“New Man”
After having thoroughly referred to the political, military, social and economic buildup of the socialist order in Albania, the narrative continues next with the ideological aspects of this ongoing revolutionary process. Chronologically speaking, the community has just stepped into the rearmost stage of the socialist revolution that had officially begun by the mid-sixties. In this penultimate stage of developments, the efforts for the consolidation of socialism in the Albanian territory intensified. Along with the social and economic priorities, the Albanian leadership in this historical turn focused primarily on the cultivation of a socialist mentality among the Albanian population. Such a challenging task first required the education of the masses with the socialist principles. In the domestic sources and historiography, this process of socialist upbringing of the citizens has often been described in terms of creating, even forming, the “New Man.” It is precisely on this “New Individual” that the narrative in the next three chapters will concentrate. The process of molding this individual with a novel world outlook and socialist moral is lifelong, according to the textbooks. It begins in schools and is later continued in the socialist work market and during the physical and military training all Albanian citizens receive. In texts, a chapter has been dedicated to each of the above-mentioned stations in the life of the Albanians, to which we will now turn.
6.3.1. Education
Chapter 22 of the national narrative focuses on education. It contains text and images all included in the same layout (Layout 33). The chapter bears the explicit title: “To us all people learn.”
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Layout 33. Minga, et. al., Të Njohim Historinë e Popullit Tonë (1984), 56-57.
I will begin the analysis with the compositional framework and the placement of the elements within the double-spread. A vertical polarization has been chosen in this case between text and image.444 The text is positioned on the left page and is presented as the given part of the information and as something familiar to the pupils.
The visual communication on the other hand appears on the right page and comes as the new and still not known part of the information. It is in the new part of information, thus the images, where the crucial part of the message is to be found and where the pupils should pay special attention. Furthermore, the visual communication consists of six photos showing the educational developments in the years of the socialist Albania. The large number of images on a single page, unusual until now, manages to attract the viewers’ gaze.
After having addressed the structure of the layout, let us turn to the text, the already known and familiar part of the information. On the left page there is the title of the chapter, the main verbal narrative, the questions, and as usual it closes with a short concluding section. As far as the title is concerned, it immediately offers the
444 Kress and Van Leeuwen, Reading Images, 180-181.
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information about the compulsory and collective character of the school system in which all Albanian citizens, without exception, participate. The chapter is entitled “To us all people learn.” In other words, in Albania, according to the title, all enjoy the right to attend school. This was not the case in the country before liberation. Not even in other countries of the capitalist or revisionist camp could all pupils attend school, the text informs us. They were obliged to work from a very early age and also had to pay high fees. Education was a privilege of the upper classes, says, among others, the text.445 Moreover, in Albania during the previous regime of Ahmed Zogu, the number of schools was restricted, and a big part of the population was illiterate. The text refers next to the literacy courses and the struggle against analphabetism during and after the war. In the last paragraph, the narrative names all achievements in the educational field accomplished during the socialist era, such as the building of schools, libraries, museums, cinemas, houses or palaces of culture all over the Albanian territory.446 The establishment of the first Albanian university in the capital Tirana and many other higher institutes is considered by the text to be a special achievement. In our country, all are eligible to attend schools of all levels, reiterates the text. Due to the efforts of the Communist Party, schools were established on every corner of the Socialist Republic. Concerning the countryside, next to the kindergartens and eight-year schools, secondary agricultural schools were established as well. Last, the text emphasizes that in our schools we learn, work and train. This is a direct reference to the revolutionary triptych, introduced in education during the stage of full construction of socialism. It is in this short phrase where the key message of the text is most likely to be found. It crystallizes the multi-faceted character of the newly established socialist education system. It provides the pupils with theoretical knowledge, prepares them for the work market, and makes them fit for the sublime task of safeguarding the homeland. It goes without saying that in comparison to the former pre-war period or other foreign countries, the current socialist system of education proves superior. This is, all in all, how the text refers to the socialist post-war educational system.
