HerCuLIS is an innovative comparative study of the complex relationship between linguistic and cultural identity of a number of Serbian diaspora communities which belong to the dominant sphere of political and cultural impact on the global scale (as representatives of the Anglo-Saxon and the European Union political constructs). The study provides the Serbian and the international academic communities with valuable data on the construction of transnational identities in Serbian diaspora communities in the second half of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries and it supports heritage language maintenance and revitalization in diaspora.
HerCuLIS is an interdisciplinary project which encompasses several fields of research in humanities (sociolinguistics, anthropological linguistics, language and education policies, cultural studies, etc.), and in applied digital and information technology. Furthermore, it is also a transdisciplinary project that not only provides innovative links among the aforementioned areas but also plans to have a significant impact on the education, economy, and society at large.
Academic Impact
The Project is unique in the way that it adds to a construction of an innovative, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach to Serbian language and culture beyond Serbian national borders by adding to our existing knowledge the vital component of diaspora language and culture, which has until now been rarely researched systematically and described and accounted for in its scientific complexity.
It takes into account the rich diversity of the contemporary Serbian diaspora from the social, linguistic, historical, territorial, cultural, religious, and other points of view.
It fills a serious research gap regarding the understanding of the complex phenomenon of interactions between Serbian as a heritage language and cultural identity construction in Serbian diaspora communities.
Applicative Potential
HeRCuLIS provides a solid foundation for further systematic, scientific, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary research of the Serbian diaspora worldwide, understood as an intrinsic part of the Serbian national cultural heritage; this in and of itself is an innovation as it opens space for a creation of a new field of research – Diaspora studies (as has already been established in other ex-Yugoslavia countries), which would inspire collaborative research activities among experts and scholars from various academic disciplines.
The research results can also be implemented in an innovative curriculum design and development (MA and PhD programmes) in the area of Diaspora studies and Serbian as heritage language studies.
The results may also find their application in the area of language policy and planning and language education policy targeting maintenance and revitalization of Serbian as a heritage language among Serbian Diaspora worldwide (through curricula design for Serbian as a heritage language and through systemic activities promoting family language policy and planning empowering diaspora communities to consider Serbian as a resource and assuring its transgenerational transfer).
HerCuLIS also builds and promotes stronger scientific and socio-cultural ties between Serbian Diaspora communities worldwide and their motherland Serbia which should result in construction of a unified Serbian National Diaspora Strategy.
The Project results enhance the visibility of the Serbian Diaspora both in Serbia proper and internationally, thus raising the general awareness of the diverse rich identities of Serbian Diaspora and their contribution to Serbian cultural heritage.
