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Route biographies: walking and writing as methods for researching border regions

Description

Routes and borders as well as walking and writing are at the heart of this research. How is this world at once enmeshed and separate? Distant and close? Universal and particular? Fluid and fixed? We want to address these questions through the missing dialogue between routes and borders, applying walking and writing as two mutually connected experimental methods for researching border regions. In comparison to walking, writing as a method is an under-researched topic as there is a persistent belief that writing comes at the end of a scholarly enquiry, following the consecutive read-research-write logic. We want to loosen the rigidity of these prescribed steps and use writing as a full-bloodied method in its own right – an “art of knowing”, vital to broader methodological and epistemological concerns that bring walking and writing more closely together. A biographic approach to routes will allow us to reflect on the complex interplay of the temporal and spatial, the material, economic, cultural, political as well as the every-day aspects of selected routes, organised around five case studies. The proposed project takes a walk with Istrian peninsula, an under-researched area in north-eastern Adriatic, characterized by heterogeneous and “moving” images of places, people and things, forming an important part of the cultural, economic and political make-up of Europe. Istria, replete with borders and routes, serves this methodological experiment well, as it has long been defined by its position as a frontier space contested by competing empires and states (the Muslim East and Christian West, the Habsburg Empire, the Venetian Republic, the Ottoman Empire), ethnic, linguistic and national divisions between people living along the coast and in the hinterlands (that became increasingly evident in the 19th century along the Eastern Adriatic coast), as a borderland between the communist East and the capitalist West (after 1945) and other contemporary regional divisions (Mediterranean–Balkans–Alps–Central Europe). These competing traditions continue to resonate in the contemporary representations of cultural spheres in Istria, today shared by three nation states – Slovenia, Croatia and Italy. While the borders of various kinds have been critical for defining the Istria region, we propose to shift the perspective to routes as an alternative place-making device. We argue that routes – always in dialogue with borders, – critically reflect on existing notions of locality. Walking and writing seem to be tailored to research on routes, while routes, either new or well-beaten, are intertwined in various ways with walking and travelogues.

 

Work plan

The research will undergo 5 different phases of the work program (embedded in all five work packages), with some time overlap among the phases: 1. Orientation: identifying key literature, textbooks, tourist brochures, media material, the survey of policy documents, and initial analysis of these materials linked with the selected routes (first-level analysis); 2. Collaboration: joint reading circles and other project working meetings; 3. Fieldwork: walking/driving/writing seminars, interviews, participant observation, workshops, and focus groups collecting photo and video material; 4. Analysis: the second-level analysis based on the first-level analysis; 5. Synthesis: synthesis of the partial analysis, and production of final results.


