Bojana Radovanović

Junior Visiting Fellow in the cluster Knowledge transfer and concepts of Europe

Geography of Heterodoxy in the Balkans and transmission routes from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages and Beyond in a diachronic perspective

This project focuses on the diverse and complex heterodox landscape of a particularly sensitive region of Europe, namely the Balkans. By tracing heterodox influences and their carriers across time—from Late Antiquity through the Middle Ages to the early modern period—the project adopts a diachronic and comparative approach that transcends regional, conceptual, and chronological boundaries. The research will explore questions of continuity and change, diverse influences, and the enduring echoes of premodern religious characteristics.

This research aims to shed light on questions related to the geography of heterodoxy, religious landscapes, and transmission routes. It places special emphasis on transfer and contact zones, such as the Lower Danube valley and the Balkan corridor, as well as on migration and border histories related to religion in the Balkans. The project examines processes of transformation, exchange, interaction, and accommodation within these contexts, and is designed as a comparative, diachronic, and interdisciplinary study, drawing insights from history (including migration histories), archaeology, ethnography, and social anthropology.