Perypetie historyka – o specyfice badań nad przeszłością w krajach bałkańskich

Abstract

The article discusses a series of typical difficulties encountered by a historian who decides to do research on the history of Albania and Greece. The specific conditions affecting the research process are of a threefold nature, and they are: 1) typical identity of a Balkan historian (and his social function); 2) the specifics of the Balkan historiography; 3) the problem of access to sources (and their character). The Balkan societies undergoing modernization processes perceive historians as “architects of national pride” and “servants of the nation”, always fighting against foreign enemies. A foreign historian starting his research in the sensitive area of the Balkan historiography is inevitably subjected to oversimplifications, myths and taboos, connected with the existing here “the culture of memory”. The difficulty of verification of this practically static picture of the past is strengthened by limited research possibilities offered by the Balkan archives.