Results

SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES, BOOK CHAPTERS

  1. ROGELJA CAF, Nataša. Walking with the Rižana River : ethnographic experiments in the Anthropocene. Anthropological notebooks. [Spletna izd.]. 2022, vol. 28, no. 3, str. 11-38, ilustr. ISSN 2232-3716. Digitalna knjižnica Slovenije - dLib.si, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7463496. [COBISS.SI-ID 143110915]
  2. ROGELJA CAF, Nataša, BOFULIN, Martina, PIPAN, Primož. Fish stories between past and future : competing and complementary heritage imaginaries in the Northeast Adriatic. Maritime studies. Sep. 2023, vol. 22, iss. 3, art. 38, 12 str., ilustr. ISSN 2212-9790. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40152-023-00327-z, DOI: 10.1007/s40152-023-00327-z. [COBISS.SI-ID 162078467]
  3. JELNIKAR, Ana. In the Name of the Lord or My Passage to India: missionary travelogues as a gendered site of diverse ideas and expectations. Studies in travel writing. 2024, vol. 27, no. 3, str. 197-222, fotogr. ISSN 1364-5145. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13645145.2024.2447873, DOI: 10.1080/13645145.2024.2447873. [COBISS.SI-ID 226579203]
  4. LEDINEK LOZEJ, Špela, PISK, Marjeta. The walk of peace : heritage-border complex between Slovenia and Italy. V: MOZAFFARI, Ali (eds.), HARVEY, David Charles (eds.). Border-straddling heritages : containment, contestation and appreciation of shared pasts. New York; Oxford: Berghahn, cop. 2025. Str. 175-198, ilustr. Explorations in Heritage Studies, vol. 10. ISBN 978-1-83695-234-3. https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781836952350/html#overview. [COBISS.SI-ID 256270339]
  5. ROGELJA CAF, Nataša (author, photographer), LEDINEK LOZEJ, Špela (author, photographer), GREGORIČ BON, Nataša (editor), KOKALJ, Žiga (editor). Hodopisi : zbirka etnografskih esejev z metodološkimi premisleki o hoji in pisanju. 1. izd. Ljubljana: Založba ZRC, 2023. 215 str., ilustr., zvd. Prostor, kraj, čas, 21. ISBN 978-961-05-0707-9. ISSN 2712-2840. dCOBISS. [COBISS.SI-ID 141904131]
  6. ELIXHAUSER, Sophie, BONI, Zofia, GREGORIČ BON, Nataša, KANJIR, Urška, MEYER, Alexandra, MUTTENZER, Frank, PAMPUS, Mareike, SOKOLÍČKOVA, Zdenka. Interdisciplinary, but how? Anthropological perspectives from collaborative research on climate and environmental change. Environmental science & policy. Jan. 2024, vol. 151, [article no.] 103586, str. 1-7. ISSN 1873-6416. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901123002356?via%3Dihub, DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2023.103586. [COBISS.SI-ID 169177091]
  7. ROGELJA CAF, Nataša. Casting a sideways glance : walking-writing experiments with the river. V: ERNSTEN, Christian (eds.), SHEPHERD, Nick (eds.). Walking as embodied research : drift, pause, indirection. London; New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, 2024. Str. 288-305. ISBN 978-1-032-01022-9, ISBN 978-1-032-03968-8. DOI: 10.4324/9781003189992.2-25. [COBISS.SI-ID 213653763]
  8. GREGORIČ BON, Nataša, KANJIR, Urška, STANČIČ, Liza. Intersecting big and thick data: approaching landscape changes in rural Vjosa River Valley, Albania. Social sciences & humanities open. 2025, vol. 12, [article no.] 102012, 16 str., ilustr., graf. prikazi, zvd. ISSN 2590-2911. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291125007405?lid=jua9g5tkojjo, DOI: 10.1016/j.ssaho.2025.102012. [COBISS.SI-ID 256451843]
  9. ROGELJA CAF, Nataša. On the Essay’s Place in Scientific Writing. Toward a Disobedient Epistemology. Traditiones 55 (2), in press 2026 (kontakt za preverbo: tematski urednici Ana Svetel in Manca Filak obe ZRC SAZU).
  10. ROGELJA CAF, Nataša (author, photographer), LEDINEK LOZEJ, Špela (author, photographer), POGAČAR, Martin (editor), Barbara Skubic (translator). Footnotes. Ethnographic Essays with Methodological Reflections on Walking and Writing. Berlin - Bruxelles - Chennai - Lausanne - New York – Oxford: Peter Lang. Forthcoming (kontakt za preverbo: urednik Martin Pogačar ZRC SAZU).

 

CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS, PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS

