ETHNO-BAROQUE

In post-1991 Macedonia, Barok furniture came to represent affluence and success during a period of transition to a new market economy. This furniture marked the beginning of a larger Baroque style that influenced not only interior decorations in peoples homes but also architecture and public spaces. By tracing the signifier Baroque, the book examines the reconfiguration of hierarchical relations among (ethnic) groups, genders, and countries in a transnational context. Investigating how Baroque has come to signify larger social processes and transformations in the current rebranding of the country, the book reveals the close link between aesthetics and politics, and how ethno-national conflicts are reflected in visually appealing ornamentation. Rozita Dimova is Associate Professor of South East European Languages and Culture at Ghent University (Belgium) and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Slavonic Studies at Humboldt University in Berlin (Germany). She is guest co-editor of the issue of History and Anthropology (Winter 2013, vol. 24), entitled Contested Nation-building within the International Order of Things