“I Didn’t Even Know There Was Pchelarovo! Not Mentioning to Spend My Old Age Here, to Learn Farming, to Keep Hens…” The Village as an (un) Expected Choice Cover Image

„Аз не знаех, че съществува Пчеларово даже! И да дойда старините си да карам тука, да се уча на земеделие, да гледам кокошки…“. Селото като (не)очакван избор
“I Didn’t Even Know There Was Pchelarovo! Not Mentioning to Spend My Old Age Here, to Learn Farming, to Keep Hens…” The Village as an (un) Expected Choice

Author(s): Maria Kissikova
Subject(s): Anthropology, Social Sciences, Customs / Folklore, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Culture and social structure , Rural and urban sociology, Migration Studies, Globalization
Published by: Институт за етнология и фолклористика с Етнографски музей при БАН
Keywords: village; case study; narratives; Pchelarovo; daily round

Summary/Abstract: The study presents a specific case of a family that moves to the countryside after retirement. Following the development of the narrative of the interlocutors, the author’s interpretations, in the first place, focus on the way in which the selected village (Pchelarovo) is positioned in the local context, in a network of relevant settlements. At the next stage, the specific situation is placed and made meaningful in the context of the life stories of my interlocutors, who build an argumentative line explaining their choice to move to the countryside. The meanings of the village and rural life derived from these contextualizations then unfold against the background of the everyday life of my interlocutors in the village. The aim of the author’s interpretations is to stay close to their sources, as the case unfolds through the narratives of the interlocutors, who are called to construct memories, set meaning and help to establish identity.

  • Issue Year: 2022
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 54-70
  • Page Count: 17
  • Language: Bulgarian