Tweet
This woman sounds very accomplished and is clearly extremely interested in Macedonian affairs based on a few of her articles.
Vasiliki Neofotistos
Some article abstracts:
Abstract
“The Balkans’ Other within”: Imaginings of the West in the Republic of Macedonia
Resisting Violence: Hegemonic Negotiations of Ethnicity in the Republic of Macedonia
Something on Facebook:
Oh to share a dinner with such an interesting person like this. Perhaps one of our resident anthropology Professors might be able to provide her articles in full here ....
Vasiliki Neofotistos
Vasiliki Neofotistos is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where she teaches courses on violence, political anthropology, and the anthropology of war and peace.
She holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Harvard University (2003) and has previously taught in the Committee on Degrees in Social Studies at Harvard and the Department of Anthropology at the Catholic University of America.
She has conducted fieldwork research on inter-ethnic relations, constructions of identity, and violence in Eastern Europe, specifically Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Montenegro. Neofotistos is particularly interested in the interface between social anthropology and policy-making with special reference to conflict management and prevention, post-conflict stabilization, and democracy building.
She is currently completing her first book manuscript tentatively entitled “An Ethnography of Non-violence: Power Inequalities and Conflict Negotiation in the Republic of Macedonia”.
Neofotistos speaks Macedonian, Albanian, Greek, English and French.
She holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Harvard University (2003) and has previously taught in the Committee on Degrees in Social Studies at Harvard and the Department of Anthropology at the Catholic University of America.
She has conducted fieldwork research on inter-ethnic relations, constructions of identity, and violence in Eastern Europe, specifically Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Montenegro. Neofotistos is particularly interested in the interface between social anthropology and policy-making with special reference to conflict management and prevention, post-conflict stabilization, and democracy building.
She is currently completing her first book manuscript tentatively entitled “An Ethnography of Non-violence: Power Inequalities and Conflict Negotiation in the Republic of Macedonia”.
Neofotistos speaks Macedonian, Albanian, Greek, English and French.
Abstract
“The Balkans’ Other within”: Imaginings of the West in the Republic of Macedonia
Using the case study of the Republic of Macedonia, I explore how people who live in a realm conventionally cast as insufficient of “the European Self” imagine “the West”. Such imaginings are important because they are intertwined with negotiations of nationhood and citizenship. I argue that in local constructions of the global social order, Macedonia emerges in an interstitial position between “the Balkans” and “the West” as “the Balkans’ Other Within”. Social actors craft this position out of Western hegemonic constructions of the Balkans as a socio‐political anomaly and portray “the Other within” (Macedonia) as the engulfed land of promise. The case study of Macedonia allows us to refine the concepts of “Balkanism” by underlining local perspectives on the promise that “the West” carries for the Balkans and “Orientalism” by emphasizing the possibilities that the construction of the Orient charts for the future advancement or demise of the Self.
Resisting Violence: Hegemonic Negotiations of Ethnicity in the Republic of Macedonia
This is a dissertation about the social negotiation of ethnicity and local resistance to the use of armed violence. Based on eighteen months of fieldwork between March 2000 and August 2001 in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, I unfold the social processes related to ethnicity that can both escalate violence and hinder its escalation in multi-ethnic states in the Balkans. More specifically, I ask the following question. Given the social tensions between Macedonians and Albanians, why did an all-out ethnic war not sweep across Macedonia when the conflict between the Macedonian State Army and the Albanian National Liberation Army erupted in February 2001? By comparing the processes of Macedonian and Albanian ethnic identity building in an ethnically heterogeneous neighborhood, I make two arguments. First, I argue that reasons why civil wars in multi-ethnic societies are constrained lie with the schematics of minority social structures and in particular with a minority's capacity to internalize the hegemonic ideology of the majority. In particular, the construction of the division between village and city regulates high and low social status within the Albanian community and casts Albanian urbanites in a favorable position vis-a-vis Albanian villagers. From an urban Albanian viewpoint, the latter are the only ones who deserve to occupy low positions in the moral hierarchy found in the wider society. Consequently, Albanian urbanites and Macedonian individuals can experience an affinity of values, negotiate ethnicity and accommodate social tensions by deploying a variety of strategies, from irony to changing personal names. Second, I argue that it is the dynamic combination of social tensions and social constraints against warfare that grant the social system flexibility at times of crisis. Social tensions can contribute to warfare, however, should forces exogenous to the state boundary emerge and manage to mobilize local support. My work points to the dynamics generated by the simultaneous presence of violence and peace in daily life and contributes to furthering our understanding of the role minority structures can play in helping avert ethnic conflict.
