Svein Mønnesland

Professor emeritus

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Email svein.monnesland@ilos.uio.no

Mobile phone +47-90918960

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Postal address ILOS P.O.Box 1003 Blindern 0315 Oslo Norway

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Academic areas of expertise

Slavic Philology
Balkan-studies
Yugoslav Cultural History
Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian

Academic background

From 1971 I was a university lecturer at the University of Oslo, and I have been a professor of Slavic languages at the university since 1979. As a part of my academic career, I have written several articles and books on Slavic Philology and Yugoslav culture, history and politics.

I have been a lecturer in many subjects and classes on all university levels, and have had the role of academic advisor for students at the masters and PhD level.

In collaboration with the Text Laboratory at the University of Oslo I developed the first Bosnian corpus: The Oslo Corpus of Bosnian Texts (1992). A corpus with 1.5 million words from novels, stories, law texts, newspapers and religious texts.

Research projects

”Language and National identity”, 2002-2006, the Research Council of Norway.
"Red Letter Days in Transition. Central Europe and the Balkans 1985-2005", 2008–2011, the Research Council of Norway.

Science communication

Media commentator on the situation in Balkan through television, radio and newspapers.
Contributor to the Slavic themes at the Norwegian lexicon www.snl.no.
Published "Forum Øst" (1984-87), a popular science magazine.
Published and founded "Nordisk Østforum" (1987-2014), an academic journal about Eastern Europe, in cooperation with the Norwegian Institute of international affairs (NUPI).
Co-founder of Sypress Forlag in 1992, with Kirsten Mønnesland.
Founder of "Forum for sovjet- og østeuropastudier" at the University of Oslo from 1986, a series of open talks and lectures about Eastern Europe.
Curator for the exhibition "Bosnia in the Middle Ages" (1996), with a tour of six cities in Norway, in addition to Berlin and Sarajevo (2002).

Appointments

Member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.
Former board member at the Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture.
Member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Former appointments

Leader for the committee for Eastern European studies at the University of Oslo.
Chairman of "Nordiska kommittén för Öststatsforskning".
Chairman (1994-1997) and Vice-Chairman (1994-1997) of "Nordisk slavistforbund".
Chairman and member of several committees and juries for book awards.
Board member at the Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture.
Board member at the International Council for Central and East European Studies.
Member of the committee for Eastern European research at the Research Council of Norway.
Administrative appointments at the University of Oslo: Administrative Head, member of the Faculty Council, Chairman of the Budget and Resource Council and member of the Committee for International Studies at the Faculty of Humanities.

Translator and Advisor

Expert witness in trials for war crimes at the Oslo District Court in 2008, Borgarting Court of Appeal in 2010 and Stockholm District Court in 2011.
Official Advisor to Prime Minister Odvar Nordli in 1977 and Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland i 1981, during official state visits to Yugoslavia.
Translator between Norwegian and Serbo-Croatian in court cases, for immigrants and during official state visits in Norway.

Tags: Slavic, Philology, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Cultural history, History, Political culture

Serbia in the 19th Century Seen by Foreigners. Srbija u XIX veku očima stranaca, Prometej, Novi Sad, 2016. 304 s.

A Town in Europe Through 2,400 Years: Stari Grad (Pharos) on Hvar, Sypress Forlag, 2016. 95 s.

National Symbols in Multinational States: The Yugoslav Case, Sypress Forlag, 2013. 380 s.

Lær kroatisk!, Sypress Forlag, 2014. 160 s.

Bosansko-turski rječnik. Muhamed Hevai Uskufi (Red.), Tuzla, 2012. 220 s.

Dalmatia Trough Foreign Eyes. Dalmacija očima stranaca, Fidipid, Zagreb, 2011. 400 s.

Før Jugoslavia og etter, Sypress Forlag, 2006. 444 s.

Jezik u Bosni i Hercegovini (Red.), Institut za jezik, Sarajevo, 2005. 640 s.

Bosnisk-kroatisk-serbisk grammatikk, Sypress Forlag, 2002. 336 s.

1001 days. Bosnia and Herzegovina in pictures and words through the centuries, Sypress Forlag, 2001, 335 s.

Jezik i demokratizacija (Red.), Institut za jezik, Sarajevo, 2001, 348 s.

