Zoološki vrtovi u Srbiji u antropološkoj perspektivi

Abstract

Predmet istraţivanja u ovom radu su tri srpska zoološka vrta: u Beogradu, na Paliću i u Jagodini. Prakse izlaganja egzotiĉnih ţivotinja u ovim institucijama se sagledavaju kroz prizmu antropologije i istoriografije ljudsko-ţivotinjskih odnosa, i tretiraju kao materijalni izrazi specifiĉnog odnosa prema modernosti na ovom prostoru. U radu je dat pregled antropoloških ideja o ţivotinjama, od zaĉetaka discipline do današnjih teorijsko-metodoloških dometa specijalistiĉkog polja antropologije ljudsko-ţivotinjskih odnosa, uz osvrt na pitanje ţivotinja u domaćoj etnologiji. PonuĊena je skica istorijata izlaganja egzotiĉnih ţivotinja u Evropi i predstavljeni su društveno-istorijski procesi koji su doveli do nastanka prvih modernih zooloških vrtova nakon Francuske burţoaske revolucije. Eksplicirana su tumaĉenja, prisutna u literaturi, koja ulogu i funkciju zooloških vrtova u zemljama EvroZapada objašnjavaju potrebom da se kolonijalna moć demonstrira publici kod kuće, ali i da se novonastala urbana radniĉka klasa 19. veka saobrazi burţoaskim naĉinima ponašanja. Budući da su se ovakva tumaĉenja pokazala kao nedostatna za razumevanje uloge i funkcije zooloških vrtova u Srbiji, jedan od osnovnih ciljeva ovog istraţivanja bio je da se osmisli tumaĉenje analogno onom koje je dato u literaturi, koje bi bilo primenljivo na specifiĉni društveno-istorijski i politiĉki kontekst Srbije. U tu svrhu, izvršena je analiza diskursa i praksi tri srpska vrta, i ustanovljene su osnovne ideje koje su ulazile u njihovo osnivanje, ali i funkcionisanje danas. Na osnovu ovoga, ekstrapolirane su uloge i funkcije ovih institucija u razliĉitim periodima srpske istorije - ugrubo, predratnom periodu, socijalistiĉkom periodu, i periodu nakon politiĉkih promena 2000. godine. Analiza je pokazala da su uloge i funkcije zooloških vrtova promenljive i usko povezane sa politiĉkim kontekstom u kom ove institucije operišu, te da nije moguće dati objedinjenu teoriju. Ovo je ukazalo na manjkavosti raspoloţivog teorijskog modela i potrebu za daljim istraţivanjem zooloških vrtova u svetu, kao i u Srbiji...

The research focuses on three Serbian zoos: in Belgrade, at Palić and in Jagodina. The practice of displaying exotic animals in these institutions is viewed through the prism of the anthropology and historiography of human-animal relations, and treated as a material display of the specific relationship to modernity in this locale. The paper gives an overview of anthropological ideas about animals, from the early years of the discipline up to the contemporary theoretical and methodological stances of the specific subfield of anthropology of human-animal relations, with a review of the animal issue in Serbian ethnology. I offer a draft of the history of displaying exotic animals in Europe and present the socio-historical processes which led to the establishment of the first modern zoos after the French revolution. I also give an overview of interpretations, present in the literature, which define the role of zoos in the EuroWest as institutions which served to demonstrate colonial power to audiences at home, and teach the newly-formed 19th century urban working classes bourgeois rules of conduct. Seeing as these interpretations were found lacking for the understanding of the role and function of zoos in Serbia, one of the main goals of this research was to construct an interpretation, analogous to the one given in the literature, which would be applicable to the specific socio-historical and political context of Serbia. In order for this to be done, an analysis of the discourses and practices of three Serbian zoos was conducted, and the basic ideas that went into their founding as well as contemporary operation were established. Based on this, the roles and functions of these institutions in different historical periods were extrapolated. Roughly, the historical periods are the pre-war period, the socialist period and the period after the political changes in Serbia that took place in 2000. The analysis showed that the roles and functions of zoos are mutable and closely connected to the political context in which these institutions operate, meaning that a unifying theory cannot be established. This indicated the flaws of the extant theoretical model and a need for further research into zoos both in Serbia, and abroad...