Women's History and Women's Literature in Serbia in the Context of Balkan Multi-Confessional and Multicultural Communities (Report‪)‬

Abstract The research refers to the content of literature and history textbooks and curricula in primary and secondary school in Serbia. The research of curricular contents is carried out through discourse analysis. Folk literature and history of literature present a good basis for classroom discussion of women's social position throughout history. Unlike literature curriculum, Serbian history curriculum only briefly mentions the social position of women in the past. The content of history textbooks clearly shows that women are given most importance if they take part in political life, primarily as rulers. Gender stereotypes in textbooks undoubtedly reflect partner relations in the given society. The paradox here is that transition which is supposed to democratize social relation and improve women's social position has been doing the opposite during and after the war--it brought back the return to traditional patriarchal values.