Minoranze etniche e religiose in Bulgaria

ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN BULGARIA: HISTORICAL CONTEXT, CONTEMPORARY DIVERSITY AND GENDER DIMENSIONS

Giovedì 27 novembre 2025 dalle ore 16.00, presso Il Dipartimento di Scienze della Formazione (Aula 17 - Via Principe Amedeo, 182 b), si terrà l'incontro con la professoressa Mila Maeva sul tema "Minoranze etniche e religiose in Bulgaria. Contesto storico, diversità contemporanee e dimensioni di genere".

Mila Maeva è professore associato e Direttore dell'Istituto di Etnologia e Studi di Folklore presso il Museo Etnografico dell'Accademia Bulgara delle Scienze.

L’incontro rientra nelle attività dell’insegnamento “Migrazioni e Società Multiculturali” del prof. Paolo Ruspini ed è aperto a tutte/i gli studenti del Dipartimento, docenti e a tutti coloro che sono interessati.

Bulgaria’s position in the central Balkans has historically situated it at the intersection of cultures, religions and political systems. Located on the border between Christianity and Islam, the region has long been shaped by continuous waves of migration—both long-term settlements and short-term mobility. Groups of diverse ethnic, linguistic and confessional backgrounds have, at different moments, either established permanent communities on Bulgarian territory or passed through it temporarily. A key historical factor for this diversity is the inclusion of Bulgarian lands within large multicultural empires such as the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. These imperial structures institutionalised the coexistence of multiple religious communities and regulated intercommunal relations through specific legal and administrative frameworks. As a result, Bulgaria today exhibits a complex configuration of traditional and newer ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. From the perspective of contemporary social sciences, the study of these communities benefits significantly from a gender-sensitive analytical lens. Ethnic and religious identities often intersect with gendered norms that shape family structures, labour division, ritual participation and public visibility. These norms affect men and women differently in terms of access to education, economic opportunities, political participation and religious authority. Moreover, processes of modernisation, urbanisation and transnational migration have introduced new dynamics, with women frequently emerging as central agents of cultural adaptation—whether through education, care-related mobility, or the negotiation of new social roles in both rural and urban environments.

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