Topographies of Memory: Cemeteries Amidst Destruction, Reconstruction and Symbolic Conflicts in Post-War Kosovo

Authors

  • Michele Martini Lecturer in Digital Education at the University of Napoli

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61007/QdC.2026.2.445

Keywords:

Collective memory, Peja/Pec cemetery, Semiotic conflict, Vandalistic practises, Post-war Kosovo

Abstract

This contribution examines the role of memorials, particularly the Orthodox cemetery in Peja/Peć, Kosovo, as contested semiotic spaces in the post-Yugoslav war context. Through differentiated vandalistic practices – material theft, waste dumping, animal remains introduction, and damnatio memoriae – grammar of conflict erodes Serbian collective memory, turning territory into an arena for Albanian identity redefinition. Framed by Assmann and Lotman, it highlights how territorialised memory becomes a persistent front in unresolved political strife.

References

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Published

2026-07-27

How to Cite

Martini, M. (2026). Topographies of Memory: Cemeteries Amidst Destruction, Reconstruction and Symbolic Conflicts in Post-War Kosovo. Community Notebook. People, Education and Welfare in the Society 5.0, 1(2), 251–278. https://doi.org/10.61007/QdC.2026.2.445

Issue

No. 2 (2026): Eastern Europe Echoes: Narratives, Cultures, And Memories From Cold War To Dayton’s Legacy (1946–2026)

Section

Essays

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Community Notebook. People, Education and Welfare in the Society 5.0

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.