Mønnesland, Svein (2020). Srebrenica 25 år etter - hvordan kunne folkemordet skje? Internasjonal Politikk. ISSN 0020-577X. 78(2), p. 195–206. doi: 10.23865/intpol.v78.2317. Full text in Research Archive
Mønnesland, Svein (2019). The Southerner as Hero: Henrik Angell's Heroic Image of Montenegrins and Serbs. In Llosa Sanz, Álvaro & Khachaturyan, Elizaveta (Ed.), Scandinavia through Sunglasses: Spaces of Cultural Exchange between Southern/SouthEastern and Nordic Countries. Peter Lang Publishing Group. ISSN 978-3-631-79160-8. p. 113–129.
Mønnesland, Svein (2014). Immigrant authors from South-Eastern Europe: A new perspective? Most - Književna Revija. ISSN 0351-0611. 2014(1-2), p. 162–165.
Mønnesland, Svein (2013). Dvadeset godina bosanskog jezika. Zbornik radova. Bosansko-hercegovacki slavisticki kongres. Knj. 1. ISSN 2303-4106. 1, p. 45–50.
Mønnesland, Svein (2012). Disputes over national holidays: Bosnia and Herzegovina 2000–2010. In Saric, Ljiljana; Gammelgaard, Karen & Hauge, Kjetil Rå (Ed.), Transforming National Holidays: Identity Discourse in the West and South Slavic Countries, 1985-2010. John Benjamins Publishing Company. ISSN 978-90-272-0638-1. doi: 10.1075/dapsac.47.16mon. Show summary
How do people construct collective identity during profound societal transformations? This volume examines the discursive construction of identity related to important national holidays in nine countries of Central Europe and the Balkans: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, and Slovakia. The chapters focus on the decades during which these countries moved from communism towards democracy and a market economy. This transition saw revivals of national values and a new significance of regional and transnational ties, entangled with negotiations of national identity that have been particularly lively in discourse concerning national holidays. The chapters apply discourse analysis in addition to approaches from history, sociology, political science, and anthropology. All of the analyses make use of empirical material in the Slavic languages, including newspaper articles, interviews and other media contributions, sermons, addresses, and speeches by members of the political elite.
Mønnesland, Svein (2012). Language Policy in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In Koskensalo, Annikki (Eds.), Language: Competence–Change–Contact. Sprache: Kompetenz–Kontakt–Wandel. LIT Verlag. ISSN 9783643108012. p. 135–154.
Mønnesland, Svein (2012). Bosanski jezik prije četiri stoljeća - Makbul-i Arif. In Mønnesland, Svein (Eds.), Bosansko-turski rječnik. Muhamed Hevai Uskufi, 1631 godine. Opcina Tuzla. ISSN 978-9958-1984-0-3. p. 19–36.
Mønnesland, Svein (2012). Hanka Vajzovic: Jezik i nacionalni identitet. Sociolingvisticke teme. In Greenberg, Robert D. & Nomachi, Motoki (Ed.), Slavica Islamica. Language, Religion and Identity. Slavic Research Center, Hokkaido University. ISSN 978-4-938637-61-3. p. 227–234.
Mønnesland, Svein (2011). Nazor kao dalmatinski pisac. Croatian Studies Review. ISSN 1440-0448. 7, p. 131–140.
Mønnesland, Svein (2011). The fall of communism and the dissolution of Yugoslavia. In Bakke, Elisabeth & Peters, Ingo (Ed.), 20 Years since the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Transitions, State Break-Up and Democratic Politics in Central Europe and Germany. Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag. ISSN 978-3-8305-1975-1. p. 179–200. Show summary
On 9 November 1989, the Berlin Wall was opened, signalling the beginning of the end of the communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe. By 1990, free elections had been held in most countries in the region. Forty – in some cases fifty – years of communism had come to an end. However, the ‘revolutions’ of 1989 were not uniform processes: the starting points were different, the trajectories were different – and outside Central Europe even the outcomes of the transitions from communism were different. The fall of communism also caused the Soviet empire to crumble, and the Soviet Union itself fell apart in December 1991 – as did Czechoslovakia in 1993, and Yugoslavia in a gradual process that was to last from 1991 to 2008. This book originated in a conference held in Oslo 11–13 November 2009, arranged by the E.ON Ruhrgas scholarship programme for political science, and commemorating the 20th anniversary of the ‘revolutions’ in