Projects / Programmes
Slovenianhood through history and today in the border regions of Istria and Kvarner
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 6.06.00 |
Humanities |
Culturology |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| H400 |
Humanities |
Folklore |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 6.04 |
Humanities |
Arts (arts, history of arts, performing arts, music) |
history of Slovenianhood in Croatia, Slovenes in Croatia, Slovene community in Istria, Slovene community in Kvarner
Researchers (5)
Organisations (2)
Abstract
The project proposal Slovenianhood through history and today in the border regions of Istria and Kvarner is an interdisciplinary and international project that will deal with the problems of Slovenianhood in the true sense of the word thought the past and present. The area of the entire Istria (Slovenian and Croatian part) and Kvarner regions is a very challenging area for many researchers and scientists as well as individuals who are enthusiastically engaged in studying various cultural themes. The treatment of the situation on the Istrian peninsula and in the hinterland of Kvarner must come from the past, because that is the only way to understand the present. That is the area of close, centuries long cooperation, and that is why the population in the area, which is now separated by the border, is still very interdependent.
In the 20th century, the geographical area under consideration was undergoing severe shocks with regards to demarcation, which has left a profound mark on the determination of the state border between Slovenia and Croatia. For the Slovene community in Croatia, the year 1991 was the most significant, when the status of its members (once again) radically changed. The geographical area under consideration (in the project call defined in places Novigrad, Brtonigla, Umag, Buje, Grožnjan, Oprtalj, Buzet, Lanišče and Lupoglav in the Istrian County and Matulji, Kastav, Viškovo, Klana, Opatija, Lovran in Mošč(ć)eniška Draga in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County) is very specific and complex.
In addition to the scientific and political dimension of the topic, the various processes addressed in this section are also ideologically colored and attract much attention of researchers and the broader public. This geographical area can be observed as a junction of a variety of cultural influences, where a specific culture was co-created, completely different from the culture of other Croatian and Slovenian places. A wide range of different and close bonds were created among the population along the present-day Croatian-Slovenian border in the period before 1991. That is why we often encounter tragicomic examples on the field, such as the syntagm "Live Croatian, dead Slovene", because some of the Croatian villages (Lipa, Pasjak, Rupa, Šapjane, Lisac, Škalnica and Brdce) still do not have their own cemetery, but rather use the cemetery on the Slovenian side, in Jelšane because of the interweaving of the relations on the boarder.
There are various reasons why life on the Istrian peninsula and in the hinterland of Kvarner is so multifaceted, therefore, the project will address various issues related to history, ethnology, and sociology, from the past to the present. Previous research has tackled various processes, but the element of the Slovenianhood in Croatia often remained forgotten.
The main objective of this project proposal is to provide a detailed chronological analysis and synthesis of the present findings, which were published by Slovene and Croatian researchers. This will be refined with new insights into the past and present that will be derived from primary and secondary sources and in-depth interviews carried out among the members of the Slovene community in today's border area of Istria and Kvarner on the topic of language, identity, ethnology, cultural sociology, and historical processes.
The results of various studies that examined this region are partially scattered in various Croatian and Slovenian journals, without being accessible to all researchers dealing with this topic. Some of them completely excluded Slovene or Croatian researchers in their discussions, so that the examined topics are presented very unilaterally.
In order to achieve this goal, the project proposal is divided into a historical and present part, and various topics will be chronologically examined in terms of history, ethnology, linguistics and sociology.
In the historical part, we will answer the questions about this how t
Significance for science
The Law on relations of the Republic of Slovenia with Slovenes abroad (Uradni list RS, No. 34/2006) states that Slovenia shall protect and promote the development of the SLovene language, culture, national heritage and national identity and that research institutions in Slovenia should pay special attention to the research of past and present social reality between member of Slovene community. With topical issues and quality interdisciplinary research of Slovene border areas in Slovenia's neighboring countries, with theoretical and methodological upgrading and updating of research content, in cooperation with researchers from foreign universities (in this case University of Pula) and scientific-research institutions, with this project, we will directly contribute to the development of the profession.
The interdisciplinary structure of the project team will bring new interdisciplinary research methods, new discoveries will also identify new processes that are relevant for further research in the considered geographical area. Execution of this project proposal is expected to further affect the interest in exploring history as well as the current position of the Slovene community and the state of Slovenianhood in general in Croatia. It is also expected that the research of cultural history, social status, and economic situation will envoke interest among the members of the Slovene community in the entire territory of Croatia and open up opportunities for further exploration.
An interdisciplinary research model, developed through the implementation of this project proposal, can be used with minor changes for the Slovene community in other parts of the border area, as well as for other minorities, both in Croatia and Slovenia. The development of the presented scientific approach will be scientifically enriched (historical knowledge, sociology, culturology and other related branches) in Slovenia.
Significance for the country
Consequently, the project will have a relatively high importance for the economy. Since the end of the Second World War, the area under consideration has been very closely interconnected until 1991 and, in the economic sense, also formed a whole. A testament to this is also the history of the present-day Municipality of Ilirska Bistrica, which was the natural hinterland of the city of Rijeka, which ended in 1991. As one of the picturesque examples, for instance, it can be highlighted that, in the village of Sušak (on the Slovenian-Croatian border ), were more than 200 cows in 1991, while 10 years later there are none. The reason lies in the fact that farmers no longer had a market for their produce.
Better knowledge and understanding of the local past, as well as of the current living conditions – in the economic, cultural, and political sense of the members of the Slovene community in the neighboring countries, as well as, in our case, the population in border areas in Croatia in general – also means more opportunities for better economic cooperation between the two countries, easier networking of economic operators, which is also one of the operational tasks of the Office of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for Slovenes Abroad.
It is also possible to develop a specific field of economic cooperation with the members of the Slovene community in the neighboring countries; economic activity within the Slovene community will be strengthened in the neighborhood and open up additional opportunities.
In addition, cooperation on this project, which already has foreign partners, will develop the foundations for further cooperation in the applications of European projects related to this topic.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2019,
final report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2019,
final report
