Content (Syllabus outline)

The timeframe of the detailed study of Slovenian emigration extends from the first wave of emigrants leaving Slovenian ethnic territory in the first half of the nineteenth century to the current process of “brain drain” today. The content is addressed in four thematic sections:

Introductory theoretical treatment:

• Learning about the category apparatus, problematization and justification of the basic concepts, and recognizing the differences in their use in various theories
• Learning about various research and methodological procedures and their application
• Presentation of basic research findings relevant to studying migrations

Historical outline of Slovenian emigration:

• Defining migration (theoretical aspect) and overview of sources and literature
• Legal aspects (of emigration and immigration laws)
• Demographic aspects of migration
• Analysis of gender, age, education, and occupational structure of emigrants
• Geographical aspect of emigration (emigration destinations)
• Causes and effects of emigration
• The attitude of the home environment (authorities, the Church, and concerned individuals) to emigration
• The human and social status of immigrants in new environments
• Organizing life in the new environment (e.g., social organization, publishing activity, emigrant education, etc.)
• The Slovenian contribution to the new environment (e.g., in professional, cultural, scholarly, and other spheres); contacts between emigrants and their country of origin
• Inclusion in or comparisons with migration processes around the world

Anthropological and sociological aspects of Slovenian emigration and migration:

• Comparative analysis of forming ethic identity and its manifestations in the everyday lives of the first and subsequent generations of Slovenian emigrants in various continents and countries from a synchronic and diachronic perspective
• Returning home (problems with adjusting to the original environment)
• Placement in various contexts across all segments of social analysis

Slovenian emigrant literature:

• Historical overview starting with early emigrant literary forms in the nineteenth century
• Flourishing of Slovenian emigrant literature in the 1920s and 30s
• Independent development of emigrant literature in the second half of the twentieth century
• Return of Slovenian literature after 1990
• The problem of ghettoization of emigrant literature in Slovenian literary history
• The issue of literary bilingualism in emigrant authors
• Contemporary issues of literary production among emigrants

Readings

• Anderson, Benedict. Zamišljene skupnosti: o izvoru in širjenju nacionalizma. Prev. Alja Brglez Uranjek in Andrej Kurillo, spremna beseda Jože Vogrinc. Nova, razširjena izd. Ljubljana: Studia humanitatis, 2007.
• Bade, Klaus J. 2005. Evropa v gibanju. Ljubljana: Založba /*c
• Castles, S. in M.J. Miller. 1998. The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World. London.
• Čebulj Sajko, Breda. 1999. Etnologija in izseljenstvo. Ljubljana.
• Drnovšek, Marjan. 1991. Pot slovenskih izseljencev na tuje. Ljubljana.
• Drnovšek, Marjan. 1998. Usodna privlačnost Amerike. Ljubljana.
• Kalc, Aleksej, Milharčič Hladnik, Mirjam in Žitnik, Janja. 2020. Doba velikih migracij na Slovenskem. Ljubljana.
• Klinar, Peter. 1976. Mednarodne migracije. Ljubljana.
• Lukšič – Hacin, Marina. 1995. Ko tujina postane dom, Ljubljana.
• Lukšič – Hacin, Marina. 1999. Multikulturalizem in migracije, Ljubljana.
• Lukšič – Hacin, Marina. 2001. Zgodbe in pričevanja: Slovenci na Švedskem, Ljubljana.
• Lukšič – Hacin, Marina. 2018. Refugees as a part of the global socio-political-economic migration triangle of causality. V: Igor Ž. (ur.), et al. The disaster of European refugee policy: perspectives from the “Balkan route”. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing: 55-65.
• Lukšič – Hacin, Marina. 2018. Selitvena dinamika slovenskega prostora v zgodovinski perspektivi. Dve domovini: razprave o izseljenstvu: 55-72.
• Malačič, Janez. 1984. Demografske razmere v Sloveniji. Teorija in praksa, 21/7-8.
• Šifrer, Živko. 1962. Izseljevanje s slovenskega ozemlja. Prikazi in študije, 8/2, Ljubljana.
• Šmitek, Zmago. 1986. Klic daljnih svetov. Ljubljana.
• Žigon, Zvone. 2001. Iz spomina v prihodnost: Slovenska politična emigracija v Argentini.
• Žitnik, Janja in Helga Glušič ur. 1999. Slovenska izseljenska književnost 1, 2, 3. Ljubljana.

Objectives and competences

To familiarize students with the historical, sociological, and ethnological aspects of emigration and the life of Slovenians in new environments. Special emphasis is placed on their cultural activity, literary production, preservation of ethnic identity, nurturing Slovenian material and cultural tradition abroad, and the original contribution of emigrant creativity to the cultural treasury of the nation of origin on the one hand and multicultural society on the other. Lectures are based on authentic material, primary literature, and the findings of the students’ own empirical studies. In addition, students learn about the theoretical aspects of migration studies and contemporary methodology used for studying migration. The interdisciplinary design of the course provides a comprehensive insight into the issues of Slovenian emigration, which is placed within a wider migration context.

Intended learning outcomes

Students use the knowledge acquired in the course to write a piece of academic writing that can serve as a draft of a dissertation chapter or a research article.

Assessment

Long written assignment (60 %), presentation (20 %), final examination (written/oral) (20 %).