Ethnographic Heritage And Modernity Between Tradition And Globalisation

Principal researcher: Zorica Vitez
Researchers and associates: Aleksandra Muraj, Jadranka Grbić, Sanja Kalapoš Gašparac, Ana-Marija Vukušić, Sanja Ivančić, Silvio Braica, Ivana Šarić Žic, Olgica Tomik

The idea of this project is to research culture, especially traditional culture, as an element of contemporary national culture and its regional cultural variants, as well as into the role of traditional culture within the process of (self-)identification and globalisation. The goal of the project is to work on several relevant and mutually complementary topics, and thus show the contribution of traditional culture to contemporary culture and modern society, and also to show the possibility for Croatian culture to remain recognizable by means of its ethnographic heritage which – in several different ways – has remained alive up until the present day. As well as it will show the fact that ‘small’ national cultures have been given a possibilityof broader recognition by the process of globalisation. The project encompasses several – relevant for the discipline of ethnology – research fields: the history of the discipline, customs and festivities within the family and wider social circle (customs related to the marriage ceremony from old testimonies up until contemporary practices, the festivities of the members of different social strata and professional groups in twentieth-century Zagreb, elements of traditional culture related to contemporary tourism, elements of regional cultures discussed within the context of popular culture and globalisation during the mid-1990s, traditional festivities as the basis for identity-building on national, regional and local levels, as well as research into the culture of the Croats in Central Europe between integration and assimilation). It is assumed that this research will confirm the hypothesis that traditional culture in its different guises can be found in modern society; perhaps in more contemporary forms, with different purposes and in different contexts. The research will contribute to the recognition of the ethnographic heritage as being a part of the entire Croatian cultural heritage. It is therefore crucial for the development of research in Croatia, and the recognition of Croatian ethnology outside of Croatia.