Foča identity in historical perspective : International Scientific Conference : proceedings / [editor Mesud Šadinlija ; translation Emir O. Filipović]. Sarajevo : The Bosniak Institute – Adil Zulfikarpašić Foundation =Bošnjački institut – Fondacija Adila Zulfikarpašića, 2025.-

ISBN: 978-9958-743-68-9

The thematic scope of the proceedings “Foča – Identity in a Historical Perspective” encompasses a wide range of questions and more narrowly defined topics concerning the history of Foča from the medieval period to contemporary times. The contributions included herein constitute scholarly interventions aimed at advancing knowledge of Foča’s past and its population, with particular attention to matters of identity in all their dimensions: religious, ethnic, national, cultural, and others. The Bosnian medieval period has been adopted as the principal chronological point of departure. The era that witnessed the most pronounced development of the town and the broader Foča region—as well as significant transformations in prevailing social and cultural paradigms—was the period of Ottoman rule. Special emphasis is placed on the historical processes and events of the 20th century, which indelibly marked the identity of the town and the entire region through recurring episodes of mass violence perpetrated during the two World Wars and the most recent aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995.

This volume comprises sixteen contributions by distinguished scholars from the fields of history and related academic disciplines, each working within their respective areas of specialization and the historical periods to which they are dedicated. Their studies and the analytical insights they offer into shifts within various strata of historical experience are intended to facilitate a deeper understanding of the identity of Foča and its inhabitants, as it developed and persisted up to the close of the 20th century. Familiarity with this historical substratum—which constitutes both the central theme and the principal objective of the conference—represents an essential foundation for addressing the question of what the identity of Foča signifies today, and whether it may be said to exist at all as a coherent, albeit broadly defined, constellation of shared values and characteristics among individuals whose origins are connected to Foča.