Draft:Bratislav Pantelić

• Comment: "According to Google Scholar, Pantelić’s 1997 article in the ‘‘Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians’’ has been cited 48 times, and his 2011 article in ‘‘Nations and Nationalism’’ has received over 35 citations. These counts are considered high within the specialized field of Southeast European studies, particularly at the intersection of nationalism theory and architectural history, where average citation numbers tend to be low." is original research. Bobby Cohn 🍁 (talk) 18:10, 20 June 2025 (UTC)

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Bratislav Pantelić is a Yugoslav-born art historian, theorist, and nationalism scholar whose research focuses on the relationship between visual culture and national identity, particularly in the Balkans. He has published on topics including Byzantine heritage, nationalism, collective memory, and the political uses of architecture and the visual arts. His work has been cited in multiple languages and disciplines, including historiography, nationalism studies, and architectural history.

Biography

Pantelić received his doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania in 1994. He has held prestigious fellowships at Dumbarton Oaks and the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts in Washington D.C. He taught at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade before joining Sabanci University in Istanbul as a full-time associate professor in the History and Visual Arts programs, where he worked from 2000 to 2019.

He is currently an independent author who writes on historical and cultural topics.

Research and Publications

Pantelić is known for challenging dominant national narratives and myths, particularly in relation to Serbian identity. Pantelić’s 1997 article in the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians is the first scholarly study to explicitly analyze the relationship between architecture and nationalism in Serbia. His article “Memories of a Time Forgotten: The Myth of the Perennial Nation” (2011) in ‘‘Nations and Nationalism’’ argues that the notion of an enduring Serbian ethnic group is a modern construction, disseminated largely through the modern education system and the church. A follow-up article, “The Last Byzantines: Perceptions of Identity, Culture, and Heritage in Serbia” (2015), published in ‘‘Nationalities Papers’’, critiques the political appropriation of Byzantine heritage by nationalist and ecclesiastical elites in Serbia.

Reception

Pantelić’s monograph ‘‘The Architecture of Dečani and the Role of Archbishop Danilo II’’ has been reviewed in several academic journals, including "Speculum", reflecting its scholarly contribution to medieval and architectural studies. The monograph was also reviewed in "Revue des études byzantines" by Christopher Walter, who praised its formal and historical analysis while noting some interpretive limitations. Pantelić's work has been cited by prominent scholars. Diana Mishkova described his interpretation of Serbian national development as "poignant", “radical” and “heterodox,” emphasizing his departure from conventional historiography. She further characterized Pantelić’s reinterpretation of Serbian national identity as one of the more significant and far-reaching challenges to dominant historical narratives in Southeast Europe. While she does not fully endorse all aspects of his argument, she treats it as an original contribution to the field of nationalism studies. Jernej Kosi and Rok Stergar highlight Pantelić’s critiques of nationalist myth-making and modern constructions of national identity and credit him as the first to recognize that the notion of Serbian national continuity is a modern myth.

Selected publications

• Pantelić, Bratislav. "Nationalism and Architecture: The Creation of a National Style in Serbian Architecture and Its Political Implications". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 56, No. 1 (March 1997), pp. 16–41.
• Pantelić, Bratislav. The Architecture of Dečani and the Role of Archbishop Danilo II. Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag, 2002.
• Pantelić, Bratislav. “Memories of a Time Forgotten: The Myth of the Perennial Nation.” Nations and Nationalism, vol. 17, no. 2, 2011, pp. 443–464.
• Pantelić, Bratislav. “The Last Byzantines: Perceptions of Identity, Culture, and Heritage in Serbia.” Nationalities Papers, vol. 44, no. 3, 2015, pp. 430–455.
• Pantelić, Bratislav. “Designing Identities: Reshaping the Balkans in the First Two Centuries: The Case of Serbia.” Journal of Design History, vol. 20, no. 2, 2007, pp. 131–144.
• Pantelić, Bratislav. “L’Église de Saint-Sava à Belgrade.” Études Balkaniques, 2005, pp. 107–122.