The Balkans, its Diasporas, and the Stories of Material Culture

This event is recorded

Times: 5-7 PM followed by wine and nibbles

Narrating objects: Balkan diasporas & material culture

In this first lecture and event, Curator and Founder of the Balkanism project, Arbër Qerka-Gashi, will explore the significance of material culture for Balkan communities within British diasporas. Objects and material culture play a vital role in shaping cultural identities. From everyday items used in cooking or photo albums depicting the history of a family, to more sacred cultural and religious artifacts used in important rites, these objects carry powerful narratives, stories, and personal experiences. They embody the ways in which we come to know, express, and experience our own cultural identities.

Through this event, participants are invited to a "show and tell" segment, where they can present personal objects that they feel best represent their cultures, identities, or cultural experiences. This will open into a broader discussion about the significance of these objects and how they often act as gateways to understanding and connecting with our cultural roots, and how they serve as bridges to connect with other cultures in the region and beyond.

Presenters

Arbër Qerka-Gashi

Arbër Qerka-Gashi (b. 1997, London) is a writer, curator, visual artist and community organiser of Kosovar heritage.

Since founding Balkanism in 2020, a grassroots archival, educational, visual arts platform and print publication, Arbër has actively researched themes related to Balkan and diasporic historical and cultural representations. He is also the co-founder of the progressive events initiative, the Balkan London Collective. Through visual arts, repurposing archives, musical and cultural exploration, and community organising, his practice heavily engages wider socio-political themes related to Balkan communities and their diasporas.

Arbër holds a BA in History from Goldsmiths, University of London, and an MA in Gender, Sexuality and Culture from Birkbeck, University of London. He most recently co-curated the exhibition Inside/Outside And All In-Between at the Migration Museum, and is currently undertaking a curatorial residency at Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art. Across his diverse practices, Arbër is committed to building community with an anti-ethnonationalist ethos, focused on fostering dialogue and interethnic solidarity.

Ana Ilievska -Zavrsnik

Ana Ilievska Završnik has been teaching Macedonian language evening classes at SSEES UCL since 2019.

She is also a translator and chartered language consultant, with expertise in Macedonian and Slovene languages. Her consultancy services span the public and corporate sectors across the UK, Slovenia and N. Macedonia. Committed to humanitarian causes, Ana generously volunteers her translation and teaching skills in offering integration mentorship for international human rights organizations.

Ana is a founder of Language Yoga – School of Macedonian and Slovene language, as well as the organiser of Walk and Talk session for language professionals. Her commitment to advancing the field of linguistics is further demonstrated by her role as a Member of Council at the Chartered Institute of Linguists.

Ana is also a member of esteemed institutions such as The Linguistic Association of Great Britain, The British Association for Applied Linguistics, the British Association for Slavonic & East European Studies and ONA VE – Slovenian Association which unites female experts from diverse fields and promotes their contributions.

Mirela Xhaferraj

Dr Mirela Xhaferraj has been teaching Albanian at UCL SSEES since 2017. She obtained her PhD degree in 2012 with a comparative study of the verbal systems of Greek and Albanian from the University of Tirana, Albania, where she worked as a Lecturer of Greek Language in the Faculty of Foreign Languages until 2016. Her research interests are focused on Albanian and Greek language, literature, and culture. She has authored several articles in scientific journals and has presented at various scientific conferences on the Greek and Albanian languages. Additionally, she is a published literary translator from Greek to Albanian.

Ramona Gonczol

Ramona Gonczol is Associate Professor in Romanian language studies at SSEES, UCL. She convenes the PROLang group and is an academic coordinator for the Language Short Courses programme at SSEES. She is the (co)author of Romanian and Essential Grammar (2nd edition, 2020) and Colloquial Romanian(4th edition,2014). Her research interests lie in the area of language acquisition, heritage speakers, cultural identities, language policy, multilingualism and ethnographic pedagogy. Ramona is a fellow of the HEA and the recipient for the Order for Cultural Merits in Promoting Romanian Culture and Language Abroad (2018).