Bleona Kurteshi, M.A.

PhD Candidate in Social Anthropology (associated, Ministry of Education in Kosova)

Contact

Universität Regensburg
Graduate School for East and Southeast European Studies
Landshuter Str. 4
93047 Regensburg
Germany

+49 (0)941 / 943-5327 Bleona.Kurteshi(at)geschichte.uni-regensburg.de

Doctoral project

Memory and Future-Making in Post-War Kosovo through Externally Funded Projects

Since the 1998–1999 war, (post-conflict) memory in Kosova has been shaped by local processes, internationaland transnational interventions. Externally funded memory projects play a significant role in framing how thepast is addressed and how the future of Kosova is imagined.
This PhD project asks: How do externally funded memory projects in post-war Kosova steer understandings ofthe past and redirect them towards visions of the future, such as Europeanintegration? These projects operatewithin complex networks involving international and transnational donors, civil society organizations, culturalinstitutions, and policy frameworks. Each of these entities brings its own priorities and assumptions, a dynamicthat gives rise to complex power relations and influences the networks among them and the redirection ofmemory work. The research adopts a qualitative, comparative case study approach, focusing on three externallyfunded initiatives: “DwP corner” by HLCK, “Dealing with the Past and Peace-building Program” by YIHR, and“People and Memories Talk” by Integra. Combining critical discourse analysis of project materials and publiccommunications, semi-structured interviews, and participatory observation, the research analyses how memorypractices contribute to constructing narratives of the past while enabling or constraining visions of the future.This PhD project contributes to debates on memory politics, post-conflict reconstruction, and external influencein shaping local futures.

Curriculum Vitae

Bleona Kurteshi is a doctoral researcher at the University of Regensburg. She holds a BA and MA in Sociologyfrom the University of Prishtina, Kosova. In addition, she earned a postgraduate diploma in Gender Studies fromthe University of Iceland. In 2025, she was a predoctoral fellow at the SeeFField Project. She is also the recipientof a doctoral scholarship from the Ministry of Education in Kosova.