So I think part of the reason that I haven't written on this blog much is that I've been rather uninspired about my project. Let me explain. The project I initially wrote up for this fellowship I still find interesting. However, through various discussions and interactions, I've discovered it’s not all that relevant.
My initial question was how has the practice and identification of Islam in the Bosniak community in Mostar changed since 2000 and how has this influence local political participation and the larger discussion of religion in the public sphere at the national level. As I've discovered, there are a couple of problems with this approach. 1) While academics and the academic literature tent to form a strong link across ethnicity and religion, individuals here don’t see it the same way. While a Bosniak is a Muslim, a Croat a Catholic and a Serb an Orthodox, I've experienced a lot of pushback when I try to frame my question in terms of religion since people will say “well I'm Bosniak, but don’t call me Muslim” even though they may eventually have to identify with that time on job applications, marriage certificates and the like. The same situation is with the other groups. 2) In line with that, the majority of people don’t frame things in terms of religion. “How has religion and religious practice shifted “doesn’t resonate. So I’ve been thinking of how to deal with this. Well I could look at the role of religion in the public sphere and its impact on political participation, which I think in Mostar particularly, would be very relevant. But here’s the thing, I’m not all that interested in that. There are loads of things on civil society, religion and identity in Bosnia.
So what to do. Well I think I’m going to turn around and do something completely and utterly different. Something in fact I don’t actually know that much about in this specific context, but that I have been fiercely passionate in my personal life. I’ve been trying to figure out how to incorporate this into my academic life for a while, but I haven’t been able to make the connection because I hadn’t been familiar enough with the BiH context to be able to make a connection. But after some inspiration from The Stranger’s food blog, the words of women from the workshops I’ve been going to here and a little nudge from Vienna I think I may finally have it. Feminism and food security in a post-conflict setting.
Food security. Anyone who knows me knows this about me. I am passionate about food in all regards. Its production, its distribution, the human rights aspect of it (being available in low income communities, its quality etc), its long term sustainability to feed 6 billion people, local food production, diverse food crops and maintaining “seed integrity.” But I don’t know the academic literature; a couple of weeks of intense reading will help.
Post-conflict. Duh this is what I study. Post-conflict reconstruction/reconciliation, my MA thesis was on education policy in Bosnia and its role in promoting a new national identity/history for reconciliation and the role of the International Community. (answer: edu policy in Bosnia doesn’t promote any sense of “nationness”)
Gender and feminism. This is my weakest point. I have no background in feminist theory, but in the BiH context, women are often marginalized and excluded from the political and social processes. Women are also increasingly the breadwinners or sole supporters in the returnee communities since their husbands, sons and other male family members are either abroad working, disabled or are dead. Women generally are (I believe) the greatest victims in conflict anyways, as they are left without traditional breadwinners during a conflict and possibly after a conflict. Women are also systematically targeted during a conflict (rape being the most obvious example and one that certainly happened here in Bosnia), often excluded from the rebuilding process and generally left marginalized in the community. In one of the workshops I went to in Republika Srpska, women were describing the lack of security in their daily lives. “You don’t know if what you have today will be there tomorrow” and what little security existed is in their small private gardening plots that provide a more or less reliable from of food.
Ok I’m still working on this and its only been in the last hour that this has clarified itself but I’m rolling with it! I have a lot of work to do. I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!! Also: please don’t steal my idea.
Also will post about Balkan Bus Adventures soon!
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