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Collective identities at the Junction

Call for papers
Published on: November 2, 2026

Dear Colleagues,

We invite scholars to submit abstracts for the international conference “Between Preservation
and Change: Collective Identities at the Junction of Central and Southeastern Europe
throughout History,” to be held from 11 to 13 May 2027 at the ZRC Atrium, Novi trg 2,
Ljubljana.

The conference will explore collective identities, understood as forms of social identification
through which individuals develop cognitive, moral, and emotional ties to different social
groups. The topic will be examined through five categories that shape individuals’
incorporation into communities and their sense of collective belonging:

  1. gender;
  2. space and territory;
  3. social estate;
  4. religion and religious affiliation; and
  5. ethnicity and nationality.

The conference will focus primarily on the early modern period, from the late fifteenth to the
late eighteenth century. Geographically, it will centre on the junction of Central and
Southeastern Europe. Contributions that extend beyond these chronological and geographical
parameters to a limited extent are also welcome.

The conference is intended for historians and scholars in other fields of the humanities and
social sciences whose research engages with the themes outlined above.

Thematic Sections

We welcome contributions addressing the following five thematic areas:

  1. Women’s Collective Identity as an Expression of Gender
  2. Territorial Collective Identity as a Form of Belonging to Place
  3. Estate-Based Collective Identities: Noble and Municipal Affiliations
  4. Confessional Collective Identity
  5. Ethnolinguistic and National Collective Identities

Submission

Scholars interested in participating are invited to submit an abstract of 150–250 words by
Friday, 20 November 2026, to vanja.kocevar@zrc-sazu.si.

Papers may be presented in Slovenian, English, Croatian, or German.

The Organising Committee will select the contributions by 20 December 2026.

Publication of Contributions

The conference organisers plan to publish selected contributions in a scholarly monograph.

The deadline for submission of full papers is 30 June 2027.

Organised by:

Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU), Milko Kos
Historical Institute

Organising Committee:

Vanja Kočevar, Boris Golec, Neva Makuc, and Marko Kambič