Our Team at ESSHC 2025: (Dis-)Continuities of Ageing in Southeast Europe
26 to 29 March 2025, Leiden
As part of the 2025 European Social Science History Conference (ESSHC), held from March 26 to 29 in Leiden (Netherlands), five members of our project participated in the double panel “Transforming Anxieties and Revising (Dis)continuities of Ageing in Eastern and Southeastern Europe,” organized by Galina Goncharova (Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”) and chaired by Daniela Koleva (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences), who also acted as discussant.
The panels brought together researchers from social history, oral history, ethnology, political science, and sociology to explore historical and current narratives surrounding ageing and care in (post-)socialist societies. Topics ranged from demographic nationalism and knowledge production to public care models and personal experiences of growing old in Southeast Europe.
Ivana Spirovska (University of Graz) gave a presentation entitled “An Albatross: Ageing and Perceptions of Old Age in North Macedonia.” Her paper examined metaphorical representations of ageing as a burden, drawing on life stories of older adults and exploring how dominant discourses around vulnerability and dependency may reinforce ageism, particularly in marginalized communities.
Attila Melegh (Hungarian Demographic Research Institute) presented “Toward New Blocks: The Development of Population Discourses in Hungary between the 1960s and 1990s.” He analyzed shifting narratives in demographic policy during Hungary’s late socialist period, focusing on how ageing and migration were simultaneously acknowledged and suppressed in political debates. His work highlighted the ideological tensions between liberal and nationalist positions on population and mobility and pointed to the long trajectory of demographic nationalism in Hungary.
Ulf Brunnbauer, Attila Melegh, and Ivana Spirovska during the discussion
Ulf Brunnbauer (Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies) presented his paper “The (Un)Discovery of Old People in Socialist Yugoslavia: The Knowledge Politics of Inequality.” He explored the absence of older people in political discourse during the 1980s in Yugoslavia, despite available demographic data and well-established social gerontological research, which created large-scale social surveys on the situation of older adults in the 1970s. Brunnbauer argued that social inequality was deprioritized in the face of rising ethnic nationalism, leaving older rural populations without political representation or adequate care.
Galina Goncharova (Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”) shared findings from her paper “Serving and Caring for Older People in Bulgaria.” Based on focus groups and biographical interviews conducted in the city of Burgas in 2023, her research traced continuities and ruptures in care practices and institutional responses to ageing in Bulgaria. She linked contemporary eldercare models to socialist-era legacies, showing how residential homes and retirement clubs remain central to the country’s care infrastructure.
Galina Goncharova outlines her analysis of care spaces
Saša Nedeljković (University of Belgrade) presented “Young Generations About Old Age in Serbia.” He discussed adolescents’ and young adults’ perceptions of ageing and care, based on student essays, questionnaires, and interviews. His findings suggest that young people have highly ambivalent ideas about the lives of older adults and, consequently, different expectations of their own old age. These imaginaries to some extent reflect prevalent public discourses but are also rooted in individual experiences. In general, many young people display a poor understanding of the life situation of older adults.
Saša Nedeljković explains his findings
Ivelina Eftimova (Shumen University “Konstantin Preslavsky”), who is a cooperation partner of our project, delivered her paper “Ageing and (Re)Discovering Nature in Bulgaria,” which explored how older Bulgarians engage with organized nature-based activities, such as photographing and birdwatching. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, she argued that participation in outdoor communities fosters a sense of belonging and offers opportunities for active and meaningful ageing.
Ivelina Eftimova sheds light on her research
The conference offered fruitful exchanges and important reflections for our project. Key themes included institutional continuity, perceptions of ageing across generations, and the evolving landscape of care in Southeast Europe. These discussions enriched our work and underlined the importance of transnational, interdisciplinary, and intersectional perspectives on ageing.
