Second homes as an interdisciplinary research topic

The article examines second homes as an interdisciplinary research topic by situating them within contemporary conceptualisations of second homes as enduring socio-spatial phenomena through a systematic analysis of the diploma theses in the Slovenian tertiary education. The study, based on a COBISS database, identified 64 students’ bachelor's and master's theses and doctoral dissertations that focus on the topic of second homes. Most of these theses could be classified into six disciplinary domains: architecture and landscape architecture (20), construction–energy technology–geodesy (13), geography (10), design and interior design (9), economy and tourism (5), and ethnology and cultural anthropology (3). The publication of the theses spans over more than four decades, demonstrating the long-term continuity and evolving thematic diversity of second-home research, while the research reveals that second homes represent one of the most enduring, diverse, and interdisciplinary topics. Geography has played a pioneering and sustaining role, providing conceptual and methodological foundations for understanding second homes as spatial processes linked to leisure mobility, landscape transformation, and tourism development, which have influenced research in other disciplines.