Human Library Fall 2011

When I heard about this project, Human Library Program, for the first time, I was very intrigued. The Balkans was always a region misrepresented by the media, and I found a chance to tell my story about the Balkans (focusing on ex Yugoslavia) and how I view the whole social and political situation during the 1990’s and 2000’s.

At first I was quite nervous- what should I talk about? What would be an appealing topic? What if nobody cares about this? After thinking about it for a couple of days, I decided to tell the story about the Balkans during Yugoslav wars in the 90s, bombing of Serbia in 1999, overthrowing our president Slobodan Milosevic, and how it reflects today’s youth in ex Yugoslav countries. Since I am of mixed heritage, Croatian and Serbian, two of the biggest conflicted sides during the war, I believed I could provide a unique input to this whole social and historical situation.

Stevan Perovic from Serbia

After applying for time slots, I did some research on the factual history of the wars. This research gave me a deeper understanding of the topic I chose to discuss. I tried to be as unbiased as possible, and I hope I succeeded in it.

As days went by, I noticed that slowly my time slots started getting reserved- it was incredibly exciting! Three people decided to “read” my book, to gain a deeper knowledge about my region and my culture. It was an incredible feeling!

When the day of my actual readings came, I was very nervous. What if they don’t like me? What if I don’t know enough info to correctly portray the situation? What if, what if, what if… I came to Holcombe, checked in and sat down. I saw a familiar face approaching me! I was really relieved that someone I knew was my first reader. She had a really good background about Serbia and the Balkans (thanks to FORECAST 2010/2011 students Anja and Nikola; you two rock!), so it was rather easy to get into the discussion. The other two readers were also knowledgeable about the region, I was really positively impressed!

Stevan with a reader

All three of my readers had different motives of hearing about this topic, all had different questions and different points of view- I was really grateful for that because it made me view my region from different perspectives, ones that I hadn’t paid attention until then. We got into different discussions, comparing the Balkan to the Rwandan situation, talking about how media represented Balkans during the wars, and even about what the youth are doing to connect to each other and overcome the fabricated differences and learned hatred.

I am very grateful for this project. I got to share my personal views, have a discussion with three very smart and opinionated individuals and got to look at this topic from a new perspective gained by listening to my readers. I am taking this chance to thank Ms. Jessica Pope (Graduate Assistant in the Ombuds Office), Ms. Sue Theiss (Director in the Ombuds Office) and ISS for organizing this event. I am looking forward to participating in this project next semester, hopefully with an even more interesting topic!

By Stevan Perovic

Human Library

What is Human Library? You, as a book, tell your original story to a reader. This is a collaborative effort by Ombuds Office, University Library & ISS. Human Library deals with various topics and it is a great way to explore diversity in the Fayetteville community. Human Library is held in Holcombe Hall and the program normally looks like this in this photo. Holcombe Living Room is such a cozy environment and a book and a reader can enjoy 1 on 1 conversations.

Hanna from Korea as a book

Kalina from Bulgaria as a reader

Stevan was such an interesting “book”!! (Yes, I was a reader ;))  I would recommend you to be part of this program either as a reader or book! Keep your eyes open for the announcement for the Spring 2012! — Nami