Selected Research Projects

The projects listed here are at various stages of completion, with members of the first cohort (Iljazagic, Kliko, Kapidzic, Hodzic, Mesic) usually farther along than others. The reader should also consult other postings on the Web site, especially since part of the work done by many of the members consists of the creation of a critical, annotated bibliography/filmography of works published or screened in Bosnia since 1992 in Bosnian and in other languages that narrate or discuss parts of the recent Bosnian past.

1. A study of commentary, interpretation, and commemoration of the 25 May 1995 shelling massacre in Tuzla. Essays reflecting on attitudes of the population since that time. (Nedzad Kapidzic, Edis Hodzic)

2. A study of the history-of-the-war play Iza SNA as performed and commented upon in Tuzla, Sarajevo, and the United States. (Enes Iljazagic and Damir Nezirovic). History of the writing and production; thematics; reception; influence. Comparisons with the highly controversial (and partially censored) play TE SJAJNE GODINE OPSADE, to be studied by Mirela Agic and Maida Skripic.

3. A study of the campaign to establish a Srebrenica massacre memorial center at Potocari.( (Hajrudin Mesic, Hasan Hasanovic, and Edin Jahic)

4. A study of television and newspaper representations of the Markale shelling massacre in Sarajevo and related commemorative activities during the war and in the period 1996-2001. (Amir Kliko)

6. A comparison of the thematics, reviewers' commentaries, and contemporary perceptions to three of the more prestigious and influential relevant films, SAVIOR, THE SMELL OF QUINCES, PERFECT CIRCLE, and PRETTY VILLAGE, PRETTY FLAMES. This will be a preliminary exercise in preparation for the production of a critical compilation film analyzing the arguments and implicit thematics of a larger selection of films about the breakup of Yugoslavia and the war in Bosnia. (Enes Iljazagic, Nedzad KapidzicEdin Memic, possibly others).

7. A study of the building of the two opposed monuments to the killing at Ahmici in central Bosnia in 1993. Enes Iljazagic, Nedzad, Kapidzic. This study will also include analysis of representations of the event in films such as the British-made docudrama WARRIORS.

8. A localized study of the history textbook wars concentrating on the Brcko area. (Midhat Djelovic).

9. A study of the phenomenon of the discovery and framing of the 'mass grave' as an exercise in the iconography of journalism. Comparisons with representations of mass graves during the period of World War II. (Ibrahim Husic, Mersudin Karic)

10. A study of the reporting in Federation and Republika Srpska press concerning national narratives delivered as part of prosecution and defense arguments at the International Criminal Tribunal at the Hague, 1994-2001 (John Weiss, Edis Hodzic). We will pay special attention to press treatment of the perceived fairness or unfairness of the procedures, the balancing of narratives concerning the formation of Bosnia or the origins of the war (examples of both can be found in the very first trial, that of Dusko Tadic), the treatment of local war crimes trials in the entities, and the trials of 'our' defendants compared with the trials of 'their' defendants (for example, Fëderation and Srpska press and TV accounts and analysis of the Celebic camp trial of Muslim and Croat guards or Federation and Srpska press and TV accounts and analysis of the trial of Dusko Tadic). We will also look for any changes in the language and style of analysis in the accounts of early trials (like that of Dusko Tadic) and more recent ones, like the current trial of General Krstic. The theoretical basis for our interest in the question of the perceived fairness of the procedures as opposed to the fairness of the substance of the narrative testimony can be found in Mark Osiel, Mass Atrocity, Collective Memory, and the Law (New Brunswick:Transaction Publishers, 1997)

11. A study of the reception and perception of SAVIOR in the United States. This study examines reviews and criticism while at the same time surveying reactions and perceptions of a sample of individuals who rented SAVIOR since April 1999 and those who attend a special screening of the film. (Benjamin Bleiberg)