URBAN HISTORY OF CROATIA
The scope of this project is the pre-modern town on the Croatian historical space. The area of today’s Croatia was shaped by network of urban centers, which differed in their levels of social development, the period of their foundation, levels of autonomy. The dynamics and continuity of their development depended on the specific historical circumstances. This diversity offers a great chance for an interdisciplinary approach, comparison and development of different methodological approaches. However , the history of pre- modern city on the Croatian territory is not systematically and comparatively analyzed.
The emphasis in this research project will be the reconstruction of the properties of the urban population (social topography), the reconstruction of the histories of the urban population (prosopography), the ” urban memory ” and the town ‘s identity. The project will encourage uniform research in all parts of the Croatian historical space, and encourage comparisons between towns of different regions. Urban history project is planning to move research beyond the angle of regional history and beyond the national history, a Croatian town considered in the framework of wider European processes, structures and social phenomena .
While the research will primarily be based on written sources (published and especially unpublished), the approach will focus on understanding of the city as a complex socio – spatial organism. The project will present the results of the research in relevant monographs, research studies, as well on-line through databases and digital reconstructions. With its methodological approach the project seeks to link fundamental historical research with contemporary interdisciplinary and comparative directions of urban history and digital technology .
Collaborators on the project plan to connect with related projects / centers in Croatia and internationally and work on joint cooperation. The project organizes international scientific Triennale ” The Town of the Croatian Middle Ages ” ( 2010th , 2013th ) .
Project also publishes Conferences Proceedings of the Triennale (Towns and Cities of the Croatian Middle Ages: Authority and Property, ed. Irena Benyovsky Latin and Zrinka Pešorda Vardić, Zagreb: Croatian Institute of History, 2014)
PROGRAMME Dubrovnik, Croatia, 10-11 April 2015
TOC and Introduction Towns and Cities-1
Project leader: dr. Irena Benyovsky Latin
irenabenyovsky@yahoo.com
