted it for itself, because
this provided it with the opportunity
to spread its message in freedom. But
in the meantime the situation has
arisen that the representatives of the
Church have little understanding for
points of view and concepts of life
which are irreconcilable with Church
teaching. And so it came to be that the
Church, every time there was a
confrontation with differing views,
more and more referred to Croatian
society as a ―failed democracy.‖ The
challenge for the Church in this
context is to create the prerequisites
for an open discussion in its own
ranks, without raising a monopolistic
claim in the process (and that not even
in questions of faith). One good way
for the Church would be the way of
serenity. To a certain extent a more
creative calmness concerning
complexity (which has arisen because
of pluralism) would make the Church
more receptive for the doubts,
questions and wounds of Croatian
society. That is to say, she would then
be enabled to transcend them.
Otherwise she will be on the way to a
fatal division into civic and
ecclesiastical public spheres.
At first sight, a close relationship
between national and religious
identity is not bad as such. But a
(church-) politically motivated
deliberate equation of the two will
bring serious consequences with it.
Applied to the Croatian situation: the
Catholic Church cannot afford to give
in to the temptation of being a
centripetal factor of power for the
unity of the Croatian nation. It is now
time to disenchant the
interrelationship between nation and
religion or even to demystify it.
The temptation which has
brought the fateful connection of
being Croatian and Catholic in the
course of history ought not to be taken
into account any longer today. But
this is not the case. Without any
question, the Catholic Church would
like to continue to influence Croatian
society in an active way. She does not
only bring gifts to this process, but
also her own challenges and
problems, which are increasingly
becoming urgent tasks. If the Church
wants to take up the interest of the
people or even represent them, then
she must maintain a certain distance
from politics. That does not mean that
she must remain aloof from social,
economic and political questions, but
rather that she must avoid every
activity which could create the
impression that she is representing her
own political interests or is on the side
of the decidedly nationalist state.
Being close to the state delegitimises
Church action—that is something
which the Catholic Church had to
experience not only after the collapse
of State Socialism in Croatia, but also
in many other countries in Eastern
Central Europe.
―Not that we lord it over your faith;
Bulletin of the Association for Croatian Studies – No. 57 Fall 2011 7
rather, we work together for your joy‖
(2 Cor. 1:24). Authentic engagement
for the true Christian and Catholic
identity is certainly the best
contribution which the Church can
provide in Croatian society, and
through which she can help to
stabilize national identity. Let it be
understood that this does not only
apply to Croatia.
MEMBERS & FRIENDS
Greetings and welcome to new members Jasna Krizanec, retired teacher of Russian Languages, and to George Pesely at the Dept. of History, Austin Peay State University.
Ludwig Steindorff, Kiel
University/Germany, took part in a
conference at the Faculty of Letters of
the University of Zagreb on March 3,
2011, regarding the topic ―Ljetopis
popa Dukljanina pred izazovima
novije historiografije,‖ (―The
Chronicle of the Priest of Dioclea and
the Challenges of Modern
Historiography‖). Except for the
writer of these lines and two
participants from Belgrade, the other
eight participants came from Zagreb.
The organization of the conference
was motivated by some recent
publications about the composition
and the age of this mysterious source.
Since the different proposed solutions
widely exclude one another, the
discussion was very vivid and
controversial, but always remained on
an academic and friendly level. The
organizers intend to publish the papers
of the conference. Professor
Steindorff also published an article:
―Jugoslawien 1989: Kosovo und der
Diskurs um die Zukunft des states,‖
(Yugoslavia 1989: Kosovo and the
Discourse about the Future of the
State) Jahr der Wende im östlichen
Europa, ed. Michael Düring et alii,
Lohmar-Köln: Josef Eul Verlag 2011,
S. 187-206.
We are pleased to announce that our
member, Mr. Joseph Turkaly, had
an opening of his Retrospective
Sculpture Exhibition in the Embassy
of the Republic of Croatia in
Washington, DC on October 13, 2011.
The exhibit will remain on display
Monday-Friday, 10 – 4, until Jan. 1.
