On a not so well tempered Marxism : ideological criticism, historical reconstructions, and a late return to ethnogenesis in the work of Špiro Kulišić

Abstract

This paper takes the example of a single author, Špiro Kulišić (1908–89), tolook at how Marxism was applied in the Serbian/Yugoslav ethnology. This individual case will interest us here in so far as an examination of Kulišić’s professional biography and institutional activity, ideological involvementand scholarly work may reveal some fundamental properties of ethnology and the application of Marxism in the post-war period and within the politi-cal context of Yugoslav socialism. With the benefit of hindsight, we may argue that the ‘Kulišić case’, often thought to be closed once and for all, turns out to be far more complex in its significance and meaning. Hence to reopen it might result in a more comprehensive picture of ethnology under socialism and a more realistic appraisal of its legacy.