Subject: Croatian language

Croatian language is the most important school subject and takes up the most slots in a student’s school timetable. It is taught from the first grade of elementary school to high school graduation. Serving as the basis for all the other subjects, it holds a special place in the school system, and accomplishes a strong educational and pedagogical purpose. When was Croatian language first taught, how was the subject called at different times, what material did the teachers use, what were the main forces that conditioned and shaped it? Were children always taught cases and tenses? What was assigned for reading? Did professors also complain about children’s illiteracy a 100 years ago? What changed over the last 150 years, and what stayed the same?

Apart from answering these questions, the exhibition Subject: Croatian language deals with other aspects of Croatian as a native language, unfolding its internal and external history. Due to political circumstances, as well as the complexity of the subject’s content (the language, the literature, the media culture), and the shifts in teaching paradigms, this history is complicated. Despite its importance for the educational system, the subject remains poorly researched and is yet to be systematically described. This exhibition shows different segments of the subject’s life in Croatian schools, from its beginnings to the latest reform. It includes all that made this subject as we know it today: the laws and school documents, textbooks, handbooks, movies, teaching aids at different stages of their development, student school assignments, certificates, and diplomas.

Those who want to go back in time can sit at school desks more than a hundred years old, whereas those who are more keen on contemporary technology can play a game and test their knowledge with diverse digital interactive content.

Authors of the exhibition: Ana Ćavar and Lahorka Plejić Poje
Exhibition curators: Karla Pudar and Marta Kiš
Design: Šesnić & Turković
Organization of the exhibition: Department of Croatian language and literature, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Zagreb
Co-organizers: Croatian School Museum and Croatian Philological Society
Exhibition open: 11/9/2021 – 1/16/2022
Exhibition space: Basement