Projects / Programmes
Multicultural Heritage and the Nation state: The Cases of Prekmurje, Bela Krajina and Primorska
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 6.03.02 |
Humanities |
Anthropology |
Social and cultural anthropology |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| S220 |
Social sciences |
Cultural anthropology, ethnology |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 6.05 |
Humanities |
Other humanities |
multicultural legacy, border, vernacular practices, Bela Krajina, Prekmurje, Primorska
Researchers (9)
Organisations (2)
Abstract
The main goal of the proposed project (“Multicultural heritage and nation-state: the examples of Prekmurje, Bela krajina and Primorska”) is the problematization of the “traditional” concept of cultural heritage according to which culture is a set of unidirectional activities, practices and policies (i.e. they come “from above” moving from the elitist/authoritarian/national levels towards the local and vernacular ones). Based on the extensive fieldwork within three border regions in Slovenia (Primorska, Bela Krajina and Prekmurje), the project will propose a new concept of cultural heritage that will be adapted to the Slovenian context. In this perspective, heritage is understood as a process in which various protagonists co-create its meaning through the integration and dialog of many voices on the various levels of social interaction. We will therefore take into account the discourses and practices of diverse subjects and the vestiges of various historical legacies.
We will analyze how the “vernacular,” non-institutional and informal practices (i.e. practices employed by individuals and communities) come in contact with and engage in “dialog” with the dominant ideologization of heritage, and vice versa: how the dominant canon of cultural heritage is “imprinted” in everyday practices of creating / preserving / disseminating cultural heritage on the community level, how this canon is used and re-conceptualized on the local level and what new meanings are created through the pluralistic and multicultural practices in border regions. The specific historical, social and cultural circumstances in these regions (they were first part of the Habsburg Empire, then of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, then Yugoslavia and finally SFR Yugoslavia), as well as the fluctuation of the population, frictions and continuous interaction with neighboring cultures, make these regions an exceptionally good “laboratory” for the study of the multicultural heritage of dynamic, diffused and explicitly multicultural border spaces. The research is divided into three thematic areas: Local and individual archives and collections, Heritage as “performance” - cultural events, and The mediation and digitization of multicultural heritage. The findings will furnish a new interpretational framework for the consideration of cultural heritage in Slovenia (and in Europe, characterized by the opposing processes of nationalization and regionalization). The research will raise important theoretical questions and will seek to encourage the Slovenian academic sphere to reconsider the role of multicultural heritage when shaping the dominant conceptualization of cultural heritage, while emphasizing the need for reflection on the academic discourses on cultural heritage. The findings of the research will be of practical use for local cultural protagonists (leaders of cultural associations, local cultural workers, museum employees…) and cultural policy makers on the national level.
Significance for science
Project results present a new interpretative framework to think about cultural heritage in Slovenia (and in wider contemporary Europe, where diverging trends of processes of nationalization and regionalization can be observed). The project opened up important theoretical questions and aims to encourage Slovenian academia to rethink their role in shaping the dominant conceptualization of cultural heritage. In that, it emphasizes the need for reflexive approach to discourses on cultural heritage and the importance of ‘democratization’ of cultural heritage, i.e. to incorporate individuals’ and collectives’ ambitions, visions, discourses and practices.
Significance for the country
The project addressed several questions and thus managed to join into the scientific discussions on adequacy and validity of existing conceptualizations of cultural heritage. The results importantly contribute to the democratization and pluralization of the discussions on cultural heritage in Slovenia and towards a better understanding of ongoing processes of Europeanization and regionalization, and towards a selection of adequate strategies in cultural policy, which are crucial for national and local initiatives. The results also facilitate a basis for further international cooperation with researchers and ongoing projects engaged with similar and related topics. The importance and relevance of this research is in it placing the Slovenian case in wider European research trends dealing with the processes of shaping and negotiating a common ‘European cultural heritage’.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2011,
2012,
2013,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2011,
2012,
2013,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
