Organizers: Post-Yugoslav Area Research Center (Institute of Western and Southern
Slavic Studies, University of Warsaw), Institut of Slavic Studies of the Polish Academy
of Sciences, and the Austrian Forum of Culture
The project consists on a cycle of lectures by leading scholas whose research deals
with the problem of multiethnic communities in the (post-)Habsburg area. The cases
of Trieste, South Tyrol, Rijeka and Habsburg Dalmatia will be discussed, in order to
present a complex web of intrests and relations within the mixed society of the
empire. The Austro-Hungarian political system formed a frame for development of
different micro-systems, where the crucial question of sustainability and common
policy used to meet various answers. The aim of the project is to examin precisely
this problem of coexistence and cooperation at a local level, and the relation between
a specific political system (which was a supra-national idea of the Habsburg
monarchy) and local structures. On the other hand, all scholars discuss the question
of the Habsburg legacy, or the afterlife of the imperial system, which could be seen
as a source of a certain cultural unity of hte Central Europe. Clearly, this sense
of continuity and recontextualisation of the Habsburg system is at the core of scholarly
reflexion.
All lectures take place at the Austrian Forum of Culture, 7/9 Próżna Street.
Contact persons: Maciej Falski (mfalski(at)uw.edu.pl), Ewa Wróblewska-Trochimiuk (ewa.wroblewska(at)ispan.edu.pl)
21.10.2024
Michael Wedekind (Bremen/Munchen)
Continuities and Discontinuities: Late Habsburg Rule in the Alpine-Adriatic Borderlands and its Aftermath
18.11.2024
Natka Badurina (Udine)
Sense of National Belonging in Rijeka after WWI: Between Passion and Indifference
Gabriele D’Annunzio’s occupation of Rijeka (September 1919 – January 1921) confronts the professions dealing with it – historiography, memory studies, literary studies – with the problem of very different, often conflicting and mutually exclusive interpretations. Traditional narratives about the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire usually focus on the rise of national sentiments among its former peoples. The occupation of Rijeka is typically framed as a clash between Italian and Croatian/Yugoslav nationalisms, leading to memory wars, political tensions, and diplomatic incidents that persist to this day. However, recent scholarship seeks to move beyond strictly national categories, revealing habits, attitudes, practices, and emotions that remain deeply tied to the Empire’s legacy. This lecture will explore the benefits and limitations of using “national indifference” to understand the case of post-WWI Rijeka. By drawing on the history of emotions and examples from memoirs, diaries, and literary works, it will expand the discussion of “national sentiment” vs. “national indifference” to include a broader spectrum of emotions—ranging from boredom and indifference to enthusiasm, love, disappointment, anger, hatred, resentment, resignation, and depression.
21.01.2025
Marta Verginella (Ljubljana)
Postwar transition after 1918 in the Northeast Adriatic: between continuity and discontinuity
After the Italian army’s occupation of the “irredent lands”, both policies of rapid adjustment to the new state structure and attempts to maintain institutional practices of the Empire can be evidenced. The minority issue i.e., the presence of some 500,000 Slovenes and Croats within the Italian borders will become central to the politics of occupation since the fall of 1918 and also a reason for disagreements between central liberal and regional nationalist positions. The paper will analyze government action, the reactions of local society in both its Italian and Slovenian and Pro-Yugoslav voices.
17.02.2025
Daniel Baric (Paris)
The rediscovery of the Habsburg Legacy in Croatia and Socialist Yugoslavia: the role of Istria and Dalmatia