Central and Eastern Europe. The 16 chapters take stock of developments after 1989, with special emphasis on the causes and effects of the transitions, including the processes of state unification and separation that followed in the wake of the ‘revolutions’. The book is divided into four main parts: regime transitions from communism; state unification and separation; party system continuity and change since 1989 (in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland); and on the effects of German unification on external and internal German relations. The geographical scope thus varies from chapter to chapter, but the main emphasis is on Germany and its closest Central European neighbours.
Mønnesland, Svein (2010). Od politike do jezika. In Glušica, Rajka & Bečanović, Tatjana (Ed.), Zbornik radova Njegosevi dani 2. Filozofski fakultet. ISSN 978-86-7798-042-9.
Askedal, John Ole & Mønnesland, Svein (2010). Terje Mathiassen 12 April 1938–9 January 1999. In Askedal, John Ole (Eds.), Terje Mathiassen: Old Prussian. Novus Forlag. ISSN 978-82-7099-509-7. p. 11–15.
Askedal, John Ole & Mønnesland, Svein (2010). A Bibliography of Terje Mathiassen's Writings. In Askedal, John Ole (Eds.), Terje Mathiassen: Old Prussian. Novus Forlag. ISSN 978-82-7099-509-7. p. 17–24.
Mønnesland, Svein (2009). Sociolingvisticka situacija u Crnoj Gori. In Badurina, Lada (Eds.), Jezicni varijeteti i nacionalni identitet. Disput. ISSN 978-953-260-054-4. p. 125–136.
Mønnesland, Svein (2009). Padezna neutralizacija opozicije cilja kretanja i mirovanja u crnogorskom jeziku. In Becanovic, Tatjana (Eds.), Njegosevi dani. Zbornik radova. Univerzitet Crne Gore. ISSN 978-86-7798-033-7. p. 267–274.
Mønnesland, Svein (2009). Bosnia - Religion and Identity. In Hansen, Stig Jarle & Mesøy, Jarle (Ed.), The Borders of Islam. Exploring Samuel Huntington's Faultlines from Al-Andalus to the Virtual Ummah. Hurst & Company. ISSN 9781850659730. p. 211–222.
Mønnesland, Svein (2008). O aktualnoj sociolingvistickoj situaciji u Crnoj Gori. In Tosovic, Branko (Eds.), Die Unterschiede zwischen dem Bosnischen /Bosniakischen, Kroatischen und Serbischen. LIT Verlag. ISSN 9783825801441. p. 89–96.
Mønnesland, Svein (2008). Etnisk rensing i det tidligere Jugoslavia. In Hagtvet, Bernt (Eds.), Folkemordenes svarte bok. Universitetsforlaget. ISSN 978821501308-4. p. 347–360.
Mønnesland, Svein (2007). The sociolinguistic situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Christidis, A. F. (Eds.), Language, Society, History: The Balkans. Glossa, koinonia, istoria: Ta Balkania. Centre for the Greek Language. Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs. ISSN 978-960-7779-40-3. p. 173–185.
Mønnesland, Svein (2007). Je li glagolski vid sintaktička kategorija? In Kuna, Branko (Eds.), Sintaktičke kategorije. Filozofski fakultet u Osijeku. ISSN 9789536456765. p. 145–157.
Mønnesland, Svein (2007). Turkey seen from Europe's 'Near East', the Balkans. In Benum, Edgeir Reidar; Johansson, Alf; Storrud, Alf & Smilden, Jan-Erik (Ed.), Are We Captives of History? Historical Essays on Turkey and Europe. Unipub forlag. ISSN 978-82-7477-280-9. p. 83–92.
Mønnesland, Svein (2006). Slovenia - fra føderasjon til union. In Bakke, Elisabeth (Eds.), Sentral-Europa og Baltikum etter 1989. Det Norske Samlaget. ISSN 82-521-6786-1. p. 176–195.
Mønnesland, Svein (2005). Od zajednickog standarda do trostandardne situacije. In Mønnesland, Svein (Eds.), Jezik u Bosni i Hercegovini. Institut za jezik u Sarajevu. ISSN 995862007-3. p. 481–524.
Mønnesland, Svein (2005). Jezik bosanskohercegovackih Roma. In Mønnesland, Svein (Eds.), Jezik u Bosni i Hercegovini. Institut za jezik u Sarajevu. ISSN 995862007-3. p. 587–600.
Mønnesland, Svein (2005). Predgovor. In Mønnesland, Svein (Eds.), Jezik u Bosni i Hercegovini. Institut za jezik u Sarajevu. ISSN 995862007-3. p. 7–9.
Mønnesland, Svein (2005). Crnogorski standardni jezik. In Nikcevic, Vojislav P. (Eds.), Norma i kodifikacija crnogorskog jezika. Institut za crnogorski jezik i jezikoslovlje. ISSN 86-906753-0-2. p. 69–73.
Mønnesland, Svein (2005). Kvinneforskning i et patriarkalsk samfunn. Bulletine. ISSN 1503-5247. 2, p. 5–5.
Mønnesland, Svein (2004). Bosnisk, kroatisk, serbisk. In Gammelgaard, Karen; Mejdell, Gunvor & Svarverud, Rune (Ed.), Standardspråk underveis - Historien til åtte orientalske og østeuropeiske språk. Unipub forlag. ISSN 82-7477-170-2. p. 41–62.

