Review of the Institute of History and Archaeology

Archaeology, Material Culture, and the New Utopias of Universalism

Ljuben Tevdovski — 2022-02-25

The legacy of countless observations over the material remains by archaeologists, accumulated over the last centuries, created the unique western tradition of empiricist interpretation of the past and the present, and transformed the archaeology into the most empirical and most scientific tool for exploring and comprehending cultures and history developed by the modern West. As “science is still (perceived by many as) the last bastion of the colonialist defense”, this essay analyzes if archaeology is still frequently, deliberately or through methodological inertness, misused as an effective tool in favor of the traditionally dominant western narratives. I argue that any recidivism of this artificial “objectiveness” creates constrains even for the most noble and elaborate efforts for new multi-perspective knowledge and understanding of our world and its identities.

Keywords:

Archaeology, classical world, globalization, objectiveness.

The Law on the Protection of National Minorities in the Republic of Albania I

Donce Tasev — 2023-02-27

The Law on the Protection of National Minorities in the Republic of Albania I:

A Meaningful step forward or a status quo in the protection of minority rights?

Austro-Hungarian Military Reports in Mirzsteg Reforms in Macedonia

Verica Josimovska — 2022-02-25

During the early 20th century, the Macedonian issue in the Balkans gained intensity and attracted diverse audiences. The two major powers in the first tier, Austria-Hungary and Russia, created a reform programme in Mirzsteg that the Ottoman state was supposed to undertake in order to improve the position of its Christian populations. In the diplomatic sphere, Austria-Hungary has followed the events related to this initiative closely, but also took concrete actions in order to influence the processes in accordance with its interests and ambitions in the Balkans. Its role in implementing the reforms in Macedonia has been a subject of numerous reports written by the diplomatic and military officials.

Keywords:

Macedonia, Mirzsteg Reforms, Austria-Hungary, diplomacy, 1903.

Placing Museum Collections in Context

Oliver Cackov — 2022-02-25

The paper provides a critical reflection of the agency involved in collecting practice of museums and in shaping meaningful entities that were visualized in the past, and how they work today. Museums’ relation to the past, which is a key part of the process how they convey the image of past to the audience, i.e. how they present their own view of history, covers the questions which history is preserved, what narratives are constructed in the museum mechanism, how they are transmitted and who they refer to. If we take the view that museum collections are created in specific socio-historical contexts, and in considering the agencies that shape them, we are to necessarily consider the processes generating those contexts in order to grasp the nature of the practice, then, we have to acknowledge that the practice itself may have a profound influence on shaping that very context. Highlighting the notion of museum collections as loci of encounter and negotiation between museum and society, the paper provides insights into the paradigm shifts of museum collecting in the Republic of Macedonia and into its responses to specific social demands from 1945 to the present. Examining current strategies for bringing historical collections to the public and how museums handle the challenges of contextualizing them in today’s institutional program, particularly in terms of identity and memory, the paper proposes that if museums are considered as critical instruments of fundamental social change, then providing important public influence can only emerge from a clear vision of their future course, which means that research into contemporary cultural and social relevance of historical collections must occur in the intellectual framework of the museum and its objectives in society.

Keywords: museum collecting, historical collections, socio-cultural context, historical narrative, cultural identity, cultural memory

The impact of the Policies of the Great Powers on the Emergence and Development of Balkan Nations

Stojko Stojkov — 2022-02-25

The impact of the Policies of the Great Powers on the Emergence and Development of Balkan Nations