Tradition and Transformation: Historical Heritage and National Identity in Serbia in the 20th Century

The relationship between traditions and transformations and their impact on the construction of national identity were in the focus of research of humanities and social sciences in the last decades of the 20th century. The main aim of the Project is to explain the impact of historical phenomena on the formation of the Serbian national identity. This objective will be attained through interdisciplinary research of transformations of the Serbian social and economic structure. The central assumption of the Project is that traditions are not only conveying belts of national values, but also they represent political and ideological constructions. At the same time, transformations will be analysed not only as progressive social processes, but also as modes of the reaffirmation of the existing practices, and even as regressive processes. The Project further develops a programme and a plan for the protection of cultural heritage and its transformation into Serbia’s developmental resource through the process of education and digitalisation of cultural and historical heritage. In view of the broadness of the thematic framework, interdisciplinary approach and the multilayered nature of the studied issues, the Project will be divided into three sub-projects: 1.CONTEXTS AND COMPARISONS: Serbia, the Balkans, Europe. 2.NATIONAL IDENTITY: Political, social and cultural transformations. 3.INHERITANCE STRATEGIES: Historical heritage and its protection.