A surprise party was held for Wayles
Browne during "Slavic Studies
Symposium 2011" at Cornell last
February. He was also invited to give
talks in Japan in June 2011: one in
Tokyo on enclitics in Slavic languages
and one in Sapporo (the main center
for Slavic studies) on the Burgenland
Croatians and their position on the
border between Austria and Hungary.
Wayles was delighted to see that the
Sapporo library had a subscription to
the Burgenland periodical Hrvatske
Novine. Professor Browne‘s recent
publications include a bilingual
volume: Cape of Good Hope/Rt
Dobre Nade, poems by Sasha
Skenderija, translated from the
Bosnian. Tešanj, Bosnia: CKO, 2011.
Another translation from Croatian he
completed with Theresa Alt is Omer
Rak, The Rhyton from Danilo:
Structure and Symbolism of a Middle
Neolithic Cult-Vessel. Oxford: Oxbow
Press, 2011. His article "Serbo-
Croatian Language" has been included
in Encyclopaedia Britannica 2011,
explaining the uses of this
controversial term.
Also by Professor Browne:
"Lingvistički pogled na hrvatski jezik,
njegovo normiranje i mjesto u
društvu." [―A Linguistic Look at the
Croatian Language, Its
Standardization and Its Place in
Society.‖] Kroatologija (Zagreb) 1
(2010), p. 11-20. [Favorable review
by Janika, Vijenac (Zagreb), br. 435,
4. XI. 2010.]
Forthcoming are two scholarly
obituaries: "In memoriam Horace
Lunt 1918-2010." Slovo, Zagreb, to
appear in 2011-2012; and "In
memoriam Ilse Lehiste 1922-2010."
Zbornik Matice srpske za filologiju i
lingvistiku, to appear this year as well.
Sabrina P. Ramet announces
publication of her article ―Croatia
and Serbia since 1991: An
Assessment of Their Similarities
and Differences,‖ in the Journal of
Communist Studies and Transition
Politics, 27: 2, (2011): 263- 290.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1352327
9.2011.564098
The Croatian Academy of
America issued Volume 44 of the
Journal of Croatian Studies, its
annual interdisciplinary review.
The opening essay was written
by University of Zagreb Professor
Darko Žubrinić and deals with
the life and contributions to
mathematics of William Feller
(1906-1970). One of the founders
of Probability Theory as a
scientific discipline, Feller was
born in Zagreb and received his
initial education in mathematics
and physics at the University of
Zagreb before going on to achieve
international fame. Feller was
particularly known for his two-
volume monograph An
Introduction to Probability Theory
and Its Applications which
underwent several editions and
was translated into Russian,
Chinese, Spanish, Polish, and
Hungarian. A fascinating chapter in the
cultural and religious history of the
Croats relates to the Reformation
period and is presented by
University of Waterloo Professor
Bulletin of the Association for Croatian Studies – No. 57 Fall 2011 8
Emeritus Vinko Grubišić. Despite
major challenges and uncertainties
as exiles, Croatian reformers in
Germany printed over 20,000
books, including complete
translations of the Bible into the
Croatian language (―stumačena v
hrvatskom jaziku‖ / ―in die
Crobatische Sprach
verdolmetscht‖). These books
were printed in the Glagolitic,
Cyrillic and Roman alphabets in an
effort to spread reform ideas
throughout lands inhabited by the
Croats and other South Slavs. Various aspects of the history
of the Croatian diaspora are
presented by various contributors.
John Felix Clissa examines the
migration history of the Italo-
Croatians of the Molise region of
Italy to Western Australia. The
smallest ethnolinguistic minority in
Italy, the Italo-Croatians of Molise
are remnants of one of Croatia‘s
oldest diaspora communities
whose spoken language has been
designated as ―severely
endangered‖ by the UNESCO Red
Book on Endangered Languages.
As an immigrant from Molise who
spent his childhood in Belgium
before emigrating to Australia,
Clissa‘s contribution is an
outgrowth of his important 2001
book The Fountain and the
Squeezebox (La Fontana e
L’Organetto / Funda aš orginet).
