INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ETHNOLOGY IN THE THIRD MILLENNIUM: TOPICS, METHODS, CHALLENGES

Abstract

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of its founding, the Institute of Ethnology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences prepared as one of its events an international scientific conference entitled Ethnology in the Third Millennium: Topics, Methods, Challenges, held on 19-21 Oct 2016 in the SAS Congress Centre at Smolenice Castle. Bitusikova et al discuss the highlights of the conference.

(19-21 October 2016, Smolenice)

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of its founding, the Institute of Ethnology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences prepared as one of its events an international scientific conference entitled Ethnology in the Third Millennium: Topics, Methods, Challenges, held on 19-21 October 2016 in the SAS Congress Centre at Smolenice Castle. The conference was held under the auspices of the Representation of the European Commission in the Slovak Republic and in collaboration with the COST action COMPACT, the research network supported by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST), the Visegrad Forum of the French Institute for Research in Social Sciences CEFRES in Prague, and partner institutions - the Ethnological Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Prague, the Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Szeged (Hungary) and the Department of Culture and Folklore Studies of the Faculty of Philology of the University of Opole (Poland). Besides experts from the Institute of Ethnology SAS and scientific partner institutes from the V4 countries, the conference was also attended by several foreign experts from France, Germany, Belgium and Norway. The conference programme consisted of seven panels and a plenary meeting.

The event was opened by Tatiana Podolinská, Director of the Institute of Ethnology SAS (IE SAS). She listed in her opening speech the most important achievements of this institute. She referred to the mission of ethnology as science about man which is supposed not only to bring new knowledge in a heuristic way, but also contribute to better understanding and harmony in society. On behalf of the conference organisation committee, the participants were welcomed by Monika Vrzgulová. Her welcoming speech was followed by greetings by prominent representatives of the partner institutions: Gábor Barna from the University of Szeged, Teresa Smolihska from the University of Opole, and Zdenek Uherek, Director of the Ethnological Institute of the Academyof Sciences of the Czech Republic(EI AS CR) in Prague. The official ceremony culminated with the opening of the panel exhibition documenting 70 years of existence of the Institute of Ethnology SAS, prepared by Daniel Luther and Dusan Ratica (both from the IE SAS). The rest of the evening was characterised by friendly talks between the conference participants, accompanied by live and reproduced music.

The plenary meeting Thematic and methodological challenges in current ethnology and anthropology, which was held on Thursday, 20 October, created the space for discussions on a number of issues. The speakers returned to the basic concepts of ethnological/anthropological (as well as social-scientific) research, such as social change, ethnicity and identity, space and cultural identity, or migration as social movement. They came to new conclusions obtained through the application of selected concepts in their empirical research. Haldis Haukanes from the University of Bergen, Norway, presented the results of her research about the projection of the future and the perception of the past in the post-socialist space of the Czech Republic. She identified interesting disproportionalities between theoretical assumptions about (social) changes in the models of the future among the present-day youth and empirical results rather confirming the persistence of older models. The plenary paper by Tatiana Podolinská dealt with the theoretical term of "ethnicity without groups" in the field of Roma studies. She highlighted the need to perceive ethnicity as categories of practice that can be explored only by means of specific agendas of concrete actors, which she subsequently showed through the ways of construction of the Roma identity in the pastoral discourse of selected Pentecostal movements in Slovakia. Valentina Gulin Zrnic from the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies in Croatia described the recent experience of her team which seeks to intervene in the urban environment of Zagreb with the help of certain artists and, in this way, positively influence citizens attitudes to the city or engage them in the city mapping process using the walking ethnography method. Zdenek Uherek pointed out in his paper that it is not only migrants who move between countries in the course of migration, but also social relationships and knowledge, thereby constructing special ties to the "old homeland". He presented this current topic also from the important historical perspective.