  1. ROGELJA CAF, Nataša. Presentation of the project "Route Biographies" : predavanje na mednarodnem seminarju "Route Biographies - Focus on Rivers", ZRC SAZU, Prešernova dvorana, Ljubljana, 29. mar. 2023. [COBISS.SI-ID 177731843]
  2. Mednarodni seminar "Route Biographies - Focus on Rivers", ZRC SAZU, Prešernova dvorana, Ljubljana, 29. mar. 2023. https://www.zrc-sazu.si/sl/dogodki/route-biographies-biografije-poti
  3. GREGORIČ BON, Nataša, KANJIR, Urška. Dynamic landscapes of the Vjosa Delta: an intersection of remote sensing and ethnographic research : predavanje na International Vjosa Delta Symposium "An Ecosystem in Transition", Hotel Partner, Vlora, Albania, 27.-28. October 2023. [COBISS.SI-ID 171971331]
  4. GREGORIČ BON, Nataša. Engaging pasts, unlocking futures : predavanje na mednarodni konferenci "Europe's Past, Present and Future : Utopias and Dystopias", University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland, June 27-29, 2023. [COBISS.SI-ID 161295875]
  5. GREGORIČ BON, Nataša, STANČIČ, Liza, KANJIR, Urška. Vjosa riverine environments at the intersection of big and thick data : predavanje na mednarodnem seminarju "Route Biographies - Focus on Rivers", ZRC SAZU, Prešernova dvorana, Ljubljana, 29. March 2023. [COBISS.SI-ID 150086147]
  6. GOMBAČ, Jure, ROGELJA CAF, Nataša, KLUN, Lucija. Counter-archive: reflections on the (im)possibility of migrant heritage. Heriskop : razprave o dediščinjenju na obrobju. [Tiskana izd.]. 2024, [št.] 5, str. 16-29, ilustr. ISSN 2738-4470. https://dediscina.zrc-sazu.si/en/2024/05/counter-archive-reflections-on-the-nonpossibility-of-migrant-heritage/#page-content. [COBISS.SI-ID 196331267]
  7. LEDINEK LOZEJ, Špela. Dragonja FootNotes. V: Around the fire 2024 : Around the Fire Symposium programme : 31 May 2024. Belfast: Queen’s University, Centre for Creative Ethnography, 2024. Str. 6-7. https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/happ/filestore/Around%20the%20Fire%20Programme_FINAL_20.05.2024.pdf. [COBISS.SI-ID 198845443]
  8. LEDINEK LOZEJ, Špela. Infrastructure of violence. V: POOLE, Simon (eds.), SCHRIRE, Dani (eds.), VALISENA, Daniele (eds.). Mobile heritage : walking and the environment through future and historical perspectives : September 16-19, 2024, in Hanaholmen, Finland : conference proceedings. Gothenburg: One by Walking: Utopian Stories, 2025. Str. 21-22. ISBN 978-91-527-7730-5. https://www.onebywalking.net/_files/ugd/657f18_55935614299c45aea46b34b890789616.pdf. [COBISS.SI-ID 236251651]
  9. CASON, Mattia (interviewee), LEDINEK LOZEJ, Špela (interviewee). E for Europe : pogovor o inovativnem raziskovalnem projektu v oddaji Kulturni dogodki, Rai PlaySound, 31. maj 2024. [COBISS.SI-ID 198845955]
  10. GOMBAČ, Jure. Na vrtu (ne)vidnih: kritičen razmislek o pomenu skupne dediščine (ne)vidnih migracij v evropskem kontekstu : predstavitev na delavnici ob odprtju razstave, avla Armerije UP, Koper, 23. mar. 2024. [COBISS.SI-ID 191152643]
  11. GOMBAČ, Jure, KLUN, Lucija. „It is too hard” : consequences of „prevention through deterrence”, „weaponised landscapes”, „pushbacks” and „migrant garbage” policies on the Croatian – Slovenian – Italian border : predavanje na znanstveno-strokovni konferenci "Migracije i identitet: kultura, ekonomija, država 3", Zagreb, 11.-12. nov. 2024. [COBISS.SI-ID 215293187]
  12. GOMBAČ, Jure. Counter-mapping the Croatian-Slovenian-Italian borders: predavanje na TheGame workshop #4: Walking the Route, Session 3: Material cuture on the Route v okviru projekta TheGAME: Counter-mapping informal refugee mobilities along the Balkan Route, University of Trieste/Trst (Italija), 18. jun. 2025. [COBISS.SI-ID 247436547]
  13. LEDINEK LOZEJ, Špela, ROGELJA CAF, Nataša, SCHEMMER, Janine. Messy entanglements : arts, ethnography, and local narratives between the Adriatic and the Alps : predavanje na konferenci, Association of Critical Heritage Studies, Central and Eastern Europe Chapter, Univerza v Varšavi, 27. do 29. avgust 2025. [COBISS.SI-ID 247143171]
  14. ROGELJA CAF, Nataša. Archiving silences. V: POOLE, Simon (eds.), SCHRIRE, Dani (eds.), VALISENA, Daniele (eds.). Mobile heritage : walking and the environment through future and historical perspectives : September 16-19, 2024, in Hanaholmen, Finland : conference proceedings. Gothenburg: One by Walking: Utopian Stories, 2025. Str. 27-33, ilustr. ISBN 978-91-527-7730-5. https://www.onebywalking.net/_files/ugd/657f18_55935614299c45aea46b34b890789616.pdf. [COBISS.SI-ID 235764227]
  15. LEDINEK LOZEJ, Špela, ROGELJA CAF, Nataša, SCHEMMER, Janine. On the paths of Europe : ethnography of performative interventions between Alps and Adriatic Sea = Etnografija performativnih posegov na območju med Alpami in Jadranskim morjem. V: MORIC, Anja (eds.), PISK, Marjeta (eds.). Ours, Yours, Theirs, No One's? Heritage of Multicultural Areas : international conference : June 10-14 2025, Ljubljana, Slovenia = Naša, vaša, njihova, nikogaršnja? Dediščina večkulturnih območij : mednarodni znanstveni posvet : 10.-14. junij 2025, Ljubljana, Slovenija. 1st e-ed. Ljubljana: ZRC SAZU, 2025. Str. 14-15. ISBN 978-961-05-1017-8. https://gni.zrc-sazu.si/sites/default/files/e_publikacija_Nasa_vasa_njihova_nikogarsnja_Dediscina_veckulturnih_obmocij.pdf. [COBISS.SI-ID 238960387]
  16. ROGELJA CAF, Nataša, LEDINEK LOZEJ, Špela. Walking across borders in the N Adriatic : the case of women traders called Šavrinkas : paper presented at the Moonlighting project workshop "Hidden Economies: Modern Women between Precarity and Illegality", Ljubljana, Gosposka dvorana ZM GIAM ZRC SAZU, 21. 1. 2026. [COBISS.SI-ID 266350339]
  17. LEDINEK LOZEJ, Špela. Borders, heritage and history : sodelovanja na okrogli mizi na zimski šoli Borders, memory, and territorial transformations in the Alpine region, University of Bozen-Bolzano, 11 February 2026. [COBISS.SI-ID 268828419]

