Publication details
Shared and Contested Heritage in Greater Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, 1870–1991
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| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Holding a conference |
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| Description | This international conference examines the role of medieval cultural heritage in the formation of modern identities across the former inter-imperial space of the Russian, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian empires and the Soviet geopolitical orbit, from the late nineteenth century to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Focusing on monuments, sites, and objects traditionally associated with the medieval past, the conference explores how these remains have been mobilized in territorial, national, and ideological disputes. In regions marked by shifting borders and ethnic diversity, medieval heritage has undergone repeated scholarly reinterpretation, architectural reconstruction, erasure, and destruction, often in the service of nationalist or imperial agendas. Art historical, archaeological, and historical scholarship has played a decisive role in these processes, at times legitimizing exclusive claims to the past and contributing to political tensions and conflict. By critically engaging with heritage policies, restoration practices, and scholarly narratives, the conference seeks to illuminate how medieval monuments have been reshaped to support modern state ideologies and contested identities. |
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