Transdisciplinary Research of Identities and Cultures (P6-0461)

The transdisciplinary research programme on identities and cultures aims to explore Slovenian culture and identity in the broader Central European and Balkan context, challenging dominant narratives and offering a broader, comparative perspective. It utilises a critical and intersectional approach that examines how identities – understood as fluid and shaped by practises, values and social interactions – are formed, changed or contested in historical and cultural contexts. These identities are examined from the perspectives of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, class, disability, age, migration and other social categories, with a particular focus on the experiences of marginalised groups such as women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities and the socially excluded. Culture is studied as intellectual and artistic expression, including literature, film and media, as well as everyday community practises that shape the relationships between individuals and their environment. The programme covers key historical periods, from the development of secular culture after 1848, through modernity and the interwar period, to socialism and the post-reunification period. Key objectives include uncovering changes in identity formation and the role of culture in social change, analysing power relations in cultural expressions and identifying practises of resistance to oppression. Methodologically, the programme draws on literary approaches (close reading and digital humanities tools such as stylometry and text corpora to explore cultural and literary artefacts) as well as cultural- historical approaches. It also focuses on researching the role of emotions in Slovenian literary and cultural production. It draws on the postmodern spatial paradigm, which emphasises openness, relationality and historical diversity. It incorporates participatory research methods, including citizen science, and maintains close links to contemporary social movements such as feminism, environmentalism, anarchism and decolonial activism, all of which criticise existing political, social and cultural structures. Through the micro-historical analysis of individuals, communities and events, the programme sheds light on broader social processes and cultural transformations. A key aim of the research programme is to highlight the contribution of marginalised voices, offer a new understanding of cultural history and identity, and create open, publicly accessible scholarly work that connects past and present through diverse and inclusive frameworks of analysis. By combining gender studies, literary approaches, historiography, media studies, digital technologies and social criticism, the proposed research programme not only enriches academic discourse, but also contributes to a broader public understanding of cultural diversity, historical complexity and identity politics in Slovenia and beyond.