Strangers Either Way

Jasna Čapo Zmegač is a senior research fellow at the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research in Zagreb and adjunct professor at the University of Zagreb. She has a multi-disciplinary background in ethnology, cultural anthropology, demography and French literature. She studied at the University of Zagreb before doing her MA and PhD at Berkeley. She was a postdoctoral fellow in Strasbourg and Vienna, a Humboldt Fellow in Munich and Berlin, and a visiting fellow at various European universities. Her current research interests are in the field of anthropology of migration, especially forced and labor migration, and the politics of identity construction in diaspora settings. Her recent publications include the co-edited volume (with C. Voß and K. Roth) Co-ethnic Migrations Compared: Central and Eastern European Contexts (Munich: Kubon & Sagner, 2010), as well as refereed articles and chapters published in English, French, German, Croatian, and other European languages.

• List of MapsAcknowledgementsMapsIntroductionChapter 1. The Ethnology of IndividualsThe individual and her/his cultureThe relational notion of identityCase study: the Srijem CroatsPolyphony, hybridity, levels of reading: methodological-epistemological remarksThe Srijem case as an instance of coethnic migrationsChapter 2. Srijem Croats Talk about ThemselvesExchangesOne's own and other people's nostalgiaChapter 3. Identity Building in the Local Environment"If they are doing well, we are doing well too": resignation"We will never get over it": the Srijem sorrow"There's no going back, you have to go forward": integrationEthnocentrism of the newcomersChapter 4. The Older Generation and the MigrationBefore the migration: "There was money! What a life! Real life!"Reasons for leaving Srijem and making the decision to moveThe resettlement: the grandfathers decidingIn the new surroundingsFrom domination to dependenceChapter 5. Constructing Difference, Identifying the SelfAttribution of difference and symbolism of collective identity"Good" and "bad" Croats or how to measure Croatian-nessAbout the same thing from the other side: statements by the local population in GradinaChapter 6. Between Individual and Collective Integration into Croatian SocietyAt the outset: categorizing the settlersActivities of the migrant associationThe leaders' dilemma: equal citizens or a "sect of Srijem Croats"Chapter 7. Community, Identification, InteractionAntagonism between "the established" and "the outsiders"The local population's perspectiveThe stereotyped rhetoric of differenceStereotyping and individualizationThe ease of person-to-person interactionConclusionsEpilogue: Ethnologist and Her/His PublicTo take the standpoint of the researched or not?Reactions to the restitution of the researchFurther unwanted consequences of restitutionHow to protect the researched In the end: the distinct position of an ethnologist at homeBibliographyIndex

" ...an accessible text that makes, and evidences, hypotheses about identity-building, cross-cultural strategies, and the processes of co-ethnic migration." * JRAI "The translation to the lingua franca of today's world is a very good decision, since this remarkable text would have otherwise remained unknown to readers not fluent in Croatian... [It] contributes to a better understanding of identity dynamics and creation of multicultural interaction in a national context." * Anthropological Noteboooks "This is an excellent addition to the literature on the experience of migration... Capo Zmegac... is well informed... The theoretical treatments are useful and well supported... The translation is very good, and the epilogue reflecting on the Croatian reception of Capo Zmegac's work in 2002 is an unusual and valuable methodological contribution. Highly recommended." * Choice "... a welcome addition to the field of forced migrations for it makes a significant exploratory step into the understudied phenomena of cultural dynamism and identity (re)construction among co-ethnic migrants (refugees) in the post-Yugoslav space." * Austrian History Yearbook