Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22017690
A Historical-Psychological Review of War Trauma in Academic Life after World War I: The Case of Ilija Mimović
Jeremić Viktor
; Novosadski Otvoreni Univerzitet
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* Corresponding author.
Abstract
This paper offers a historical-psychological review of the case of Ilija Mimović, a Serbian/Yugoslav student whose studies in the United States after World War I were marked by the consequences of his wartime experience. The research is based primarily on archival material from Princeton University, particularly on professors' reports, confidential administrative correspondence, and documents relating to his academic work and health condition. Mimović's difficulties in his studies were not interpreted as a lack of ability or character, but as a consequence of his wartime experience, psychological exhaustion, and impaired psychophysical health. The paper shows the manner in which professors and the university administration described his problems in academic work. The aim is not to retroactively attribute to Mimović a contemporary diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, but to view his case within the concepts of the period, such as war neurosis, shell shock, and nervous exhaustion. As a preliminary communication, the text represents the foundation for future, broader research into Mimović's life, education, wartime experience, and later literary work.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
350250
URI
Publication date:
31.8.2026.
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