Paper Short Abstract:

The paper focuses on the possible approaches to the silent, living presence of the past that is not brought about by stories. The central thesis is that the past is not just represented in narratives and documents about the past but is silently present in the social space, in the background, shaping (often haunting) everyday existence.

Paper Abstract:

During my research on the history of the war in Croatia and ex-Yugoslavia, I was surprised that I didn’t conceptualize the crucial theoretical problem by focused analysis of records, stories, and texts about past events but by sudden encounters with what was silently present - a wartime atmosphere - we thought was irreparably gone forever after the war.

I researched the history of the war through an autoethnographic recollection of my memories and insights into the experiences of others in written records and research interviews. This type of research included collecting oral and written stories about traumatic events during the breakup of Yugoslavia and their interpretation. Also, during the research, I often casually talked with friends and acquaintances about that period. These everyday conversations were essential because they opened the path toward the central research theme. During our discussions, we were not just telling each other personal or collective stories about the people, places, and processes. But parallel to our discursive production, we sensed a wartime atmosphere that we needed to explain. This atmosphere suddenly emerged as it never faded away as it was waiting for us all these years. The paper focuses on the possible approaches to these silent, living presence of the past that is not brought about by stories. The central thesis is that the past is not just represented in narratives and documents about the past but is silently present in the social space, in the background, shaping (often haunting) everyday existence.