This conference about the development of Rijeka in the period of socialist Yugoslavia focuses on the collective identities in the new movement and the development of new places of memory that gain a special meaning in the connection with communism and construction of new ideological narratives.

The aim of the conference is the enhancing of academic research and dialogue about the history of Rijeka and other cities, marked by socialist modernisation after the Second World War in Yugoslavia and Europe. Besides the historical settings and circumstances, the conference also places an emphasis on the themes of borders, identity and the influence of ideologies on the urban centres in these systems, on the observing of places of memory, the studying of gender issues and the perception of visual arts.

The conference covers several aspects of the historical development of Rijeka during the period of socialist Yugoslavia via the comparative analysis of similar cities: it depicts the historical context and the new social determinants, shows the development of the new social identity in the cities and their transformation in the new political systems, and emphasises the development of new places of memory that gain a special meaning in connection with communism and the construction of new ideological narratives.

The conference’s programme was created by Vjeran Pavlaković, University of Rijeka (HR) and Boris Stamenić, Documenta – Centre for Dealing with the Past (HR), and taking part in the conference are the lecturers Ulf Brunnbauer(AT), Heike Karge (DE), Brigitte Le Normand (CA), Hrvoje Klasić (HR), Tvrtko Jakovina (HR), Igor Duda (HR), Mitja Velikonja (SI), Tanja Petrović (RS) and Dean Vuletić (AU).