Migrant authors from Southeastern Europe and the transfer of intangible heritage (MASETIH)
What are the research questions behind MASETIH?
The project questions discourses that see a European cultural heritage in conflict with migrants and minorities and examines the role of literature in the negotiation of (trans)national identities and a pluricultural cultural heritage, from the 1980s to the present. The aim is to explore the transfer and preservation of intangible forms of cultural heritage (including language and dialect, religious rites and arts and crafts, according to the UNESCO Convention of 2003) in literary texts (including performative language arts such as poetry slam and stand-up comedy) by migrants from Southeast Europe and the ex-Yugoslav region. This also includes the role of cultural heritage and art in the everyday lives of migrants. As a comparative and interdisciplinary project, it highlights hitherto neglected aspects of cultural transfer, such as the role of gender identities and affects. Based on the idea that cultural heritage is composed of numerous "chains of connection" (R. Harrison) between people, places, objects and practices, the project explores the structural mechanisms and networks that define and circulate collective forms of identity formation through literary texts. To this end, the role of linguistic, religious and political cultural heritage (both in Austria and Germany, as well as in the Yugoslavian successor states) is particularly emphasized, as migrant authors draw on these three categories to challenge common narratives of cultural and national homogeneity, and to resist recurring demands for assimilation.
Main aspects of the research project
The project investigates how migrant cultural heritage is influenced by the complex and dynamic exchange 1. with the host country (Austria or Germany) 2. with other migrant groups in these countries and 3. with networks in the country of origin.
Methodology
To analyze these research questions, a literary, intercultural close reading of the primary texts as well as a discourse analysis of migrant literature on cultural heritage will be conducted; both methods will be situated in the context of feminist theories from cultural studies, literary studies and human geography. MASETIH aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of national identity formation, collective memory, gender roles and transnational cultural exchange in the 20th and 21st centuries.