Leaving aside for the moment the verbal communication and turning to the visual part, pupils could observe six photos that are followed by captions. They occupy the
445 Minga, et. al., Të Njohim Historinë e Popullit Tonë (1984), 56.
446 Ibid., 56.
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entire frame of the right page and ask for the pupils’-viewers’ attention. Perhaps the six photos provide an extended picture of Albania’s post-war educational system.
Before going any further with a hypothesis, let us address these images one by one, starting from the top and moving towards the bottom. The first image, positioned in the upper left section, shows a literacy course in the aftermath of the liberation of Albania. The caption that accompanies it underlines that such classes opened all over the Albanian territory. The representation is in black and white, which is possibly a subtle means of making clear to the viewers that this is the first in a series of developments that will be depicted in the visual narrative. At the same time, the black and white of the photo contrasts with the other, colored, photos. Next to this photo and being still in the same horizontal line, pupils see a group of little children accompanied by two educators. Most likely this is a kindergarten.
Moving further, in the second horizontal line a group of pupils in front of a school building appear. The shot is long and does not allow many details to be seen. The caption informs us that this is an eight-year compulsory school. Next to this image, on its right, another photo focuses on the interior of a class, which most likely shows a secondary school. This information could be assumed from the age of the pupils depicted who, compared to the children in the proceeding photo, are older. The distance and the quality of the analysis allow us to address the kind of activity they are involved in. They are shown working in an electrical or technological laboratory under the supervision of one instructor. On the tables, one might observe televisions and radios produced in Albania. There might be two possibilities here. One is that the photo concentrates on a group of pupils during their year of productive work at the radio and television plant in the city of Durres. We are in the position to define the city because merely one such specialized industrial plant existed in the country. The gaining of experience and training in production after the completion of the school years became obligatory for all students who wished to enroll in higher institutes by the end of the sixties. The second possibility is that the photo is showing a glimpse into one of the many general or vocational secondary schools in the country. Keeping in mind the cornerstone of the socialist education, which is education in work and for
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work, inaugurated with the second educational reform in 1963,447 this second interpretation appears more plausible.
Remaining for a while on this photo, if we accept that it focuses on a classroom or school laboratory, then this capture provides evidence of the technical orientation of the Albanian educational system. Schools appear equipped with working rooms, laboratories and technical equipment where students, except for learning and teaching, are also offered the possibility for highly specialized training in several branches of the growing economy. The discussed photo documents in the best way the novel orientation towards polytechnic education. In this historical context, as the image appears to support, schools were transformed into places where students could learn and concomitantly work. Even the former interpretation could be supported following the analysis, but this seems to not be the crucial issue at this photo. The key topic foregrounded in this image is rather the connection of school with productive work and the weight put on vocational education. Such a turn of the educational system was supposed to play a crucial role in training the forthcoming workers and technical cadres. As far as the caption regards, one can read: In school we learn, work and train.
This a clear-cut repetition of the new revolutionary triptych entering education by the end of the sixties, which brings perhaps more information in comparison to the image itself. Next to the issue of productive work, the caption also refers to the theoretical preparation of the pupils and their physical and military training.
Going a step further with the visual communication, the first photo positioned at the left bottom of the page shows, according to its caption, sportsmen during a parade.
Nothing is mentioned concerning the place where such an event took place. By paying attention to the details, one can see that it resembles one of the main boulevards of the capital Tirana. Such massive festive parades were organized in Tirana on several occasions, including the international workers day, the establishment of the Communist Party, the liberation of the country and the successful accomplishment of the Five Years Plans or the Party Congresses. The distance, the angle and the low quality of this photo do not help the readers observe many details. They are merely able to distinguish a group of people wearing uniforms. The color of the uniform perhaps belongs to that of the sport club Tirana, which is one of the three sport clubs
447 Thomas, "Communist Education," 112.