Historical Memory
How might we remember history in a region of changing borders?
Why the Balkans?
Yugoslavia, the Union of Southern Slavs, was designed to bring together a diverse mix of identities, histories, and religions. That was until war erupted in the 1990’s, and Yugoslavia began to break apart. In its place, Europe gained six new countries, and a region with a complicated history became even more complicated.
When we travel through the countries of the former Yugoslavia, we are confronted with some incredible stories, from the times when the country was a global leader to horror stories of war. As we hear and collect these different perspectives though, it is striking how the historical narratives and perspectives before, during, and after the war vary. How might we make sense of the overlapping and conflicting narratives of history in the region? How can we understand how history and identity are crafted? How might we help everyone understand that history has a voice?
INSIGHTS + PROJECTS
On every Atlas Workshops program, the group works on an inquiry with real-world implications. Through intentional exploration, engagement with locals and experts, and team activities, students generate new insights and ideas about the topics, places, and global issues they’re investigating.
For some groups, the program incorporates a more extensive project—an opportunity to apply our learning and stretch our creative thinking by making something tangible or public.
We work to share the ideas and inspiration we find in the world, with the world, through collaborative initiatives and student expression. We can also work with you to develop a custom project or publish students’ insights via exhibition, photography, digital or print media, or other format.
Suggested Itinerary
This base itinerary is designed to travel to Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. We can customize this program to spend more or less time in any of these stops, to entirely skip some, or to visit other countries in the region as well.
Framing Historical Narratives: 3-4 Nights
Zagreb and Vukovar, Croatia
Zagreb, the capital of Croatia is the perfect place to start out time in the region. In Zagreb we will meet with historians to understand the formation and breakup of Yugoslavia from a high level and especially focus on the Croatian perspective. We will understand how Croatia recently joined the EU and get a taste of the Austro-Hungarian routes many Croatians identify with. We will learn about the bombings in Zagreb before we head out to Vukovar at the Serbian border and a location of major fighting in the 1990s.
The Yugoslav Capital: 2-3 Nights
Belgrade, Serbia
When we arrive in Belgrade we will explore the city with a lens on the capital of Yugoslavia. We will visit Tito’s final resting place and museum and take a boat trip on the Danube. At the top of the old city, we will explore the history and unique identity of Serbia and visit one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world.
Moving Beyond Conflict: 3-7 Nights
Sarajaveo and Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
As we leave Belgrade we will cross into Bosnia and Herzegovina and have an opportunity to stop in the region of Srebrenica to learn about the Srebrenica Genocide. In Sarajevo we will work to make sense of how the war reached Bosnia, a country with a strong history of mixed ethnicities and religions. We will learn about the siege and the fighting that took place in and around the city as we meet with survivors and veterans of the war, visit the supply tunnel under the airport, and take in the city from the overlook at the site of the 1984 Winter Olympic bobsled track. We will then head out of the mountains to Mostar to learn about the different histories and divisions in this region of the country.
On the Adriatic: 1-4 Nights
Dalmatia, Croatia
We will end our program back in Croatia. We can make some stops along the coast to spend some time to process our program so far and work on our project outputs. We will then end our program in Dubrovnik. Here we will have one last exploration of the history from the city overlook that now houses the homeland war museum. We will then head into the old city to explore the narrow streets and city walls before our closing evening of the program.
Want to Learn More?
Custom Programs & Modifications
We have designed this itinerary to maximize the value and breadth of our project and program. We can modify any program, or we can plan an entirely custom program. This itinerary could be adapted to focus on more specific learning outcomes, visit different regions, hit a different price point, combine with another program, or cover a longer or shorter schedule based on the group’s needs.
Continue Browsing
You can also check out other programs in the Balkans, request a custom program, or explore other historical memory or other related programs:
