I began my PhD in Southampton in the autumn of 2012. My previous studies were at UCL’s School of Slavonic and East European Studies where I took a BA in Serbian/Croatian and East European Studies (2006-2010) and an MA in Central and South-East European Studies (2010-2011).
I have also taught Serbo-Croatian literature and Yugoslav cinema at UCL. My main academic interests centre on Yugoslav culture, primarily film but also literature, history and sport. I have an interest in translation between Serbo-Croatian and English, having had academic works, literature and children’s literature being published.
Research:
Within my research I address current national cinema theory’s inconsistencies and propose a pluralistic and inclusive model for the understanding of individual national cinemas, drawing links between a range of national and non-national identities. This will be achieved through a focus on Yugoslav and Croatian films, whereby I will show how, contrary to current popular discourses, it is possible not just to acknowledge the concurrent existence of both Croatian and Yugoslav/Balkan national cinemas but also to see a close relationship between them. Looking at manifestations of various social identities within the context of relevant national cinemas, I am researching how, at various times, certain identities have been promoted whilst others have been marginalised and the effects which this has had. I am looking to answer how are co-existing national identities (Croatian, Yugoslav, Balkan, Bosnian, European) reconciled firstly with each other and secondly with non-national identities (gender, sexual, regional, urban-rural, liberal-conservative). I use a reception studies methodology which understands newspapers and magazines as conveying coherent identities which both reflect and shape those of their readership. I am most interested in the tumultuous period between 1980 and 2009 in Croatia’s history since it has been marked by successive transitions from one-party socialism to authoritarian nationalism to transitional democracy. In each period, cinema has both reflected and resisted these dominant social identities to various degrees but has never been left untouched.
Key facts
Edward's supervisors are Prof Lucy Mazdon and Prof Tim Bergfelder.
Edward can be contacted at eja1g12@soton.ac.uk or ed.j.alexander@gmail.com.