Cultural history and memory of youth work actions in Socialist Yugoslavia

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

My PhD will examine participant accounts and political memory of youth work actions (YWAs) in socialist Yugoslavia. Rural youth were fundamental to the foundation of Socialist Yugoslavia, forming the fledgling state's support base. In 1946, youth undertook the first YWA in Bosnia, the Brcko-Banovici railway. They did hard labour, learned to read, created art, and wrote about their experiences. YWAs were a feature of the Yugoslav state until dissolution. Existing studies of YWAs address state-driven efforts, but there has been no single study of YWA participants' cultural output. This PhD will analyse visual and written accounts of the action, centring often overlooked rural youth. This study will analyse political memory of the Brcko-Banovici action from late socialist Yugoslavia to post-conflict Bosnia-Herzegovina. This PhD will contribute to historical understanding of youth participation in revolutionary movements, and the role of youth action in mass commemorative cultures.