Zwierzę polityczne, czyli słów kilka o bałkanistach, a także o nieuniknionym zaangażowaniu humanistyki

Abstract

This article is divided into three parts. The first one presents assumption with a few remarks and doubts about definitions of the Balkans, Balkan studies and academic Balkanists. The second part of the text is a precise description – a case study of the discourse about Croatian bishop Alojzije Stepinac (and in fact whole Catholic Church) and his role during the WWII – positive from Croatian perspective, negative from Serbian. Hence, the aim of the paper is not to establish the truth about Stepinac, but to show the discursive mechanisms, textual practices, rhetorical figures of both stories – Croatian and Serbian. The third part, Conclusions, extend this argumentation on whole humanities and social studies. I underline that humanities are always engaged and will never be as strict as “hard” science. However, it does not mean that “anything goes” in academic research. There are restrictions, but they are different in character, than it is in science. The limits are connected with our own interpretive community, ethical norms, and – we should not forget about that – standards of our academic works.