The first thematic panel under the title Ritual as a social practice in present-day society opened with the key paper by Gábor Barna. He reflected in his paper on the changing functions of holidays in today s world and compared the "holiday calendar" of four countries close in terms of geography and culture - Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria. Vladimir Bahna from the IE SAS informed the participants about his findings concerning the dynamics of the relationship of believers and church to the unofficial place of pilgrimage Zivcák near Turzovka. Vera Frolcová from Brno(EI AS CR) focused on the forms of the Catholic holiday Corpus Christi in the present-day Moravian countryside and compared it to medieval records on its celebration. Teresa Smoliñska illustrated the transformations of the carolling tradition in today's Polandthrough the example of the Three Kings Day which has recently become a kind of an "urban street theatre". Her colleague Dorota Switala-Trybek from the University of Opolede alt in detail with the rituals of Polish miners, including friendly get-togethers in a beer pub on the occasion of St. Barbara's holiday. Juraj Zajonc and Katarina Popelková from IE SAS acquainted their colleagues with the results of their research on the current forms of feasts in Slovakia: the first paper summarised the findings about the different levels of acceptation of holidays such as Halloween, St. Valentine's Day and May Day; the second one informed about how state holidays are becoming a platform for public debates on the internet and for political fights before elections.

The papers presented in this panel pointed out the new methodological setting of the ethnological study of present-day rituals in Central European countries. From the analysis of opportunities on which people choose ritualised behaviour the research moves towards the mapping of the processes which stand "behind" the empirically captured and ethnographically described phenomena or to the mapping of the causes and practical reasons that influence actors, their motivations and behaviour. Whether the focus of the study is on religious, political or professional holidays, urban feasts, festivals or visits to places of pilgrimage, ethnologists reveal in the uncommon behaviour of the participants its group, cultural and mental aspects. Feasts taking place in the public space and in the presence of a large number of people change from pompous rituals to festivalisation. This process, which has become more intensive in the 21st century, weakens on one hand the spiritual and formal aspects of events, and, on the other hand, the relaxed performativeness of the atmosphere enables smooth overlapping of symbolic and practical actions. The strategically chosen ritualisation of the actions of the key actors works as an effective means for the communication of socially important messages.

The second conference panel on Communication and memory: inter-generational transfer was dedicated to the issue of the hand-over and spread of the representations of the past between various generations. The panel had the form of an open discussion roundtable. The discussion was moderated by Monika Vrzgulová and, together with her, the issues raised were debated by her colleagues Eubica Volanská and Soña G. Lutherová (both from the IE SAS). The panel was also attended by a foreign guest, ethnologist Jana Nosková from the EI AS CR. The audience sitting in a circle joined the debate with their questions and remarks.

Each participant to the debate shortly introduced her scientific work related to the topic of the panel. They subsequently continued the debate and outlined answers to the following questions: How are the different generations involved in the creation of representations of the past? What are the differences and similarities in their approaches and strategies? In what way are representations being spread and changing in time? In what way is family memory influenced by other forms of memory (e.g. social or cultural memory)? The debaters paid special attention to their own methodological and ethical problems and dilemmas they face during their research of the representations of the past.

The third "evening" panel of the conference was dedicated to PhD students from the participating institutes. The Young Scientist Forum poster presentation showed the research of Vivien Apjok from Szeged, Vera Stofaníková from Prague, Jan Semrád from Brno, Kamila Sawka from Opole and Natália Blahová from Bratislava. Their works ranged from a new perspective of painted clothes chests through the place of the Masaryk House in Paris in the memory of its visitors, or activism at a present-day Brno neighbourhood and cultural heritage of Polish migrants from Ukraine up to institutions of the Slovak diaspora in Romania. On one hand, the research focusing on daily social processes tackled new themes which constantly arise in the context of the changing social reality (current life and community activities within a city neighbourhood). Another part of the papers were concerned with more traditional topics, but with the application of new methods or theoretical approaches (re-interpretation of museum objects and their contribution to knowing the past, objects as a means of cultural memory, expatriate organizations and their impacts on the process of ethnical identification of expatriates). Hence, the specific character did not lie only in the form of presentation and the possibilities of getting feedback from more experienced colleagues, but also in the diversity of topics and applied approaches in the different research projects by means of which young scientists seek to respond to the challenges of the present-day society.

