The Importance of the Biographical Method to the Re-creation of Memory of the Female Labour Migrations from Goriška

ABSTRACT

The text explains the historical context of the female migrations known as aleksandrinstvo in the Goriška region; it presents the artistic, scientific and other aspects of the presentations and representations of this phenomenon in the last decade; and it describes the active role of individuals in the re-creation of the memory of the female migrants called aleksandrinke. Since 2005, the descendants and family members of aleksandrinke and the local population have taken an active role in the creation of the memory and cultural heritage of these migrants. The goal is to record and store as many authentic personal testimonies using biographical methodology, which has been used by scholars as well as the local population. The text shows the importance of all these activities to a crucial change in the understanding of aleksandrinstvo, which was deeply imbedded in a discourse of moral condemnation before 2005. The text also poses the question of the impact of the authentic stories of aleksandrinke on their cultural heritage at the local and the national level.

KEY WORDS: aleksandrinke, migrations, women, biographical method, re-creation of memory