The trailblazing philosopher who survived two arrests and a lost academic career

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Ksenija Atanasijević was a pioneer of Serbian thought, becoming the first female professor at Belgrade University. Yet, despite her brilliant intellect and groundbreaking research on Giordano Bruno, she was ultimately silenced by the very institutions she helped build.

Born in Belgrade in 1894, Atanasijević’s path was marked by early tragedy, including the loss of her mother during childbirth and the death of her brother in World War I. Under the guidance of her stepmother, Sofija Kondić, she developed an early passion for philosophy. By 1918, she was studying under Branislav Petronijević at the University of Belgrade, eventually graduating in 1920 with the highest marks in her class in 'pure and applied philosophy and classics'.

Her academic ascent was meteoric. In 1922, she defended her Ph.D. with honors, becoming the first woman to hold a doctorate in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. Her research into the metaphysical doctrines of Giordano Bruno earned international recognition, with the Encyclopædia Britannica once citing her 1924 work as an authoritative study. In 1924, she achieved another milestone as the first female professor appointed to the Arts Faculty at the University of Belgrade.

However, her career was defined by resistance. In 1936, she was stripped of her teaching position due to her liberal views and non-conformity with faculty, an event that sparked protests from Belgrade intellectuals like Sima Pandurović. Her later life was a series of political upheavals: she was arrested by the Gestapo in 1942 for writing against National Socialism and later arrested by Tito’s communist forces on charges of war crimes related to teaching during the Nazi occupation. Though she survived both regimes, she never regained her university chair, spending her later years in roles at the Ministry of Education and the National Library of Serbia.

Beyond the classroom, Atanasijević was a prolific writer, producing over 400 texts across disciplines like psychology and aesthetics. She was also a central figure in early Serbian feminism, serving as an editor for 'The Women's Movement' journal from 1920 to 1938.

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