Abstract
Balkan nationalism during the decline of the Ottoman empire took a parallel cultural course in highly dissimilar (though demographically mixed) language areas (Slavic languages, Greek, Romanian, and, later, Albanian). This project aims to give a regionally comparative analysis of the cultural vanguard of the national movements, by looking at the role of intellectuals (philologists, folklorists, educationalists, poets) and at the institutions within or through which they worked (schools, libraries; associations, publishing ventures and periodicals); with special attention to their external contacts and links and networks abroad and with other Balkan nationalities.