Slovene immigrant settlements in the USA and in Australia and influence of the internet conections for retaining Slovene identity
Head of the project:
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Matjaž Klemenčič, Ph.D. (Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor; IES) |
Cooperators: |
Samo Kristen, Ph.D. (IES), Janez Stergar (IES), Nada Vilhar (IES), Jernej Zupančič, Ph.D. (Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana; IES) |
Con. No.:
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J6-9818 (C)
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Duration of the project: |
January 2007 – December 2009
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In this project we are going to research selected communities of Slovenes in the western part of the U.S.A. and in Australia, investigating the following topics: the process of immigration and settlement in the countries of immigration; the specific organizations (Slovene national homes or sport and cultural clubs, fraternal organizations /specific to the U.S.A./, and ethnic parishes [for the U.S.A.] and Catholic missions [for Australia]). We shall do research also on the political participation of members of those communities in the new homelands and the interest of both groups in the destiny of Slovenia and Slovenes during the periods of crisis in the Slovene ethnic territory. We research also the importance of internet connections for preserving ethnic identity among both groups of Slovenes. We shall also make a comparative analysis based on case studies between the older group of Slovenes in the U.S. West, whose members are mostly descendants of Slovene immigrants who settled in the U.S. one hundred years ago, and younger Australian Slovene communities.
We shall limit our studies to Slovene communities in Pueblo (Colorado) and Rock Springs (Wyoming). We are going to use also the results of previous research on Slovene communities in Leadville (Colorado) and San Francisco (California). In Australia we are going to limit our research to Slovene communities in Melbourne, Brisbane, and the Gold Coast.
Sources for the research on Slovene communities in the U.S.A. are:
- Archival sources kept by government institutions (results of U.S. censuses; archives of city councils);
- Private institutions of public interest (archives of Catholic parishes and dioceses);
- Archives of individual Slovene fraternal benefit societies;
- Archives of selected Slovene national homes and cultural societies;
- Ethnic newspapers and other published sources;
- Interviews
Sources for the research on Slovene communities in Australia are:
- Archival sources kept by Australian government institutions (results of Australian censuses);
- Private institutions of public interest (archives of Catholic missions and dioceses);
- Archives of individual Slovene clubs and cultural societies;
- Ethnic newspapers and other published sources;
- Interviews.