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Mønnesland, Svein (2022). Bosnisk, kroatisk, montenegrinsk, serbisk språklære. . Sypress forlag. ISBN 9788291224619. 336 p.
Mønnesland, Svein (2014). Lær kroatisk! Sypress forlag. ISBN 978-82-91224-56-5. 160 p.
Mønnesland, Svein (2013). National Symbols in Multinational States: The Yugoslav Case. Sypress forlag. ISBN 978-82-91224-54-1. 380 p.
Mønnesland, Svein (2012). Bosansko-turski rječnik. Muhamed Hevai Uskufi, 1631 godine. Opcina Tuzla. ISBN 978-9958-1984-0-3. 220 p.
Mønnesland, Svein (2011). Dalmatia through foreign eyes. Dalmacija ocima stranaca. Sypress forlag. ISBN 978-953-7542-09-2. 400 p.
Mønnesland, Svein (2007). Rjecnik bosanskog jezika. Institut za jezik Sarajevo. ISBN 9789958620089. 1316 p.
Mønnesland, Svein (2006). Før Jugoslavia og etter. Sypress forlag. ISBN 9788291224374. 444 p.
Mønnesland, Svein (2005). Jezik u Bosni i Hercegovini. Institut za jezik u Sarajevu. ISBN 995862007-3. 759 p.

