IDENTITY, LANGUAGE AND CULTURE OF SLAVIC IMMIGRANTS IN SOUTH AMERICA: BETWEEN TRANSFORMATION AND PRESERVATION
Different communities of the Slavic diaspora coexist in the countries of South America, whose ancestors emigrated from various parts of Eastern and Central Europe starting in the late nineteenth century. At present, studies are emerging that examine individual aspects of the historical development of these communities, as well as their linguistic and cultural adaptation. Recent research worth mentioning includes “Paraguay y los pueblos sudeslavos” [Paraguay and the South Slavic Peoples], Volume 1, edited by Slobodan Pajovic, Julia Velilla Laconich, and José Zanardini, Asunción, 2024; and “Eslavos en el Paraguay” [Slavs in Paraguay], Volume II, edited by Roberto Zub Kurylowicz, Asunción, 2025.
However, there is still a lack of scientific venues where the characteristics of the development of the various Slavic groups residing in South America can be discussed and analyzed together. Often, in the same locality, descendants of immigrants from Eastern and Central Europe live close to one another (as, for example, in the case of Belarusians, Poles, Ukrainians, and Russians in the provinces of Misiones and Chaco in Argentina, or in the department of Itapúa in Paraguay).
The aim of the symposium is to create such a space for scientific dialogue among researchers who study the language, history, and culture of these diasporas, as well as among the members of these communities themselves. The symposium seeks to draw the attention of linguists, historians, anthropologists, and ethnographers, including those researchers who have carried out fieldwork among the communities in question.
Topics to be discussed include the preservation of the languages of the Slavic diasporas. The documentation of these communities’ languages is a primary task for linguistics, since their characteristics and functioning under new conditions remain little studied.
It is also planned to discuss the history of the formation of these communities, the stages of adaptation and their development in the new territory, and their relationship with native populations, as well as institutional support and its functioning.
Questions of cultural identity are extremely important, especially in those groups where the Slavic language has practically been lost as a means of communication and a transition has been made to the language of the surrounding environment.
Special attention should be paid to the set of concepts related to intangible spiritual culture, the preservation of folklore, and traditional beliefs.
It is also planned to discuss an important aspect such as the preservation of written heritage and photographs belonging to the descendants of immigrants, since family archives hold valuable data on the history of migration, adaptation in the new location, and ties to the families who remained in Europe.
Likewise, the symposium will discuss other aspects of the immigration and adaptation of Slavic diasporas belonging to other regions not mentioned above. The organizers welcome researchers of the diasporas and invite them to take part in the discussion of the topics raised. Looking ahead, the formation of a scientific community and the strengthening of ties around this subject among researchers is anticipated.
