Call for papers to a session at the

IXth International Conference on Urban History
›Comparative History of European Cities‹
(European Association for Urban History)

Session abstract:

»Self-Representation and Public Culture of the Balkan Urban Classes«

The 19th century is known as the period when modern discourse was established in European societies, promoted initially by urban ‘middle classes’. A similar process can be observed in Balkan cities, even though it is also well known that it happened in a different context and from different starting conditions.

The Balkan urban classes had to negotiate more and/or other differences than was the case in western cities – what was specific in the Balkans, was the urge to negotiate a stigmatized past and perceived yet experienced peripherality. These issues of difference were attributed to the Ottoman legacy, and came in addition to class, gender and race.

This session is open to contributions that discuss the ways in which Balkan elites established a new social hegemony under the pretext of Ottoman legacies in the urban environment, putting an emphasis on lived ways of self-representation: rituals, consumption, networks, societies, communication, media, cultural life, and the built environment.

Topics may include but do not have to be limited to: literary communication, audiences, societies and leisure clubs, processions, festivities and monuments, theatre life, sports and negotiations of the Ottoman heritage, such as the re-design of the cityscape. The time period is the ‘long’ 19th century.

Contributions addressing the differences between cities within a country or of different countries are especially welcome.