Projects / Programmes
AREAS OF CULTURAL CONTACT IN INTEGRATION PROCESSES
January 1, 2004
- December 31, 2008
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 6.12.00 |
Humanities |
Geography |
|
| 5.03.00 |
Social sciences |
Sociology |
|
| 5.11.00 |
Social sciences |
Ethnic studies |
|
| 6.05.00 |
Humanities |
Linguistics |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| S230 |
Social sciences |
Social geography |
Political geography, social and spatial convergence and divergence, areas of cultural contact, integration processes, linguistic practice, identity, cross-border cooperation
Researchers (21)
Organisations (2)
Abstract
The study of concomitant processes of social and spatial convergence and divergence is becoming the key factor for the comprehension of possibilities of horizontal as well as vertical integration in Europe, as well as limiting and accelerating factors and elements of the newly established European paradigm "unity in diversity". The research program aims at the study of complex problems identified by means of a combined and coordinated approach implemented by internationally renowned domestic researchers of political geography, linguistics, social sciences, and humanities. Special emphasis is laid on the area of contact of major European cultural and language domains; i.e., the Romance, Slavonic and Germanic domains, that only interact and coexist in Slovenia. Based on the example of Slovenia and its contact areas, a new integration model is being developed, examining comparative development possibilities for horizontal and vertical integration processes in the future united Europe. Within a wider, political-geographical, framework, the research program concentrates on the typology of border areas, the degree of the functional and socio-cultural integration of the border population, forms of institutionalised cross-border integration, and the degree of harmony between social and spatial planning in the case of upper Mediterranean areas - from the three-border area of Austria, Italy and Slovenia, to the Istrian three-border area of Slovenia, Italy and Croatia. Further aims are the study of elements and factors that limit or promote cross-border communication and integration, the position and role of local communities and minorities for intercultural and functional social integration, and the effects of the implementation and dissolution of borders on society and its space after Slovene entry into the EU. Moreover, comparative studies of processes and problems of border and contact areas at the Slovene and wider European levels are studied, particularly in relation to the western European practice of institutional integration, central European functional cross-border integration, and open issues in connection with contact areas of potential conflict in southeastern Europe. In addition, problems of spatial deconcentration and decentralization as well as sustainable spatial development that contribute to the development of a more appropriate spatial organization and spatial policies at the national and transnational levels are studied. Social and linguistic case studies focus on problems of language practice, identity, education, and intercultural communication as a factor for the comprehension of the social and cultural extension of language contacts and intercultural connections. Furthermore, potentials for intercultural empathy as a means for the prevention of nationalism, tensions and incomprehension between ethnic groups are researched.The program also aims at deepening the socio-linguistic, pedagogical and didactic aspects of language practices and policies, the question of the complexity of languages exposed to everyday contacts with the neighbouring environment, and problems of language interference in areas of cultural contact. This provides a framework for the research of dialectological aspects in the area of Romance-Slavonic contact in relation to new language and communication practices, educational models in areas of cultural contact, the integrational role of schools, socio-psychological aspects of monolingual and bilingual language practices, and attitudes toward and the appreciation of various languages and cultures in contact areas. A general aim of the research program is the development of Slovenia and Slovene areas of social and cultural contact into a model of European integration, preserving the identities of national environments and developing internationally comparative and interrelated research programs .
