Achievements and Plans in the Research of Slovene Emigration in Scientific Disciplines After 1945

This article is concerned with research on the emigration of Slovenes following the Second World War with special regard to the role of historiography in this research. The author of the article concludes that research into Slovene emigration was carried out mainly on an enthusiast level up until the symposium on Louis Adamič which the University of Ljubljana held in 1981. Prior to this the author began work on his doctoral dissertation, which he defended in 1983, focusing on the role American Slovenes played in the Second World War. The historians Andrej Vovko and Marjan Drnovšek began work on the history of Slovene emigration when they moved to the Institute for Slovene Emigration Research of the Center for Scientific Research of the Slovene Academy of Sciences and Arts.

This article is concerned with research on the emigration of Slovenes following the Second World War with special regard to the role of historiography in this research. The author of the article, Matjaž Klemenčič, concludes that research on Slovene emigration was carried out mainly on an enthusiast level up until the symposium on Louis Adamič which the University of Ljubljana held in 1981. Prior to this the author began work on his doctoral dissertation, focusing on the role American Slovenes played in the Second World War. Following the aforementioned symposium, the Institute for Slovene Emigration Research was founded at the Slovene Academy of Sciences and Arts. In 1983 the author received his doctorate in this subject. At the end of the eighties the historians Andrej Vovko and Marjan Drnovšek began Working at the Institute for Slovene Emigration Research, Drnovšek prepared a doctoral dissertation on the processes which led to the emigration of Slovenes from what was then the province of Carniola, while Vovko heads the research project on Slovene emigration.

The historian Aleš Brecelj is preparing a master’s thesis on Slovenes in Argentina, While Darko Friš defended his master’s dissertation on the Slovene Catholic church in the USA, and Majda Kodrič is preparing a dissertation on the topic of second generation Slovenes in the USA. At the moment no one is working on the history of Slovenes in Australia and Canada but these topics are covered by other fields, particularly geography and ethnology. Worthy of mention is also Irena Birsa’s master’s thesis in which she analysed the history and organization of Slovenes in Australia. It should also be noted that a new master’s degree in the study of Slovenes in the USA is being planned in which candidates would Work with Sister support organizations.

The Austro-Hungarian policy on immigration in the period prior to the First World War will also require investigation.

The author of the article would suggest to historians living in the immigrant countries that as much Work as possible be done on descriptions of local ethnic groups.