40 / 2014

Špela Ledinek Lozej

Šavrinkas – Migrant Women Traders between Central Istria and Coastal Towns and Bearers of Symbolic Identifications: Sociohistorical Conditions of Labour Migrations and the “Šavrinization” of the Istrian Countryside

ABSTRACT
The paper presents the sociohistorical conditions, trade routes and every day life of migrant women traders from the north-eastern Istrian countryside. In the first half of the 20th century they traded in central Istria, where they gathered eggs, and paid for them with consumer goods, e.g. thread, soap, paraffin, salt, kerchiefs and handkerchiefs and other goods, and sold them in Trieste. The egg-selling centres, the main weekly trade routes and the conditions under which the women involved in this activity worked are listed and discussed. In the conclusion the role of the migrant women traders (known as Šavrinkas in central Istria) in the preservation of the original ethnic label Šavrini and in the processes of the “šavrinization” of the northern Istrian countryside is outlined.
KEY WORDS: Šavrinkas, egg-sellers, labour migration, Istria, Trieste

40 / 2014

Špela Ledinek Lozej

Šavrinkas – Migrant Women Traders between Central Istria and Coastal Towns and Bearers of Symbolic Identifications: Sociohistorical Conditions of Labour Migrations and the “Šavrinization” of the Istrian Countryside

ABSTRACT
The paper presents the sociohistorical conditions, trade routes and every day life of migrant women traders from the north-eastern Istrian countryside. In the first half of the 20th century they traded in central Istria, where they gathered eggs, and paid for them with consumer goods, e.g. thread, soap, paraffin, salt, kerchiefs and handkerchiefs and other goods, and sold them in Trieste. The egg-selling centres, the main weekly trade routes and the conditions under which the women involved in this activity worked are listed and discussed. In the conclusion the role of the migrant women traders (known as Šavrinkas in central Istria) in the preservation of the original ethnic label Šavrini and in the processes of the “šavrinization” of the northern Istrian countryside is outlined.
KEY WORDS: Šavrinkas, egg-sellers, labour migration, Istria, Trieste

40 / 2014

Nataša Rogelja

“It’s All True!” The Use of the Biographical Method in Research on Šavrinkas

ABSTRACT
Grounded in ethnographic research on women’s labour migration between the hinterland and thecoastal towns of Istria in the first half of the 20th century, the text highlights the use of the biographical method. It presents the specific methodological approach used in the research on Šavrinkas, and the reasons for using this type of methodology, as well as the broader historical context of the use of biographical methods in anthropology. The intertwining of the research topic and methodology as well as the past and the present will be discussed. Both emphases are crucial for the understanding of undocumented or at best artistically interpreted lives of women egg-traders, as well as their echoes in thepresent, in which migrant women played a crucial role in the process of forming the heritage of the area.
KEY WORDS: biographical method, women’s labour migration, Šavrinkas, Istria

40 / 2014

Nataša Rogelja

“It’s All True!” The Use of the Biographical Method in Research on Šavrinkas

ABSTRACT
Grounded in ethnographic research on women’s labour migration between the hinterland and thecoastal towns of Istria in the first half of the 20th century, the text highlights the use of the biographical method. It presents the specific methodological approach used in the research on Šavrinkas, and the reasons for using this type of methodology, as well as the broader historical context of the use of biographical methods in anthropology. The intertwining of the research topic and methodology as well as the past and the present will be discussed. Both emphases are crucial for the understanding of undocumented or at best artistically interpreted lives of women egg-traders, as well as their echoes in thepresent, in which migrant women played a crucial role in the process of forming the heritage of the area.
KEY WORDS: biographical method, women’s labour migration, Šavrinkas, Istria