In this book, he transcribed and
saved for posterity the idiolects
(specific speaking styles) in
Molisan-Croatian (together with
English translations) of twenty-
seven individuals from Molise and
first generation Italo-Croatian
Australians who were born
between 1901 and 1934.
Based on the records of the
U.S. Department of State relating
to the internal affairs of
Yugoslavia, Jure Krišto, Ph.D., of
the Croatian Institute of History
(Zagreb), examines the
surveillance of American Croats
by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) during World
War II. He concludes that the FBI
began its spying on American
citizens of Croatian descent at the
behest of Yugoslav diplomats in
Washington, DC. This operation
continued despite conclusions by
several operatives that further
surveillance was not warranted.
Instead, over time the surveillance
mutated to focus on alleged
Communist-related activities of
American Croats. He concludes
that the FBI was not always careful
in the selection of its informants,
which often resulted in grave
consequences for American
Croats. Following a review of the
policy origins of multiculturalism
in Canada and the launch of
Canadian Ethnic Studies and
Polyphony, Stan Granic
highlights the approach and
achievements of these two
periodicals. He then summarizes
the main contributions in the two
journals dealing with the Croatian
ethnocultural community in
Canada and the achievements of
Canadians of Croatian origin. Vladislav Beronja provides a
translation of Miroslav Krleža‘s
exceptional poetic essay on the
artist Krsto Hegedušić (1901-
1975). Hegedušić‘s most famous
paintings depicted social themes
and especially the harsh life of the
Croatian peasantry in the style of
naïve art. Krleža‘s essay,
considered a masterpiece in its
genre in Croatian literature,
accompanied Hegedušić‘s 1933
book of drawings entitled
Podravski motive (The Drava
Valley Motifs). Hegedušić‘s career
was marked by his pursuit of an
independent artistic course
incorporating a national and social
voice combining satirical,
grotesque and surrealist elements.
In this issue, Brian Gallagher
reviews Goli Otok: Hell in the
Adriatic (2007), the personal
reminiscences of Josip Zoretić
about life in the most notorious
prison camp of Tito‘s Yugoslavia.
The reviewer discusses how this
work provides a corrective to the
observations of those who gloss
over the serious human rights
violations that took place in ex-
Yugoslavia. Vinko Grubišić
reviews Kritike, a 2008 collection
of forty literary critiques penned
by Vinko Brešić. Brešić critiqued
works written in verse and in prose
of various genres by diverse
Croatian authors, literary historians
and critics over the last decade. To
order a copy of the Journal
contact:
The Croatian Academy of
America, Inc. P.O. Box 1767
Grand Central Station New York, NY 10163-1767 Fax (516) 935-0019 E-mail [email protected]
In this issue we feature the website of the Croatian Scientific Bibliography (CROSBI)http://bib.irb.hr/index.html which stores scientific papers published in the period from 1997 to the present. Project CROSBI started in 1997 with the main goal to collect the data on scholarly output of the current research projects financed by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports (MSES) and to make them available publicly. Today CROSBI provides a comprehensive overview of all literature produced by Croatian scholars: journal articles, books, book chapters, conference papers, theses, reports, manuscripts, etc. Scholars themselves often provide the data for
Bulletin of the Association for Croatian Studies – No. 57 Fall 2011 9
the database. Furthermore, CROSBI provides a digital archive of full-text papers. CROSBI offers "on demand" current bibliography for the institution, project, scientist or subject. Librarians are active partners in maintenance of the database as they communicate with scientists in order to improve the accuracy of the data. CROSBI currently houses data on 67,000 articles published in scholarly publications, 31,000 articles published in other journals, 5,800 authored books, 2,550 edited books, 20,200 book chapters, 3,800 textbooks, 35,400 articles in proceedings with international peer-reviews and 14, 300 articles in domestically-reviewed proceedings, and 4,750 articles from various other proceedings. It also includes 47,600 summaries, data on 5,000 dissertations, 4700 master theses, and 25,000 undergraduate theses. Additionally it lists the information on 560 patents, encyclopedia entries, various reports, computer programs, etc. Since CROSBI serves as a repository of full-length texts, in addition it provides access to 12,700 articles (mostly in pdf format) and links to 16,500 articles provided on the publishers‘ sites. Such comprehensive coverage makes it one of the most relevant scholarly databases in Croatia with approximately 5000 visits a day.
