From Borderland to Burgenland: Science, Geopolitics, Identity, and the Making of a Region

The Austrian federal province of Burgenland was part of the Hungarian part of the Habsburg empire until the end of World War I. This book explores how those studying Burgenland, the creators of its geographical knowledge, saw and represented the province, tracing the geographical discourses in the interwar period and beyond. It argues that Burgenland became a successful geographical project, departing from thoughts of subdivision, unviability, and backwardness and concentrating on fertility, unity, and modernization.

Format: Hardback
Length: 382 pages
Publication date: 31 August 2024
Publisher: Central European University Press

The Austrian federal province of Burgenland, which was part of the Hungarian part of the Habsburg empire until the end of World War I, is the subject of this book. It demonstrates how geographical knowledge is created by knowledge makers such as geographers, historians, and statisticians and how it legitimized the area transferred between Austria and Hungary, shaped the Burgenland identity, and depicted its geopolitical role in the rise of national socialism. The book explores how those studying Burgenland, the creators of its geographical knowledge, saw and represented the province through their own perspective, influenced by their professional positions, individual careers, motivations, and the broader historical and social medium. The book argues that Burgenland became a successful geographical project, departing from thoughts of subdivision, unviability, and backwardness and concentrating instead on fertility, unity, and modernization. The way the area between the provinces of Lower Austria and Styria came about as Burgenland is enthralling, as is how the people there experienced this change of sovereignty and how everyday social and economic relationships were transformed. Tracing the geographical discourses in the interwar period and beyond, the book argues that Burgenland became a successful geographical project, departing from thoughts of subdivision, unviability, and backwardness and concentrating instead on fertility, unity, and modernization.

Weight: 704g
Dimension: 160 x 236 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9789633866498