Who Owns the Past?

Deema Kaneff is reader in Social Anthropology at the Centre for Russian, European and Eurasian Studies at the University of Birmighnam.

• AcknowledgementsAbbreviationsGlossaryChapter 1. Introduction: Politics and the pastLocal-Centre Relations in Socialist BulgariaSocialist TemporalityThe Importance of the Past: History, Tradition and FolkloreFieldwork and the Issue of RepresentationChapter 2. A 'Model Village'The 'Model Village'Event Administrative RelationsClass RelationsMoralityIdentityConclusionHISTORY: A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTERS 3 AND 4Chapter 3. Socialist History, Politics and MoralityCharacterising HistoryPolitics and HistoryA Moral HistoryChapter 4. Contesting HistoryDifferent Histories: Political PluralismAlliances and OppositionsTRADITION: A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTERS 5 AND 6Chapter 5. The Character of TraditionsTraditional Funeral PracticesDeath and Relations to NatureCollective Celebrations of TraditionChapter 6. Tradition and History: Contrasting Constructions of the PastA Good Communist Village: A Bad Traditional VillageCreating Local Distinctions: Traditional Practices as a Way of Opposing the StateFOLKLORE: A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTERS 7 AND 8Chapter 7. Defining FolkloreSurvakani: both a Traditional and Folkloric CustomFolklore as a State-determined ActivityChapter 8. Folklore in a New Bulgarian VillageEducation, Bulgarian Culture and FolkloreThe Village Vocal GroupTalpa - a 'new Bulgarian village'Chapter 9. A New Model for the VillageA Model Village in a Model DistrictDecentralisation – the Tragic ConsequencesA Re-evalutaion of the PastRe-negotiating Relations with the CentreAppendix I: 9 September 1987Appendix II: EulogyReferencesIndex

“It is an intelligent idea to look at society in terms of competing renditions of the past, and this can be rewarding for studies of other than socialist societies...The book demonstrates the significance of meaning for state formation.”  ·  Focaal”…the book is an intelligent reading of rural socialist Bulgaria; it demonstrates the significance of meaning for state formation in general and places the artifacts of humanities, history tradition, and folklore right at the center of political science.”  ·  Focaal"…a welcome addition to the literature on the relationship between politics and history in the rural areas of socialist Bulgaria…The book masterfully explains how the official socialist version of local history was created and disseminated through life history narratives, ceremonies, awards and textbooks…The book is very readable and could be successfully used in undergraduate classes."  ·  JRAI