BOOKS & REVIEWS
Josip
Glaurdić,
The Hour of
Europe:
Western
Powers and
the
Breakup of
Yugoslavia, (Yale
University Press, 2011, 418 pages).
By looking through the prism
of the West's involvement in the
breakup of Yugoslavia, this book
presents a new examination of the
end of the Cold War in Europe.
Incorporating declassified
documents from the CIA, the
administration of George H.W.
Bush, and the British Foreign
Office; evidence generated by The
Hague Tribunal; and more than
forty personal interviews with
former diplomats and policy
makers, Glaurdić exposes how the
realist policies of the Western
powers failed to prop up
Yugoslavia's continuing existence
as intended, and instead
encouraged the Yugoslav Army
and the Serbian regime of
Slobodan Milošević to pursue
violent means.
The book also sheds light on
the dramatic clash of opinions
within the Western alliance
regarding how to respond to the
crisis. Glaurdić traces the origins
of this clash in the Western
powers‘ different preferences
regarding the roles of Germany,
Eastern Europe, and foreign and
security policy in the future of
European integration. With
subtlety and acute insight, The
Hour of Europe provides a fresh
understanding of events that
continue to influence the shape of
the post-Cold War Balkans and the
whole of Europe.
Josip Glaurdić received his
Ph.D. from Yale and is junior
research fellow at Clare College,
University of Cambridge. He
divides his time between
Cambridge, UK, and Münster,
Germany.
Radoslav Katičić. Gazdarica na
vratima: Tragovima svetih
pjesama naše pretkršćanske
starine, Ibis grafika; Matica
hrvatska; Katedra Čakavskog
sabora Općine Mošćenička Draga,
Zagreb - Mošćenička Draga, 2011.
283 str.
ISBN: 978-
953-6927-
59-3.
The last
book in
Katičić's
trilogy
makes an
attempt at
reconstructing ancient Slavic sacral
poetry, in particular texts
pertaining to the Slavic Great
Mother, the goddess Mokoš who
was also venerated by the Baltic
peoples. As in his previous two
volumes (Božanski boj and Zeleni
lug) dealing with Slavic ritual
texts, in addition to illuminating
the devotional aspect, Katičić also
uncovers the mythical picture of
the Slavic world which remains
reflected to this day in various
expressions in Croatian and other
Slavic languages.
Marin Držić. Izabrana djela I. Ed.
Slobodan Prosperov Novak,
transcriptions by Marijana Horvat,
Ivana Vrtič and Ivana Žužul.
Matica hrvatska, Zagreb, 2011. 329
str. ISBN: 978-953-150-304-4
The first volume of Držić‘s
selected works includes the author‘s
political letters (including the
conspiratory letters to Cosimo I de‘
Medici) and two editions which were
discovered in Milan‘s Nazionale
Braidense by Enio Stipčević in 2007:
Tirena and Pjesni Marina Držića.
Look for the ACS on Facebook and
if you like what you see, say so!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Associ
ation-for-Croatian-
Studies/162980563795491
Bulletin of the Association for Croatian Studies – No. 57 Fall 2011 10
In M em oriam
DR. JOSEPH T. BOMBELLES
One of the founders of the Association for Croatian Studies (ACS) and its former president for many years, Joseph T. Bombelles died in Norfolk, Virginia, on July 5, 2011, after battling cancer for some time. He was born on June 2, 1930. His father, Count Joseph Bombelles, was executed in 1942 by the Croatian regime at the time, while Tito's communist regime confiscated the family property. He and his mother lived in Zagreb.
After earning a law degree at the University of Zagreb, he went to The Hague to study international law and didn't return to his native Croatia until it became independent twenty years ago. Soon after coming to the West, he asked for political asylum in Germany and became a political emigrant. While in Germany, his fiancée, Georgia Nina Lolić from Zagreb, joined him and they were married in Munich in 1955.
