Book launch: A Concise History of Serbia

Please join Professor Dejan Djokić and a panel of distinguished guests for the launch of A Concise History of Serbia (Cambridge University Press, 2023), co-hosted by the Centre for the Study of the Balkans, Goldsmiths and the South-East European Studies Seminar Series, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, UCL.

Serbia has been involved in events which have shaped the modern world – most notably in 1914 and during the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s – yet its history remains little known and misunderstood. This accessible and engaging book covers the full span of Serbia's history, from the sixth-century Slav migrations up to the present day, in an effort to understand the country’s predicament at the crossroads of east and west. Drawing on the latest research, the book traces key developments surrounding the medieval and modern polities associated with Serbs, offering fresh interpretations and revealing a fascinating history of entanglements and communication between southeastern and wider Europe, sometimes with global implications. Although no real continuity between the pre-modern and modern periods exists, Dejan Djokić picks out several recurring and topical themes: migrations of peoples; an ever-shifting sense of where the nation’s borders lie; and a small nation’s relationship with neighbouring empires and peoples. The volume also highlights the surprising vitality of Serb identity, and how it has survived in different incarnations over the centuries through reinvention.

Speakers:

Prof. Dejan Djokić (author), Professor of History at Maynooth University in Ireland.

Prof. Cathie Carmichael, Professor Emerita of European History at the University of East Anglia.

Dr. Bojan Aleksov, Associate Professor at the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies.

Chair:

Prof. Jasna Dragovic-Soso, Professor of International Politics and History, Goldsmiths, University of London.

The book will be on sale with a discount on the evening and Professor Djokić will be signing copies. Please note that this event will be taking place on Thursday 07 March instead of the regular Wednesday slot.