25 / 2007

Neža Florjančič

The question of identity in Magreb literatur

ABSTRACT
The Magreb literature has developed as late as after World War II; its origin is linked with the end of colonial regimes. The authors of the Magreb literature write predominantly in French language, live between Magreb and France, and are designated by both cultures. From the literary-historical viewpoint, we can divide the Magreb literature into three periods. The novels of the first period (1954-1968) are denoted by the struggle for the liberation of Algeria from the French power, and by nationalist tendencies (Assia Djebar, Mouloud Mammeri). Novels published in the years 1968-1980 are dealing mainly with existential issues; the trend of poetised, non-linear prose also occurs of which most known author is Tahar Ben Jelloun with his first book Haruda. After 1980, the Magreb novel becomes politically and socially critical and returns to traditional narrative. In the last two decades, female authors who want to show the European and the traditional Arab societies they have had enough of silence and that they want to take active part in forming important social, political and religious issues have variegated the Magreb literature with a form of documentary narrative. One of the frequent thematic of the modern Magreb novel is migrations with which the problems of marginality and loss, search and transfer of identity are linked. As dichotomy between female and male writing is characteristic of the Magreb society, I destined the central part of the contribution to a synoptic analysis of the Magreb literature through the prism of both genders. At selection I have considered authors that are torn between the both their homelands and those of their works that deal with, for the purpose of this article, significant themes: migrations, multiplicity of identities, differentiation between genders. The contribution deals with the works of the Moroccan poet and writer Tahar Ben Jelloun, a representative of the so-called male prose, with his last novel in particular. The work is dedicated entirely to the phenomenon of the emigration of Africans to Europe and to Spain in particular. In Europe, a better life does not await Ben Jelloun’s heroes but moral and personal decline and loss of identity. The so-called female prose, which I illuminate in the article by female authors Assja Djebar, Leila, and Nedjma, also deals with the search for identity and aims at having a cathartic and rousing role in the liberation of women from the patriarchal regulation of the Islamic traditional society, of which devastative tentacles catch young women of even the second and third generations of Arab immigrants in Europe. For a better understanding of this literature, I considered necessary the illumination of the social-political background of female problematic. A synoptic motive-thematic analysis of chosen works of modern Magreb male and female authors results in a conclusion that the two writings are similar above all by being torn between the two homelands, their cultures and religions, and that their heroes are not the carriers of multiple identities but of a single one, the identity of migrations.

25 / 2007

Neža Florjančič

The question of identity in Magreb literatur

ABSTRACT
The Magreb literature has developed as late as after World War II; its origin is linked with the end of colonial regimes. The authors of the Magreb literature write predominantly in French language, live between Magreb and France, and are designated by both cultures. From the literary-historical viewpoint, we can divide the Magreb literature into three periods. The novels of the first period (1954-1968) are denoted by the struggle for the liberation of Algeria from the French power, and by nationalist tendencies (Assia Djebar, Mouloud Mammeri). Novels published in the years 1968-1980 are dealing mainly with existential issues; the trend of poetised, non-linear prose also occurs of which most known author is Tahar Ben Jelloun with his first book Haruda. After 1980, the Magreb novel becomes politically and socially critical and returns to traditional narrative. In the last two decades, female authors who want to show the European and the traditional Arab societies they have had enough of silence and that they want to take active part in forming important social, political and religious issues have variegated the Magreb literature with a form of documentary narrative. One of the frequent thematic of the modern Magreb novel is migrations with which the problems of marginality and loss, search and transfer of identity are linked. As dichotomy between female and male writing is characteristic of the Magreb society, I destined the central part of the contribution to a synoptic analysis of the Magreb literature through the prism of both genders. At selection I have considered authors that are torn between the both their homelands and those of their works that deal with, for the purpose of this article, significant themes: migrations, multiplicity of identities, differentiation between genders. The contribution deals with the works of the Moroccan poet and writer Tahar Ben Jelloun, a representative of the so-called male prose, with his last novel in particular. The work is dedicated entirely to the phenomenon of the emigration of Africans to Europe and to Spain in particular. In Europe, a better life does not await Ben Jelloun’s heroes but moral and personal decline and loss of identity. The so-called female prose, which I illuminate in the article by female authors Assja Djebar, Leila, and Nedjma, also deals with the search for identity and aims at having a cathartic and rousing role in the liberation of women from the patriarchal regulation of the Islamic traditional society, of which devastative tentacles catch young women of even the second and third generations of Arab immigrants in Europe. For a better understanding of this literature, I considered necessary the illumination of the social-political background of female problematic. A synoptic motive-thematic analysis of chosen works of modern Magreb male and female authors results in a conclusion that the two writings are similar above all by being torn between the two homelands, their cultures and religions, and that their heroes are not the carriers of multiple identities but of a single one, the identity of migrations.