In 1956, the young couple came to the United States and settled in Cleveland. As experienced by a number of other educated Croatian immigrants, at first he worked in a machine shop in order to make a living. In the early 1960s, he began to teach German and Russian to engineering students at the Case Institute of Technology.
He also enrolled in graduate school and earned his Master's and doctoral degrees in economics at Case Western Reserve University. His dissertation, ―Economic Development of Communist Yugoslavia,‖ was published in 1968 by the Hoover Institute, Stanford University.
Dr. Bombelles taught economics at John Carroll University for 30 years, from 1968 to 1998. He was a demanding but well-respected professor, both by his students and by his fellow-faculty members. For this reason, he received John Carroll's Distinguished Faculty Award. He was also a Fulbright scholar.
Although he had a successful career, a wonderful family, and truly enjoyed and loved American freedom and democracy, he never forgot his homeland and its people. He desired independence, freedom, democracy, and prosperity for everyone, especially for his Croatian people. For that reason, he was instrumental in organizing various scholarly gatherings to discuss issues dealing with Croatia and the Croatians, at home and abroad. With the same purpose, he and several other Croatian scholars of that generation, founded the Association for Croatian Studies in 1977. We are thankful to him and the others for their enthusiasm, vision, and endurance!
As soon as Croatia became independent, Dr. Bombelles undertook concrete steps to promote democratization and free market economy in his homeland. His goal was not to make money, but to contribute to the education of new generations in their understanding and appreciation of freedom, democracy, free enterprise, and good work ethics. These were all values that he found worthy of transferring to a society that was coming out from under the rubble. With this noble objective in mind, he became one of the founders of a private business school, the Zagreb School of Economics and Management (ZSEM), and served as its chairman. He was instrumental in establishing good working relations between John Carroll University (some other universities too) and the ZSEM, which are beneficial on both sides of the Atlantic, especially in the area of student and faculty exchange.
Besides his professional career, Dr. Bombelles will be remembered for being a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather. He was a true gentleman and a friend to many of us. After his retirement in 1998, he spent much time in Zagreb, but every time he came back to the US, he would call, inquiring what was going on at the ACS and how could he help in the advancement of Croatian studies. We are thankful to Dr. Bombelles for his true friendship and collegiality. We are glad that he was a part of our lives as we were of his, even in a small way. The advancement of Croatian studies was our common goal and that, in turn, lead to a true friendship. We thank him for both!
To his dear wife Nina, his two sons, and four grandchildren, we extend our sincere sympathy. To our friend Joža, we say farewell and may the Good Lord grant you eternal peace.
Ante Čuvalo, Ljubuški
Bulletin of the Association for Croatian Studies – No. 57 Fall 2011 11
MEMBERSHIP DUES
Sign up now for 2012! If you are not a member of ACS, join our group of professionals who are either of Croatian background or are scholars doing research in the field of Croatian Studies. You do not have to be in Slavic studies to be a member! All you need is an interest in Croatia and the Croatians. Both current members and other interested persons are asked to mail in the membership form with your membership dues. Your cooperation is needed to keep our mailing list up-to-date. If you would like to support ACS activities, especially to participate in the annual ASEEES convention, your financial donations will be greatly appreciated. Keep in mind that ACS is a non-profit educational association; dues and donations are tax-deductible.
ACS MEMBERSHIP FORM
MEMBERSHIP DUES FOR 2012: REGULAR MEMBERSHIP $30.00 RETIREES AND STUDENTS $15.00
TAX DEDUCTIBLE CONTRIBUTIONS ACCEPTED! Write your checks to Association for Croatian Studies Name_____________________________________________________ Address___________________________________________________ Telephone___________________________________e-mail_________________________________________
Please send dues and membership form to:
Ellen Elias-Bursac
30 Ellsworth Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
New Members: Please send us a few sentences about yourself and your work. All ACS members are asked to keep their e-mail addresses updated. Let us know about important events and successes in your life and work.
Material to be published in the Bulletin should be sent to [email protected].
Bulletin of the Association for Croatian Studies – No. 57 Fall 2011 12
Assn. for Croatian Studies
c/o Nancy Crenshaw 931 Huebinger Drive
Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 U.S.A.