Radomir Konstantinović and “Provincial Philosophy”: Binaries as Borders

Authors

  • John Kayl Cox North Dakota State University, Fargo , North Dakota State University, Fargo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11649/ch.2017.006

Keywords:

Serbia, nationalism, Yugoslavia, Radomir Konstantinović, Filozofija palanke, existentialism, Balkans, town

Abstract

This essay is a partial reconsideration of the complex and often-cited work Filozofije palanke (1969) by the Serbian novelist and essayist Radomir Konstantinović. The fiery condemnations of Serbia’s stalled social and intellectual development and its accompanying predilection for barbaric violence are fiercely debated to this day, nearly six years after the death of the author and approaching fifty years since the book’s first publication. One way that Konstantinovic builds his argument is by establishing borders between Serbia, or other societies, and Europe or modernity; three main types of these borders can be expressed as binaries centered on values, time, and geography. The “spirit” or mindset of the palanka, or small Serbian town, can perhaps be rehabilited by converting it into a historically contingent philosophy, which comes to term with the forces of time, evolution, and agency.

References

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Published

2017-11-22

Issue

No. 6 (2017): The Images of the Borders of Civilizations

Section

Thematic Section

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Copyright (c) 2017 John Kayl Cox

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.