Postsocialist Europe - Anthropological Perspectives From Home

Now that nearly twenty years have passed since the collapse of the Soviet bloc there is a need to understand what has taken place since that historic date and where we are at the moment. Bringing together authors with different historical, cultural, regional and theoretical backgrounds, this volume engages in debates that address new questions arising from recent developments, such as whether there is a need to reject or uphold the notion of post-socialism as both a necessary and valid concept ignoring changes and differences across both time and space. The authors' firsthand ethnographies from their own countries belie such a simplistic notion, revealing, as they do, the cultural, social, and historical diversity of countries of Central and Southeastern Europe.

List of contents

List of llustrations

Preface

Chapter 1. Introduction: Postsocialist Europe and the Anthropological Perspective from Home

László Kürti and Peter Skalník

Chapter 2. Gender and Governance in Rural Communities of Postsocialist Slovakia

Alexandra BituSíková and Katarína KoStialová

Chapter 3. Property Relations, Class, and Labour in Rural Poland

Michal Buchowski

Chapter 4. Migs and Cadres on the Move: Thoughts on the Mimetic Dimensions of Postsocialism

Hana Cervinková

Chapter 5. Diasporas Coming Home. Identity and Uncertainty of Transnational Returnees in Postcommunist Lithuania

Vytis Ciubrinskas

Chapter 6. A Rainbow Flag Against the Krakow Dragon. Polish Responses to the Gay and Lesbian Movement

Grazyna Kubica

Chapter 7. Olivia's Story: Capitalism and Rabbit Farming in Hungary

László Kürti

Chapter 8. Punk Anthropology: From a Study of a Local Slovene Alternative Rock Scene towards Partisan Scholarship

Rajko MurSic

Chapter 9. Being Locked Out and Locked In: The Culture of Homelessness in Hungary

Terézia Nagy

Chapter 10. Political Anthropology of the Postcommunist Czech Republic: Local-National and Rural-Urban Scenes

Peter Skalník

Chapter 11. Comparative Cultural Aspects of Work in Multinational Enterprises

Gabriel-Ionut Stoiciu

Chapter 12. Immigrants from Ukraine in the Czech Republic: Foreigners in the Border Zone

Zdenek Uherek

Chapter 13. Afterword - Under the Aegis of Anthropology: Blazing New Trails

Christian Giordano

Notes on Contributors

Index

About the author

László Kürti has taught anthropology at the American University, and Eötvös University in Budapest, and presently teaches at the University of Miskolc. He has conducted fieldwork in the US, Romania and Hungary. His books include: Beyond Borders (1996, co-edited with J. Langman), The Remote Borderland (2001), Youth and the State in Hungary (2002), and he served as co-editor for Working Images (2004).

Peter Skalník currently teaches social anthropology at the University of Pardubice. He was the Czech ambassador to Lebanon (1992–1997). He has edited or co-edited: The Early Writings of Bronislaw Malinowski (1993), The Post-communist Millennium: The Struggles for Sociocultural Anthropology in Central and Eastern Europe (2002), Anthropology of Europe: Teaching and Research (2004), Studying Peoples in the People’s Democracies: Socialist Era Anthropology in East-Central Europe (2005).

Summary

Now that nearly twenty years have passed since the collapse of the Soviet bloc there is a need to understand what has taken place since that historic date and where we are at the moment. Bringing together authors with different historical, cultural, regional and theoretical backgrounds, this volume engages in debates that address new questions...

Additional text

"The major contribution of the volume lays in its rethinking of the postsocialist paradigm from an insider's perspective. By taking a longue dur�e perspective on their societies, contributors explore cultural, political, and economic transformations, revealing the complex interactions between global processes and specific localities. Their scholarship prove,. if still necessary, that Central and Eastern European anthropology is thriving both at home and abroad."� �� JRAI

"This book may be a pioneering endeavour, not only in the study of anthropological changes in the heart of Europe, but also for Central European socio-anthropological research. It is nearly impossible to compare this to other books in this field as it is truly an innovative work and acts as a source of inspiration for additional research and the deepening of discussion on existing materials� �� Central European Journal of International and Security Studies

"...all these case studies presented are fascinating, covering as they do often little or unresearched topics...This collection should be interesting for people engaged in East European studies."� �� Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics

"Seeking to dispel the myth that Eastern European anthropology is parochial and centered on folkloric research, the volume showcases rich ethnographies that spell out the connections between local and global processes and provide insight into new social hierarchies and marginalities."� �� Anthropos

Product details

• Authors: Laszlo Skalnik Kurti
• Assisted by: László Kürti (Editor), L. Szl K. Rti (Editor), Laszlo Kurti (Editor), László Kürti (Editor), Peter Skaln K. (Editor), Peter Skalník (Editor), Peter Skaln�k (Editor)
• Publisher: BERGHAHN BOOKS, INC
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.11.2011
• EAN: 9780857451576
• ISBN: 978-0-85745-157-6
• No. of pages: 336
• Series: EASA Series; EASA Series
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Social sciences (general); Anthropology (General)