Significance for science
The issues concerning social and spatial divergence and those related to the research of the areas of cultural contact and European integration processes have long been present in the interests of the world’s leading researchers of international relations. Most conflict situations and cooperative practices in the world have a certain political and spatial dimension and take place at three basic levels, namely: a) relations between states and social systems and global institutions and structures; b) relations within states, including those between parts of states, individual social groups and regions; c) managerial and behavioural problems of local units and local communities. Political geography is thus confronted with problems and processes deriving from different relations between the stated levels, but preliminarily those between the society and the space, whereby the society is conditioned by the space and so are its distinctive features and development possibilities; while the society, in turn, redefines the space, transforms it in a particular way and evaluates it. However, in evaluating space and society, technology also plays a crucial role, for it affects the increased intensity of communication, as well as its quality and orientation. Therefore, the development of social institutions in the field of culture, politics and economy, tends to occur in harmony with social development. This process takes place within actual spatial units, appropriated by different social groups to then colonize, manage, defend and invest into. The consequential attachment to a space - or territoriality - also contributes to social and spatial differentiation and forms different social borders and cultural landscapes that have always presented a basis for the occurrence and understanding of political spaces: states in the first place, but also sub-national regional and local realities. Therefore the ratio between simultaneous tendencies towards social and economic interaction (convergent processes) within the scope of certain variable functional political and spatial units and the tendencies towards social and cultural differentiation (divergent processes), based on historical elements and attachment to different local-regional structures, presents the foundation of geopolitical developments. This gives rise to the question of the different sizes of territorial units and societies in performing certain social functions or in demonstrating different degrees of territoriality, along with the question of the ratio between processes of centralization and decentralization within states. This element is further related to the question of unequal development, which can be dealt with at national level through national or macroregional systems, inside national systems, or even locally. Ultimately, particular importance is also placed on the very process of attaching social groups to a specific space, i.e. the process of social territorialization in different degrees, and on the phenomenon of territorial persistence in modernizing social and political systems. This aspect then raises the question of the different degrees of attachment to the original social environment and space of origin and social and, above all, spatial mobility within the framework of the transformation of local and regional structures. Global political conflicts are redirected from ideological oppositions into relations resulting from unbalanced development and cultural nationalism and the perspective of increased multiculturality in global centres and especially in large urban agglomerations caused by immigration, formation of transnational identities and at the same time coexistence between state centres and regional units in terms of satisfying minority demands related to culture and development. In the future, science will therefore pay special attention to the problems of spatial and social centralization and decentralization, to different aspects of territoriality and m
Significance for the country
With its research contents, the programme will enable evaluation of the traditionally more peripheral areas of social and cultural contact, in particular border areas and local communities of western Slovenia after its entering the EU and the Schengen area. It will also have a positive effect on reaching more sustainable development patterns in the fields of geography, environment, economy, society and culture and will offer starting points for the development of models for a spatially and regionally balanced development of Slovenia. Along with other projects conducted at the University of Primorska, it will deepen the strategies of studying and teaching intercultural communication and also influence the study contents as the key elements of training postgraduate students for a new dimension of living and working in the Europe of nations and cultures. It will provide understanding of the model of institutional changes and changes in local institutional activities, integration and global criteria within the local, regional and national environment on one hand and familiarization with and direction of contemporary processes of social and spatial convergence and divergence on the other. Research topics of the programme are directed in particular towards understanding and valuating cultural diversity in the processes of social interaction. In this, they will closely monitor the position and function of Slovenian minorities within the dealt-with areas of cultural contact and autochthonous and other minority communities in Slovenian border areas. Examination of the issues related to ethnicity, cultural and linguistic identity and practice and a consequential cultural assimilation or cultural pluralism is closely connected to acquiring relevant knowledge and information, which form the basis for the formation of a national cultural policy with the view of preserving national identity. Scientific examination of interethnic contacts and accompanying phenomena is of particular importance and necessity in light of Slovenian active participation in the EU and its integration into the globalization processes, for it is the understanding of the nature and possible scenarios of intercultural contacts that is a precondition for preserving and developing national identity and awareness within the conditions of social integration. Research will show that also within culturally and linguistically mixed areas it is possible to preserve a nation’s originality regardless of the endangerment of its linguistic elements. In general, a more balanced regional development of Slovenia will enable preservation and development of the settlement and gravitational potential of Slovenian border areas in relation to macroregional urban centres formed after Slovenia’s accession to the EU. This is why the program group will, through forstering sustainable spatial and social development of Slovenian contact areas, contribute to an integrated management of the coastal and other border areas and consequently also to the preservation and development of its natural and cultural heritage. In its topics and aims, the research program is completely compliant with and significantly contributes to the fulfilment of the following proposed priorities of the competent ministry of the RS: the second priority area, concerning the development of human resources and social cohesion and preservation of natural and cultural heritage; the fifth priority area, concerning interdisciplinary nature of research; the seventh priority area, concerning development of basic humanities to support the process of strengthening Slovenian identity and culture within the European and wider international space; the ninth priority area, concerning connectedness between democracy and social development in the context of contemporary Slovenian society.
Most important scientific results
Final report,
complete report on dLib.si
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Final report,
complete report on dLib.si