Something on Facebook:
Тема: Se naogjalo i po nekoj normalen grk na svetov...
Прикажан е единствениот напис.
Andrea
Tekstot e od univerzitetskiot vesnik (UB Reporter) na "State University of New York at Buffalo" (UB)
Balkans’ breakup sparks career path
Neofotistos studies ethnic relations between Macedonians, Albanians
By KEVIN FRYLING
Reporter Staff Writer
Growing up in Greece in the 1980s and '90s, Vasiliki Neofotistos had a front row seat to the breakup of the Balkans following the collapse of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
She says the urge to learn more about the political and social upheaval to the north became the first step on a career path in political anthropology.
"I'm interested in questions of power in societies, conflict resolution and policy making," says Neofotistos, an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences, who joined the UB faculty last fall. "I've conducted research in the Republic of Macedonia and studied inter-ethnic relations between Macedonians and Albanians living in the country."
She focuses on the relations between these two ethnic groups because of their political struggles for state power after the collapse of socialism, she says, but notes that Turks, Bosnians, Serbs and Roma are also among the fascinating blend of "different backgrounds, histories and languages" that make their home in the Balkans.
Her longest trip to the Republic of Macedonia took place from March 2000 to August 2001 while working as a doctoral field researcher—a time in which she experienced firsthand the turmoil of the infamous, months-long conflict that broke out between Macedonian security forces and the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army.
"It was a dangerous time because all the embassies were evacuating personnel and all foreigners were sent out of the country," she recalls. "I decided to stay on [because] I was in the capital (Skopje) and there was no conflict in the capital. But it arrived within five miles of the city, so it could have gone badly.
"I also felt a moral responsibility to stay on," she adds, "My friends and informants looked at me and thought that as long as I stayed, the situation would improve. Somehow, I had become a walking icon of stability and my leaving would completely disappoint them."
That the conflict did not erupt into civil war helped reinforce her view that Albanians and Macedonians as individuals take political rhetoric targeted toward their respective ethnic groups with "a grain of salt."
"There was a lot of hate speech against Albanians on the collective level," she says about the time she spent in a Macedonian neighborhood in Skopje. "Yet, I found that people had friends who were Albanian." She points out that most of the anger seemed directed at immigrants or "newcomers" who had entered the nation in recent decades.
"Macedonians and Albanians lived together under socialism for many years," Neofotistos says. "There is something more going on than ancient hatred in the Balkans."
The second half of her fieldwork was spent in an Albanian neighborhood to balance her research. "Everyone was saying, 'Don't go,'" she says, "which was one of the reasons I wanted to." That the cautions were baseless—she found the neighborhood as safe as the Macedonian neighborhood in which she previously had lived—illustrates the ethnic prejudices that remain unresolved.
"I think that you cannot have successful attempts to resolve conflict and successful democracy-building without an intimate knowledge of the history and culture of the people and societies in which you work," she says, explaining that contextual knowledge about others gives anthropologists something valuable to offer policy maker—not only about the Balkans, but about other troubled regions around the world as well.
The best insights in the field come from simply engaging in everyday activities and conversations, adds Neofotistos, who is fluent in Macedonian and Albanian, as well as Greek and English.
"As an anthropologist, it's imperative that you have the opportunity to go into the field and do research," she says, noting that strong support of faculty research is one of the biggest reasons she came to UB. "One of the greatest things about anthropology is that you have the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of other people...and enlarge the way you see the world. It treats everyone on equal terms and recognizes that possibilities for enrichment come from every person."
A graduate of the Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences in Athens and the recipient of a master's degree from Oxford and doctorate from Harvard, Neofotistos has been a teaching fellow at Harvard and a visiting professor at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She also served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Harriman Institute at Columbia University in 2004 and an advisor on ethnic relations for the United Nations Development Programme in 2003.
Her current projects include a book manuscript on strategies of conflict avoidance in the Republic of Macedonia based on her doctoral research and a larger-scale project that will explore collective memory and reconciliation in the Balkans after the collapse of socialism. She also teaches graduate and undergraduate classes, including "Violence and the Nation-state," a popular undergraduate class she developed at Harvard.
