Paths to Belonging: Constructing Local Identity in Banat by Means of Monuments, Cultural Heritage and Historiography

Banat is a former Austro-Hungarian region currently shared by Romania, Serbia and Hungary. This multidisciplinary investigation of Banat identity brings together the studies of researchers from diverse scientific fields: anthropology, cultural studies, history, political science and sociology. The contributions focus on three major issues. The first chapter analyses the role played by 'cultural heritage' in shaping regional identity and comes with a series of conceptual explanations which also offer some case studies not only about how ethnic groups construct and renegotiate their identity by means of monuments in the region but also about how other types of heritage, artistic and printed, are connected to the issue of identity. The second chapter documents how the identity of the region has been changed or reconstructed throughout various historical ages. Finally, in case studies the third chapter analyses the self-legitimising character of the region's historical texts.

Cover -- 1. CULTURAL HERITAGE, MONUMENTS AND IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION -- Evolution of "cultural heritage" and "historical monument" in Romania -- 1. Semantic development of "cultural heritage" and "historical monument" -- 2. The evolution of the meanings of "cultural heritage" and "historical monument" in Romania. -- 2.1. The period between 1874 and 1948. Emergence and stablishment of the term "historical monument". -- 2.2. The period between 1948 and 1977. New dimension of the cultural heritage. -- 2.3. The period between 1977 and 1989. The end of an era. -- 2.4. After 1989 - new expansion and contemporary roles of cultural heritage -- 3. Conclusion -- Monuments of Public Art and the Intercultural Dialogue. The Case of the Austrian Military Monument in Timişoara -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The antecedents of the erection of the monument, its description and the circumstances of its erection -- 3. The monument and the local community -- 4. Harrison's typology of the symbolic conflicts -- 5. The case of the Austrian military monument in the light of Harrison's typology -- A Failed Monument: Collective Memory and Identity Association in the Case of Ioan Slavici Memorial Church -- Introduction -- What Was Slavici's Church Supposed to Look Like? -- Nationalists and German Supporters: The Association of the Two Identities in a Common Project -- Instead of Conclusions: The Failure of the Project -- References -- Building a New Cultural and Artistic Identity in Timişoara in the 1960s-1970s -- Images -- Digitizing Banat's cultural heritage. Concepts and potential of a regional digitization strategy -- Introduction -- Definition and categorization of digital libraries -- Theoretical guidelines for a national digitization strategy -- The digitization of the heritage of historical national minorities -- Digitizing the heritage of a historical multicultural region.