“News from the past” – historical illusions: misconceptions about the past and their social and political effects
Delagation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia (EIDHR)
Donor: Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia
Duration of project: January 2010- January 2011
The main goal of the project is to contribute to the reduction of mythical elements of the understanding of the past and thereby to eliminate the “curse of history” which has been affecting Serbia and its neighbours in the last decade of the 1990s and has dominated much of political thinking and decision making thereafter. The aim of BCHR is not to study the attitudes of the public and the shared images of the past and to wonder about their origin and seek explanations for their existence but to try to replace mythical images of the past by their real understanding of the past events. In other words, much of the teaching of history and the use of history for political aims has been based on the understanding of history as a vehicle for the establishment and preservation of national identity, for enhancing national pride and self-confidence and not for the transmission of objective and scientifically verified presentation of the past. (more…)