It's really rewarding to see that you've helped young people think critically about the world in which they live," she says. "I'm having a very positive experience teaching at UB."
Although she jokes that she's still learning the ins and outs of campus as she takes the Metro Rail and UB Stampede from her home in the Elmwood Avenue area to her office in the Ellicott Complex, Neofotistos says she has been pleased to find Buffalo a great place to work and live, especially as someone who enjoys the arts and an urban environment.
"It's great to step outside my apartment and stroll around all the restaurants and cute boutiques on Elmwood," she says. "There are so many things going on around Buffalo. I was surprised to find out that there are so many activities and cultural events."
Reakcija od nekoj drug grk:
I disagree with some of the statements made by Vasiliki Neofotistos in an article ("Balkans' breakup sparks career path") published in the May 17 issue of the Reporter.
Neofotistos talks about Macedonia as if it is a nation. As a Macedonian Greek, I take issue with that. Macedonia is a province of Greece.
Neofotistos also calls Macedonia a republic, which is not correct and ignores historical facts.
Finally, she is wrong when she states that she is fluent in the Macedonian language. There is no such language as Macedonian; people living in that part of the former Yugoslavia speak Slavic. Anyone specializing in languages will verify that.
Sincerely,
Elfie Mermigas
Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences
Odgovorot od Prof. Neofotistos:
In response to the letter published in the June 7 Reporter in which Eleftherios Mermigas responded to the interview I recently gave to the Reporter, I would like to address the following three misconstructions that appear in the letter (Click here for interview; click here for letter).
First, in my interview with the Reporter, I made no reference to the geographical province of Greece that is called Macedonia. Rather, I discussed my scholarly work in the Republic of Macedonia, Greece's neighboring country to the north.
Second, my use of the term "Republic of Macedonia" is consistent with the official name with which the United Nations has recognized the country in question (with the exception of Greece, which still prefers the name "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia") since its emergence as an independent nation-state in 1991, shortly after the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Finally, the term "slavic" does not denote one language, as Mr. Mermigas wrongly argues in his letter, but rather a branch of the Indo-European language family that includes, among others, Russian, Bulgarian, Polish, Serbian and Macedonian.
Sincerely,
Vasiliki Neofotistos
Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology
Прикажан е единствениот напис.
Andrea
Tekstot e od univerzitetskiot vesnik (UB Reporter) na "State University of New York at Buffalo" (UB)
Balkans’ breakup sparks career path
Neofotistos studies ethnic relations between Macedonians, Albanians
By KEVIN FRYLING
Reporter Staff Writer
Growing up in Greece in the 1980s and '90s, Vasiliki Neofotistos had a front row seat to the breakup of the Balkans following the collapse of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
She says the urge to learn more about the political and social upheaval to the north became the first step on a career path in political anthropology.
"I'm interested in questions of power in societies, conflict resolution and policy making," says Neofotistos, an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences, who joined the UB faculty last fall. "I've conducted research in the Republic of Macedonia and studied inter-ethnic relations between Macedonians and Albanians living in the country."
She focuses on the relations between these two ethnic groups because of their political struggles for state power after the collapse of socialism, she says, but notes that Turks, Bosnians, Serbs and Roma are also among the fascinating blend of "different backgrounds, histories and languages" that make their home in the Balkans.
Her longest trip to the Republic of Macedonia took place from March 2000 to August 2001 while working as a doctoral field researcher—a time in which she experienced firsthand the turmoil of the infamous, months-long conflict that broke out between Macedonian security forces and the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army.
"It was a dangerous time because all the embassies were evacuating personnel and all foreigners were sent out of the country," she recalls. "I decided to stay on [because] I was in the capital (Skopje) and there was no conflict in the capital. But it arrived within five miles of the city, so it could have gone badly.
"I also felt a moral responsibility to stay on," she adds, "My friends and informants looked at me and thought that as long as I stayed, the situation would improve. Somehow, I had become a walking icon of stability and my leaving would completely disappoint them."
That the conflict did not erupt into civil war helped reinforce her view that Albanians and Macedonians as individuals take political rhetoric targeted toward their respective ethnic groups with "a grain of salt."
"There was a lot of hate speech against Albanians on the collective level," she says about the time she spent in a Macedonian neighborhood in Skopje. "Yet, I found that people had friends who were Albanian." She points out that most of the anger seemed directed at immigrants or "newcomers" who had entered the nation in recent decades.
