The Alcoholic Breath of the Homeland: Slivovitz and the Reproduction of National Identities in the Journal Rodna gruda
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3986/2026.1.11Keywords:
national identity, everyday nationalism, banal nationalism, material culture, Slovenian migrants, YugoslaviaAbstract
This article examines the role of slivovitz (slivovka) in reproducing national identities among Slovenian migrants during socialist Yugoslavia. The study builds on the concepts of banal and everyday nationalism, which locate nationalism in routines and unreflected practices of “ordinary people.” The source base is a corpus of texts from the migrant journal Rodna gruda (1954–1986), in which the word slivovka appears. The analysis shows that national identities were reproduced not only in institutional settings but also in material practices – on spill-stained tables, in glasses, and in toasts – embedding individual acts in broader collective processes of nationalism.
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