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Migration and social transformation in comparative perspective: the case of Western Slovenia after WWII

Description

The project investigates the population changes and social transformations in the towns on the western margin of Slovenia in the years following the Second World War and the establishment of a new border between Yugoslavia and Italy. The research focusses on the comparison of two historically and culturally very different realities: the area of Nova Gorica, the newly established administrative, economic and cultural centre of the part of the Gorizia region that remained within the borders of Slovenia, and the northern coast of Istria with the ancient towns of Koper, Izola and Piran, which experienced an almost total change of population and a radical ethnic, social and cultural transformation. The research embraces the second half of 1940s, the 1950s and 1960s, when the processes under scrutiny were particulary intensive.

The objectives of the research are:

  • to consider the formation or transformation of the urban realities in question in the light of migration processes as factors of their new physiognomy;
  • o study the dynamics, forms and structural characteristics of migration and, in particular, immigration flows in these areas, and the administrative and organisational aspects and policies by which the socialist authorities influenced them;
  • to compare the social, ethnolinguistic and cultural aspects of the urban contexts under examination, describe the adaptation of newcomers to new environments and present the formation of the identity of Nova Gorica, Koper, Izola and Piran as urban spaces through the views and experiences of their inhabitants;
  • to contribute to the comparative history of migrations, the comparative social and cultural urban history, and the comparative history of repopulation and urbanisation processes;
  • to shed light on the processes of construction of a socialist order and social and ethnic relationships and identities in the multi‐ethnic border area of the "Iron Curtain" on the northern Adriatic coast.

Project Stages

Stage 1 (1st year):

  • definition of the thematic/issue-related research groups, planning of the research tasks, distribution of work (initial phase);
  • selection of literature and the listing of primary and secondary sources by research task;
  • preparation and organization of field research: contact with the interviewees, formulation of a questionnaire for structured interviews, start of recording of life stories; transcribing, organizing and analyzing collected material;
  • study of the literature and the primary and secondary sources in line as dictated by the thematic/issue-related groups;
  • three operational meetings to check implementation of the research work and the resolution of problems as they arise (1st, 6th and 12th months);
  • ongoing coordination meetings (as required);
  • preparation of two academic articles for publication;
  • design of online presentation of the project.

 

Stage 2 (2nd year):

  • continued collection and study of literature and sources by thematic/issue-related group and research task;
  • continuing to collect / record live stories and conduct structured interviews; transcribing, organizing and analyzing collected material;
  • dissemination of partial results of the project at domestic and international academic and specialist conferences;
  • three operational meetings to check implementation of the research work and resolve problems as they arise (sequence as required);
  • one workshop (final part of the stage): presentation of work done in the first and second stage and discussion of the content in cooperation with external specialists;
  • ongoing coordination meetings (as required);
  • preparation of two academic articles for publication;
  • updating of online presentation of the project.

 

Stage 3 (3rd year):

  • final study of issue-related groups and research questions, and interpretation in a comparative perspective;
  • dissemination of results of the project at domestic and international academic conferences;
  • three operational meetings to check implementation of the research work and resolve problems as they arise (sequence as required);
  • one workshop (most probably in the 9th month): presentation of the findings and discussion with external experts;
  • ongoing coordination meetings (as required);
  • preparation of two academic articles for publication;
  • preparation of an overall presentation of the results of the research in form of studies and materials;

Results

1. Publications

Katja Hrobat Virloget, Družbene meje in odnosi v istrski družbi po povojnem »eksodusu«, Glasnik Slovenskega etnološkega društva 61, 2021/1, 630-41. (https://cdn.domdesign.com/users/SEDDrustvo/Site/sites/sed-drustvo.si/modules/Domino/Files/glasnik-61-1-2021-2.pdf)

Katja Hrobat Virloget, V tišini spomina: "eksodus" in Istra. Trst, Koper: ZTT, Založba Univerze na Primorskem, 2021.

Mirjam Milharčič Hladnik, Subjektivni pogledi na selitve in prebežništvo v goriškem prostoru v kontekstu nastanka Nove Gorice, v: Aleksej Kalc (ur.), Nadzor migracij na Slovenskem od liberalizma do socializma, Ljubljana: Založba ZRC ZRC SAZU, 2021, 222−242.

2. Conferences and conference papers

Mednarodna konfrenca: »OLD« VS. »NEW« TOWNS. MEMORIES, HISTORIES, AND HERITAGE AFTER POPULATION TRANSFERS AND BORDER CHANGES, 11. 10. 2021 (Programme and abstracts conference oct 11 2021 final_4.pdf)

Mirjam Milharčič Hladnik, The new town Nova Gorica on the new border and the old routes of migration - Memories of defection and the imaginings of “new” life. Konferenca: »OLD« VS. »NEW« TOWNS. MEMORIES, HISTORIES, AND HERITAGE AFTER POPULATION TRANSFERS AND BORDER CHANGES, 11. 10. 2021.

Aleksej Kalc, Society and immigration in Slovenian coastal towns in the 1950s. Some reflections on research approaches. Konferenca: »OLD« VS. »NEW« TOWNS. MEMORIES, HISTORIES, AND HERITAGE AFTER POPULATION TRANSFERS AND BORDER CHANGES, 11. 10. 2021.

Katja Hrobat Virloget, The discourse of urban vs. rural, social relations and heritage in Istrian urban

society before and after »exodus«. Konferenca: »OLD« VS. »NEW« TOWNS. MEMORIES, HISTORIES, AND HERITAGE AFTER POPULATION TRANSFERS AND BORDER CHANGES, 11. 10. 2021.

Špela Ledinek Lozej. Under the Campanilles of Saint Marco vs. Town withou Bell Towers. Konferenca: »OLD« VS. »NEW« TOWNS. MEMORIES, HISTORIES, AND HERITAGE AFTER POPULATION TRANSFERS AND BORDER CHANGES, 11. 10. 2021.

Aleksej Kalc, Transferts de population et transformations ethniques à Koper et Trieste après la Seconde Guerre mondiale: quelques aspects. Webinar: DISPLACED HISTORIES WITHOUT TRACES AND TRACES OF PAST WITHOUT HISTORY, 14.4.2021. Organizacija: Centre français de recherche en sciences sociales in UP Fakulteta za humanistične študije.

Katja Hrobat Virloget, A propos de ceux qui sont venus. Frontières symboliques et questions de "chez soi" après "l'exode" en Istrie. Webinar: DISPLACED HISTORIES WITHOUT TRACES AND TRACES OF PAST WITHOUT HISTORY, 14.4.2021. Organizacija: Centre français de recherche en sciences sociales in UP Fakulteta za humanistične študije.

 

Project results:

  • six academic papers;
  • the preparation of studies and materials for the presentation of the findings of the research;
  • online presentation of the project on the website of the Slovenian Migration Institute;
  • dissemination of the results of the project at academic conferences in Slovenia and abroad and via networks for the dissemination of academic literature (Academia.edu, Lulu.com, ResearchGate).
  • the research results will be used in pedagogical processes in the undergraduate and postgraduate study programs that the members of the research team carry out as teachers at various universities and  in Slovenia and abroad.

Research Project