"Macedonians and Albanians lived together under socialism for many years," Neofotistos says. "There is something more going on than ancient hatred in the Balkans."
The second half of her fieldwork was spent in an Albanian neighborhood to balance her research. "Everyone was saying, 'Don't go,'" she says, "which was one of the reasons I wanted to." That the cautions were baseless—she found the neighborhood as safe as the Macedonian neighborhood in which she previously had lived—illustrates the ethnic prejudices that remain unresolved.
"I think that you cannot have successful attempts to resolve conflict and successful democracy-building without an intimate knowledge of the history and culture of the people and societies in which you work," she says, explaining that contextual knowledge about others gives anthropologists something valuable to offer policy maker—not only about the Balkans, but about other troubled regions around the world as well.
The best insights in the field come from simply engaging in everyday activities and conversations, adds Neofotistos, who is fluent in Macedonian and Albanian, as well as Greek and English.
"As an anthropologist, it's imperative that you have the opportunity to go into the field and do research," she says, noting that strong support of faculty research is one of the biggest reasons she came to UB. "One of the greatest things about anthropology is that you have the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of other people...and enlarge the way you see the world. It treats everyone on equal terms and recognizes that possibilities for enrichment come from every person."
A graduate of the Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences in Athens and the recipient of a master's degree from Oxford and doctorate from Harvard, Neofotistos has been a teaching fellow at Harvard and a visiting professor at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She also served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Harriman Institute at Columbia University in 2004 and an advisor on ethnic relations for the United Nations Development Programme in 2003.
Her current projects include a book manuscript on strategies of conflict avoidance in the Republic of Macedonia based on her doctoral research and a larger-scale project that will explore collective memory and reconciliation in the Balkans after the collapse of socialism. She also teaches graduate and undergraduate classes, including "Violence and the Nation-state," a popular undergraduate class she developed at Harvard.
It's really rewarding to see that you've helped young people think critically about the world in which they live," she says. "I'm having a very positive experience teaching at UB."
Although she jokes that she's still learning the ins and outs of campus as she takes the Metro Rail and UB Stampede from her home in the Elmwood Avenue area to her office in the Ellicott Complex, Neofotistos says she has been pleased to find Buffalo a great place to work and live, especially as someone who enjoys the arts and an urban environment.
"It's great to step outside my apartment and stroll around all the restaurants and cute boutiques on Elmwood," she says. "There are so many things going on around Buffalo. I was surprised to find out that there are so many activities and cultural events."
Reakcija od nekoj drug grk:
I disagree with some of the statements made by Vasiliki Neofotistos in an article ("Balkans' breakup sparks career path") published in the May 17 issue of the Reporter.
Neofotistos talks about Macedonia as if it is a nation. As a Macedonian Greek, I take issue with that. Macedonia is a province of Greece.
Neofotistos also calls Macedonia a republic, which is not correct and ignores historical facts.
Finally, she is wrong when she states that she is fluent in the Macedonian language. There is no such language as Macedonian; people living in that part of the former Yugoslavia speak Slavic. Anyone specializing in languages will verify that.
Sincerely,
Elfie Mermigas
Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences
Odgovorot od Prof. Neofotistos:
In response to the letter published in the June 7 Reporter in which Eleftherios Mermigas responded to the interview I recently gave to the Reporter, I would like to address the following three misconstructions that appear in the letter (Click here for interview; click here for letter).
First, in my interview with the Reporter, I made no reference to the geographical province of Greece that is called Macedonia. Rather, I discussed my scholarly work in the Republic of Macedonia, Greece's neighboring country to the north.
Second, my use of the term "Republic of Macedonia" is consistent with the official name with which the United Nations has recognized the country in question (with the exception of Greece, which still prefers the name "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia") since its emergence as an independent nation-state in 1991, shortly after the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Finally, the term "slavic" does not denote one language, as Mr. Mermigas wrongly argues in his letter, but rather a branch of the Indo-European language family that includes, among others, Russian, Bulgarian, Polish, Serbian and Macedonian.
Sincerely,
Vasiliki Neofotistos
Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology
Oh to share a dinner with such an interesting person like this. Perhaps one of our resident anthropology Professors might be able to provide her articles in full here ....
Comment