Identities in Borderlands

Previous “Identities in Borderlands” conferences in Uzhhorod took place under challenging circumstances. The organization of the first conference (in 2021) was affected by pandemic-related restrictions, while the next one (in 2023) was planned just before the full-scale war that is still ongoing. Participants included representatives of many disciplines and researchers from various regions, representing Ukrainian and foreign academic, educational, and cultural institutions. Those meetings demonstrated the demand for a domestic platform for meetings and communication among scholars interested in "border studies."

We propose to devote this year's conference to the Carpathian region. In this definition of geographical space, we are not pioneers, but rather among the successors to the tradition of studying it. In particular, during the second half of the 20th century, an International Commission for the Study of the Culture of the Carpathians and the Balkan Region existed within the socialist bloc. It not only held conferences but also facilitated joint research involving scholars from various countries, opening up opportunities for them to exchange experiences, at least within the confines of the Iron Curtain. An additional reason for choosing this conference theme is that we plan to hold it in honor of the 90th anniversary of the birth of Transcarpathian ethnologist Mykhailo Tyvodar (1936–2017), who studied the ethnocultural characteristics of the Carpathian population throughout decades of his scholarly and teaching career.

The Carpathian region is a unique and fascinating example of borderlands, imperial and state frontiers, and peripheries, within which intriguing cultural configurations developed, significant historical events took place, and bearers of multiple identities formed and interacted. Recognizing this, we are confident that future conference and workshop participants will have plenty to discuss and share with their colleagues.

The following topics are proposed for discussion:

• the Carpathian region as a borderland in desk and field research;
• modernization processes and projects in the Carpathians in the 20th century;
• lifestyles and everyday life of the multicultural population of the Carpathians amid shifting political borders in the 20th century;
• religious boundaries and identities in the Carpathians;
• the informal economy: smuggling, exchange, and economic activity of the Carpathian borderland population;
• traditional and popular culture in the Carpathian borderlands;
• Carpathian "border towns" and collective identities in the late 19th–20th centuries;
• spaces of non-memory at the intersection of ethnocultural communities;
• other issues related to the main theme of the conference.

The conference and workshop will take place in-person on April 27–28, 2026. Conference sessions will be organized based on the selected submissions. The working languages of the conference are Ukrainian and English. Information regarding the selection results will be sent to applicants and participants no later than April 20.

The organizers do not cover transportation costs or accommodation in Uzhhorod, but can provide, if necessary, accommodation in a university dormitory.

To participate, please submit your application by April 10, 2026, to the email address of the Department of AEC at UzhNU: kaf-archeology@uzhnu.edu.ua. The application, in Ukrainian or English, should include your first and last name, institution, presentation topic, and an abstract of the presentation topic (up to 300 words).

Please also include in your application suggestions for sources from your own research collections that could be discussed during the educational workshop. This workshop is intended to serve as a practical complement to conference discussions and a platform for exchanging ideas regarding university teaching of modern history in the Carpathian region. The workshop will be part of a series of events held within the educational platform of the Center for Urban History REESOURCES, created to share research and teaching materials on the modern history of Eastern Europe. Previous workshops in the series took place at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in March 2025, Harvard University’s Davis Center in November 2024, and Princeton University in November 2023.

The organizing committee reserves the right to select applications.

A collection of conference proceedings is planned to be published following the conference.

Organizers' contact information:

E-mail: kaf-archeology@uzhnu.edu.ua

Mailing address: Department of Archaeology, Ethnology, and Cultural Studies, Faculty of History and International Relations, UzhNU, 3 Poshtova Square, Uzhhorod (Zakarpattia Oblast).

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Credits

Cover Image: A hiking trip by students from Lviv Secondary School No. 4 to the Carpathians. A section of the hike near Volovets, 1960s / Collection of Yuriy Vdovenko / Urban Media Archive of the Center for Urban History