University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: May 17, 2007

By KEVIN FRYLING
Reporter Staff Writer

Growing up in Greece in the 1980s and '90s, Vasiliki Neofotistos had a front row seat to the breakup of the Balkans following the collapse of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

While working as a doctoral field researcher in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, Neofotistos experienced firsthand the conflict between Macedonians and ethnic Albanians.
PHOTO: NANCY J. PARISI

She says the urge to learn more about the political and social upheaval to the north became the first step on a career path in political anthropology.

"I'm interested in questions of power in societies, conflict resolution and policy making," says Neofotistos, an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences, who joined the UB faculty last fall. "I've conducted research in the Republic of Macedonia and studied inter-ethnic relations between Macedonians and Albanians living in the country."

She focuses on the relations between these two ethnic groups because of their political struggles for state power after the collapse of socialism, she says, but notes that Turks, Bosnians, Serbs and Roma are also among the fascinating blend of "different backgrounds, histories and languages" that make their home in the Balkans.

Her longest trip to the Republic of Macedonia took place from March 2000 to August 2001 while working as a doctoral field researcher—a time in which she experienced firsthand the turmoil of the infamous, months-long conflict that broke out between Macedonian security forces and the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army.

"It was a dangerous time because all the embassies were evacuating personnel and all foreigners were sent out of the country," she recalls. "I decided to stay on [because] I was in the capital (Skopje) and there was no conflict in the capital. But it arrived within five miles of the city, so it could have gone badly.

"I also felt a moral responsibility to stay on," she adds, "My friends and informants looked at me and thought that as long as I stayed, the situation would improve. Somehow, I had become a walking icon of stability and my leaving would completely disappoint them."

That the conflict did not erupt into civil war helped reinforce her view that Albanians and Macedonians as individuals take political rhetoric targeted toward their respective ethnic groups with "a grain of salt."

"There was a lot of hate speech against Albanians on the collective level," she says about the time she spent in a Macedonian neighborhood in Skopje. "Yet, I found that people had friends who were Albanian." She points out that most of the anger seemed directed at immigrants or "newcomers" who had entered the nation in recent decades.

"Macedonians and Albanians lived together under socialism for many years," Neofotistos says. "There is something more going on than ancient hatred in the Balkans."

The second half of her fieldwork was spent in an Albanian neighborhood to balance her research. "Everyone was saying, 'Don't go,'" she says, "which was one of the reasons I wanted to." That the cautions were baseless—she found the neighborhood as safe as the Macedonian neighborhood in which she previously had lived—illustrates the ethnic prejudices that remain unresolved.

"I think that you cannot have successful attempts to resolve conflict and successful democracy-building without an intimate knowledge of the history and culture of the people and societies in which you work," she says, explaining that contextual knowledge about others gives anthropologists something valuable to offer policy maker—not only about the Balkans, but about other troubled regions around the world as well.

The best insights in the field come from simply engaging in everyday activities and conversations, adds Neofotistos, who is fluent in Macedonian and Albanian, as well as Greek and English.

"As an anthropologist, it's imperative that you have the opportunity to go into the field and do research," she says, noting that strong support of faculty research is one of the biggest reasons she came to UB. "One of the greatest things about anthropology is that you have the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of other people...and enlarge the way you see the world. It treats everyone on equal terms and recognizes that possibilities for enrichment come from every person."

A graduate of the Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences in Athens and the recipient of a master's degree from Oxford and doctorate from Harvard, Neofotistos has been a teaching fellow at Harvard and a visiting professor at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She also served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Harriman Institute at Columbia University in 2004 and an advisor on ethnic relations for the United Nations Development Programme in 2003.

Her current projects include a book manuscript on strategies of conflict avoidance in the Republic of Macedonia based on her doctoral research and a larger-scale project that will explore collective memory and reconciliation in the Balkans after the collapse of socialism. She also teaches graduate and undergraduate classes, including "Violence and the Nation-state," a popular undergraduate class she developed at Harvard.

It's really rewarding to see that you've helped young people think critically about the world in which they live," she says. "I'm having a very positive experience teaching at UB."

Although she jokes that she's still learning the ins and outs of campus as she takes the Metro Rail and UB Stampede from her home in the Elmwood Avenue area to her office in the Ellicott Complex, Neofotistos says she has been pleased to find Buffalo a great place to work and live, especially as someone who enjoys the arts and an urban environment.

"It's great to step outside my apartment and stroll around all the restaurants and cute boutiques on Elmwood," she says. "There are so many things going on around Buffalo. I was surprised to find out that there are so many activities and cultural events."