25 / 2007

Maša Mikola

Quiet observer in the silent field: Ethnography and the present time

ABSTRACT
Ethnography as a methodological discipline today is challenged by many recent developments in the anthropological and sociological disciplines, mobility and movement, cross-cultural and transnational ties etc. Ethnographers deal with an increasingly mixed world of cultural elements. The position and the ambiguity of the researcher within the process of social inquiry has always been an important part of the anthropological methodological debate. With the debates on translocalities and globalisation proliferating links between places become more important. Contextual and demographic changes within the discipline raise new issues about identities of anthropologists in relation to those they study. Even though few would still question the legitimacy and value of multi-site ethnography today, the difficulties in actually doing it remain. As Susanne Friedberg notes, “they pose more or less formidable obstacles depending on the scope of the project and the time, money and other resources available” (Friedberg, 2001: 362-363). Not only aims, but the character of the multilocal or translocal (Hannerz, 2003) ethnography is changing the face of the discipline. Anthropology was traditionally inclined to ambiguities, passages and travels over and beyond the context, as well as beyond space and time. The recent changes however pose some new epistemological questions as well as some new ethical concerns. Not only that the places and sites of the ethnographic inquiry become less important, the people may become less important too. Broadening of the geographical field of ethnography has at the same time not brought many changes in the representation of the field. In the context of the anthropological standard that has not changed over time this paper uses the notions of 'otherising' and ‘silencing’ to explain some of the basic ways ethnographers built representations of other cultures and other people. The author negotiates the notion of the recognition, specifically in relation to the politics of recognition, and discusses the concept of authenticity that evolves from the politics of recognition. The paper examines the construction of the subject-object relation between the ethnographers and their subject area. It explores the shift in the nature of ethnographer’s connection to places and explains the idea of “being there… and there… and there” – the geographical connotation that justifies the authoritative position of the researcher in a globalised world. Even though the ethnographic practice was always difficult to identify, ethnography has undergone a significant transformation in recent decades. Ethnography nowadays is not simply characterised by the movement of the researcher from one stable and fixed place to another. Even when the ethnographer does not physically move, the travel can be happening. Not only the physical movement is important, crossing the borders of non-physical, imaginative world has become more common in ethnographic research of the present as well.

25 / 2007

Maša Mikola

Quiet observer in the silent field: Ethnography and the present time

ABSTRACT
Ethnography as a methodological discipline today is challenged by many recent developments in the anthropological and sociological disciplines, mobility and movement, cross-cultural and transnational ties etc. Ethnographers deal with an increasingly mixed world of cultural elements. The position and the ambiguity of the researcher within the process of social inquiry has always been an important part of the anthropological methodological debate. With the debates on translocalities and globalisation proliferating links between places become more important. Contextual and demographic changes within the discipline raise new issues about identities of anthropologists in relation to those they study. Even though few would still question the legitimacy and value of multi-site ethnography today, the difficulties in actually doing it remain. As Susanne Friedberg notes, “they pose more or less formidable obstacles depending on the scope of the project and the time, money and other resources available” (Friedberg, 2001: 362-363). Not only aims, but the character of the multilocal or translocal (Hannerz, 2003) ethnography is changing the face of the discipline. Anthropology was traditionally inclined to ambiguities, passages and travels over and beyond the context, as well as beyond space and time. The recent changes however pose some new epistemological questions as well as some new ethical concerns. Not only that the places and sites of the ethnographic inquiry become less important, the people may become less important too. Broadening of the geographical field of ethnography has at the same time not brought many changes in the representation of the field. In the context of the anthropological standard that has not changed over time this paper uses the notions of 'otherising' and ‘silencing’ to explain some of the basic ways ethnographers built representations of other cultures and other people. The author negotiates the notion of the recognition, specifically in relation to the politics of recognition, and discusses the concept of authenticity that evolves from the politics of recognition. The paper examines the construction of the subject-object relation between the ethnographers and their subject area. It explores the shift in the nature of ethnographer’s connection to places and explains the idea of “being there… and there… and there” – the geographical connotation that justifies the authoritative position of the researcher in a globalised world. Even though the ethnographic practice was always difficult to identify, ethnography has undergone a significant transformation in recent decades. Ethnography nowadays is not simply characterised by the movement of the researcher from one stable and fixed place to another. Even when the ethnographer does not physically move, the travel can be happening. Not only the physical movement is important, crossing the borders of non-physical, imaginative world has become more common in ethnographic research of the present as well.