 

INTERVIEWS, MEDIA RESPONSES

  1. LEDINEK LOZEJ, Špela, ROGELJA CAF, Nataša. Po poteh Šavrink : prispevek ob razstavi v Smokvici pri Gračišču, Radio Koper, oddaja Pol ure kulture, 4. marec 2025. [COBISS.SI-ID 228955651]
  2. ROGELJA CAF, Nataša, LEDINEK LOZEJ, Špela. Potepanja po poteh Šavrinke Marije : predstavitev razstave v okviru prireditve "Melodije šavrinske duše: odmevi preteklosti v razstavi, glasbi, poeziji", Bržanova domačija, Smokvica, 28. februar 2025. [COBISS.SI-ID 227723779]
  3. DEKLEVA, Goran (interviewer), GOMBAČ, Jure (interviewee). Jure Gombač: Meja je precej več kot le črta na ozemlju. Ljubljana: Radiotelevizija Slovenija javni zavod, 2025. 1 spletni vir (1 zvočna datoteka (31 min, 42 sek). Podobe znanja. https://ars.rtvslo.si/podkast/podobe-znanja/526/175105361. [COBISS.SI-ID 225976579]
  4. ROGELJA CAF, Nataša, PISK, Marjeta, GOMBAČ, Jure, MLEKUŽ, Dimitrij, GREGORIČ BON, Nataša, ROGELJA, Igor. Predstavitev izsledkov znanstvenoraziskovalnega projekta Biografije istrskih poti (ZRC SAZU, 2022-2025) : okrogla miza na tridelnem dogodku s skupnim imenom Iztirjeno, Atrij ZRC, Ljubljana, 10. 11. 2025. [COBISS.SI-ID 263657475]

 

OTHER – EXHIBITIONS, WALKING SEMINARS, EDITORIAL WORK, PROFESSIONAL AND ARTISTIC ARTICLES

  1. SCHMIDT, Ajda (photographer, exhibition curator), ROGELJA CAF, Nataša (exhibition curator). Iztirjeno = Off the rails : otvoritev fotografske razstave Ajde Schmidt. 10.11. 2025, Atrij ZRC, Ljubljana. [COBISS.SI-ID 263657731]
  2. Footnotes. ROGELJA CAF, Nataša et al. (editorial board members 2025-). Ljubljana: ZRC SAZU, Založba ZRC, 2025-. ISSN 3024-0662. https://footnotes.zrc-sazu.si/. [COBISS.SI-ID 244690947]
  3. ROGELJA, Igor (exhibition curator and author), ROGELJA CAF, Nataša (exhibition curator and author), BOFULIN, Martina (exhibition curator and author), BAJEC Manca (exhibition curator and author). Walking, Seeing, Hearing Infrastructure. 10.2. 2025, UCL, London. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of-advanced-studies/events/2025/feb/walking-seeing-hearing-infrastructure
  4. ROGELJA CAF, Nataša, LEDINEK LOZEJ, Špela (curators and authors). Potepanja po poteh Šavrinke Marije: exhibition in the framework of "Melodije šavrinske duše: odmevi preteklosti v razstavi, glasbi, poeziji", Bržanova domačija, Smokvica, 28. februar 2025. [COBISS.SI-ID 227723779]

Research Project