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Mønnesland, Svein (2020). Det förflutna är ett främmande land. Medierade minnen av Jugoslavien i postjugoslavisk dokumentärfilm. Nordisk Østforum. ISSN 0801-7220. 34, p. 125–127.
Mønnesland, Svein (2019). Jugoslaviens undergång. Krigen, freden, framtiden 1991-2017. Nordisk Østforum. ISSN 0801-7220. 33, p. 130–132.
Mønnesland, Svein (2013). Tre städer, två broar och ett museum. Minne, politik och världsarv i Bosnien och Hercegovina. Dragan Nikolic. Nordisk Østforum. ISSN 0801-7220. 27(2), p. 193–196.
Mønnesland, Svein (2013). Usable History? Representations of Yugoslavia's Difficult Past From 1945 to 2002. Tea Sindbæk. Nordisk Østforum. ISSN 0801-7220. 27(4), p. 420–422.
Mønnesland, Svein (2013). Glimt fra bosnisk kultur og historie.
Mønnesland, Svein (2013). Promocija knjige Rezaka Hukanovica.
Mønnesland, Svein (2013). Ofre eller overgriper? Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.). ISSN 0804-3116.
Mønnesland, Svein (2013). En reise gjennom Bosnia-Hercegovinas historie.
Mønnesland, Svein (2013). Authors from South-East Europe living in Scandinavia: A New Perspective?
Mønnesland, Svein (2013). Sigmunde Freuds søster. Gyldendal Norsk Forlag A/S. ISSN 978-82-05-41953-7.
Mønnesland, Svein (2012). EUs rolle på Balkan. Ny Tid. ISSN 0809-9049. 60(42), p. 34–35.
Mønnesland, Svein (2012). Balkans historie. Dagens situasjon på Balkan.
Mønnesland, Svein (2012). Western Encounters with Dalmatia.
Mønnesland, Svein (2011). Dalmacija.
Mønnesland, Svein (2011). Predstavljanje knjige Dalmacija ocima stranaca.
Mønnesland, Svein (2011). Litteraturen i Bosnia-Hercegovina.
Mønnesland, Svein (2011). Dubravka Ugresic: Toys for boys. In Karlbom, Henning & Lirhus, Agnar (Ed.), Krig og fred. Antologi. Møllerbyen litteraturfestival. ISSN 9788299859707.
Mønnesland, Svein (2011). Dalmacija ocima stranaca.
Mønnesland, Svein (2011). Imagining the Serb – the Heroic Image.
Mønnesland, Svein (2011). Språk og nasjonalisme. Samfunnsviteren. ISSN 0805-7206. p. 2–3.
Mønnesland, Svein (2011). Dvadeset godina bosanskog jezika.
Mønnesland, Svein (2011). Rapport om Hercegovina 1992.
Mønnesland, Svein (2011). Den politiske situasjonen i Bosnia.
Mønnesland, Svein (2011). Bosnia-Hercegovina 15 år etter Dayton-avtalen.
Mønnesland, Svein (2011). Vest-Balkan i dag – og i morgen?
Mønnesland, Svein (2010). Vladimir Nazor kao dalmatinski pisac.
Mønnesland, Svein (2010). Glagoli s dvostrukom rekcijom.
Mønnesland, Svein (2010). Potential role of the Stari Grad plain for local and regional development.
Mønnesland, Svein (2010). Krigsforbryter eller nasjonal helt? Tilfellet Balkan.
Mønnesland, Svein (2009). Terrorist eller frihetskjemper? Forsvarets Forum. ISSN 0332-9062. p. 63–63.
Mønnesland, Svein (2009). Mot ny konflikt i Bosnia? Forsvarets forum. ISSN 0809-845X. p. 50–50.
Mønnesland, Svein (2009). Bare storm og solnedgang tok jeg med meg fra Hercegovina. Andresen & Butenschøn AS. ISSN 978-82-7694-234-7.
Mønnesland, Svein (2009). 1989 and the dissolution of Yugoslavia.
Mønnesland, Svein (2009). National Days in Multi-National States: The Yugoslav Case.
Mønnesland, Svein (2009). Od politike do jezika ili obrnuto.
Mønnesland, Svein (2009). Prikaz knjige Jezicna politika i jezicna stvarnost. Language Policy and Language Reality.
Mønnesland, Svein (2009). Storm over broen mellom Øst og Vest.
Mønnesland, Svein (2009). En bosnisk lyriker.
Mønnesland, Svein (2009). Nasjonal konstruksjon og etnisk tilhørighet i det tidligere Jugoslavia.
Mønnesland, Svein (2009). Utviklingen på Balkan, med særlig vekt på Serbia/Kosovo.
Mønnesland, Svein & Thorsen, Dag Einar (2008). Folkemordenes svarte bok. [TV]. NRK2 Nyhetshjulet.
Mønnesland, Svein (2008). Tito Nostalgia in Former Yugoslavia.
Mønnesland, Svein (2008). Padezna neutralizacija opozicije cilja kretanja i mirovanja u crnogorskom jeziku.
Mønnesland, Svein (2008). Balkan - Europas svarte hull?
Mønnesland, Svein (2008). Balkan - en test for Europa.
Mønnesland, Svein (2008). Faces of Serbia.
Mønnesland, Svein (2008). Situasjonen på Balkan med særlig vekt på Kosovo.
Mønnesland, Svein (2007). Nisam ocekivao da ce skupom vladati ljudi sa najekstremnijim stavovima. [Newspaper]. Vijesti.
Mønnesland, Svein (2007). The Image of the Serb in Montenegrin Nationalistic Discourse.
Mønnesland, Svein (2007). Sociolingvistička situacija u Crnoj Gori.
Mønnesland, Svein (2007). O aktuelnoj sociolingvističkoj situaciji u Crnoj Gori.
Mønnesland, Svein (2007). The sociolinguistic situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro – a comparison.
Mønnesland, Svein (2007). Situasjonen på Balkan.
Mønnesland, Svein (2007). Serbia og Kosovos rolle i Europa.
Mønnesland, Svein (2006). Je li glagolski vid sintakticka kategorija?
Mønnesland, Svein (2006). Bakgrunn for situasjonen i Serbia.
Mønnesland, Svein (2006). Presentasjon av filmen Grbavica.
Mønnesland, Svein (2006). Informasjon om situasjonen på Balkan.
Mønnesland, Svein (2006). Informasjon om Montenegro.
Mønnesland, Svein (2006). Den politiske situasjonen på Balkan.
Mønnesland, Svein (2006). Roman Mandrac Zvonka Todorovskog.
Mønnesland, Svein (2006). O nagradi Mese Selimovica.
Mønnesland, Svein (2004). Balkan - forløper til Irak?
Mønnesland, Svein (2008). Hercegovina 1992. Oslo Tingrett.

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Published Mar. 3, 2016 4:33 PM - Last modified July 31, 2019 10:27 AM