25 / 2007

Rebeka Mesarić Žabčić

The lifestyle of the Croatian emigration corpus in Australia: experiences, opinions and standpoints of young Australian Croats

ABSTRACT
In the beginning of the 21st century, the Australian Croats represent one of the largest ethnic communities in Australia. The Republic of Croatia as a traditional emigration country belongs in the group of European states with relatively largest a number of emigrants or citizens outside own borders; in such context the work outlines the lifestyle of the Croatian emigration corpus in Australia, based in experiences, views and standpoints of the young generation of Australian Croats. Established are four massive emigration waves from Croatia. The period from 1880ies to World War I is considered the first larger emigration wave to overseas lands and emigration being caused by politics and economy. After World War II, the second large wave of emigration of Croats begins, caused by insufficient development of the country and as well by communist regime in the former state. The next larger emigration wave of Croatian citizens began in the sixties of the previous century, induced by the liberalisation of the state policy regarding the so-called temporary work abroad, to Western European countries, and caused by the poor condition of labour market in Croatia and Western European labour market demands. In the nineties of the previous century, the fourth greater wave of emigration of Croats across the borders of their native state began due to the aggression on the Republic of Croatia; the so-called forced migration began of a certain number of Croats from the major territory of the Republic of Croatia, and from Bosnia and Herzegovina as well.

In the first part, the contribution studies the historical dimension of Croatian emigrants in Australia while in the second stress is on the fieldwork that was carried out in 2003 in Australia, and is based on an analysis of interviews taken with the young generation of Croatian emigrants living in the state of New South Wales. Based on past researches, a reconstruction of the historical context is presented and an analysis of emigration; on the foundations of existing experiences, views and standpoints of the young generation of Croatian emigrants some conclusions were made on the lifestyle of the Croatian emigration corpus in the multicultural society of Australia. The selected cases indicate that the young generation of Australian Croats considers the knowledge of English language and post secondary education crucial for success and the achievement of wanted life and business goals. Through the increased interest in higher education, the younger generation of Croatian emigrants pointed out that they succeeded exclusively by adequate education to accomplish their goals, influence on the change of their social status and lifestyle. At the same time, the young Australian Croats give emphasis to insufficient practicing of the Croatian language, which could in due course result in total integration in the Australian multicultural society, and that they are not adequately represented in the existing associations, clubs and societies, which will in the future lead to problems regarding the taking over of the responsibility of guiding the Croatian community in Australia.

25 / 2007

Rebeka Mesarić Žabčić

The lifestyle of the Croatian emigration corpus in Australia: experiences, opinions and standpoints of young Australian Croats

ABSTRACT
In the beginning of the 21st century, the Australian Croats represent one of the largest ethnic communities in Australia. The Republic of Croatia as a traditional emigration country belongs in the group of European states with relatively largest a number of emigrants or citizens outside own borders; in such context the work outlines the lifestyle of the Croatian emigration corpus in Australia, based in experiences, views and standpoints of the young generation of Australian Croats. Established are four massive emigration waves from Croatia. The period from 1880ies to World War I is considered the first larger emigration wave to overseas lands and emigration being caused by politics and economy. After World War II, the second large wave of emigration of Croats begins, caused by insufficient development of the country and as well by communist regime in the former state. The next larger emigration wave of Croatian citizens began in the sixties of the previous century, induced by the liberalisation of the state policy regarding the so-called temporary work abroad, to Western European countries, and caused by the poor condition of labour market in Croatia and Western European labour market demands. In the nineties of the previous century, the fourth greater wave of emigration of Croats across the borders of their native state began due to the aggression on the Republic of Croatia; the so-called forced migration began of a certain number of Croats from the major territory of the Republic of Croatia, and from Bosnia and Herzegovina as well.

In the first part, the contribution studies the historical dimension of Croatian emigrants in Australia while in the second stress is on the fieldwork that was carried out in 2003 in Australia, and is based on an analysis of interviews taken with the young generation of Croatian emigrants living in the state of New South Wales. Based on past researches, a reconstruction of the historical context is presented and an analysis of emigration; on the foundations of existing experiences, views and standpoints of the young generation of Croatian emigrants some conclusions were made on the lifestyle of the Croatian emigration corpus in the multicultural society of Australia. The selected cases indicate that the young generation of Australian Croats considers the knowledge of English language and post secondary education crucial for success and the achievement of wanted life and business goals. Through the increased interest in higher education, the younger generation of Croatian emigrants pointed out that they succeeded exclusively by adequate education to accomplish their goals, influence on the change of their social status and lifestyle. At the same time, the young Australian Croats give emphasis to insufficient practicing of the Croatian language, which could in due course result in total integration in the Australian multicultural society, and that they are not adequately represented in the existing associations, clubs and societies, which will in the future lead to problems regarding the taking over of the responsibility of guiding the Croatian community in Australia.