PRESENTATION ESSHC IN VIENNA, APRIL 2014

No Need for Community? South Slav Migrants in Vienna around 1900

Presentation at the European Social Science History Conference 2014 in Vienna, 23-26 April

Session: Migration and Migrant Communities in 18th and 19th Century Central European Cities

Abstract: South Slavs were only a small fraction of migrants in Vienna, and they were before WWI, almost entirely elite and career migrants. Though, in the first half of the 19th century, they played a considerable economic and political role in Vienna. This was also one of the places, where South-Slav identity projects were located, even launched. However, at the end of the century, they were virtually invisible in the city’s discourses and media. This is all the more surprising as at the same time, one segment of migrants had immensely increased: the students. This presentation will attempt several explanations of this phenomenon. The context of political and economic change and of competing identity projects and their interaction will be the major focus of this talk.