The last day of the conference on Friday, 21 October, continued with panel 4 on Applied anthropology - How to cope with current social and societal challenges?, which dealt with the practical use of application/engagement-oriented ethnological research. The participants of the panel and of the plenary had lively debate about the possibilities of involvement of researchers, conscious influencing of processes (participatory research) and the ethical aspects of applied research. The panel was organised by Miroslava Hlincíková and moderated by Soña G. Lutherová (both from the IE SAS).

The panel was introduced by Joana Breidenbach from Berlin, founder of the BetterplaceLab platform, which works as a research laboratory exploring the possibilities of use of digital technologies for social purposes. In her paper, she reflected on digital technologies and their role in connection with the migration phenomenon and, specifically, the support that can be provided to refugees by means of such technologies. The picture material on the different ways of use of container houses and stories hidden behind them formed the basis of the paper by Myrto Tsilimpounidi (Institute of Sociology SAS, Bratislava) on visual sociology. By means of contrast pictures, she highlighted the different interpretations and explanations of their contents. Petra Ezzeddine (Department of General Anthropology, Faculty of Humanities, Charles University in Prague) spoke about her own experience in negotiations as expert in migration in the mass media and interviews with donors outside the academic sphere in general. The paper by Miroslava Hlincíková focused on the ethical aspects of the relationship between a researcher and other partners in research (contacts) and democratisation of the research process. Katerina Sidiropulu Jankû (Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University in Brno) raised similar questions in her reflection on the research experience from a project on Roma labour migration in Czechoslovakia after 1945. To what extent are we able to eliminate the unequal position of researchers and other project actors by means of participatory action research methods? Are we successful in proving the legitimacy of applied research projects in the eyes of the donors? Helena Tuzinská (Department of Ethnology and Museology, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava) and Eubica Volanská (IE SAS) dealt with the position of lecturers with ethnological/anthropological qualifications in the field of inter-cultural seminars. They reflected on the possibilities of transfer of anthropological standards into this field and on the ways cultural particularities are chosen and often simplified in the inter-cultural context.

Panel 5 was entitled The functions of rumours and conspiracy theories in relationships between groups. The concept of this panel was based on the assumption that rumours (and particularly conspiracy theories) largely contribute to the creation and shaping of group identities and relationships between social groups and their members. It is fast-spread information which is able to gain popularity in society for different reasons even without support in the form of direct evidence. This can result not only in influencing the attitudes and actions of the group members, but also in the creation of the conditions for mass behaviour. The panel dealt primarily with the role of rumours in the shaping of relationships between groups in various forms - not only at the theoretical level, but also given the historical experience and the current events in society (migration crisis, war in Ukraine and Syria, terrorist attacks, political radicalisation and manifestations of extremism using national, ethnical and religious tensions, "alternative" news system and dissemination of conspiratorial culture). The papers presented in this panel had not only an international, but also an inter-disciplinary dimension (the analyses were based on approaches used in ethnology, folklore studies, political sciences, cognitive anthropology and psychology, and the activities of the non-profit sector were also mentioned). The papers by four participants of the panel (Vladimír Bahna, Julien Giry - IDPSP - Institute of Public Law and Political Sciences, Université de Rennes 1, France; Grigorij Meseznikov - Institute for Public Affairs, Bratislava; Zuzana Panczová, IE SAS) tackled conspiracy theories which are perceived as a sub-category of rumours with specific impacts on group attitudes and actions. These experts are members of the Managing Committee of the COST action "Comparative analysis of conspiracy theories" (COMPACT CA 15101), supported under the Horizon 2020 EU framework programme launched in April this year. Hence, this panel was the first opportunity for the dissemination of information in this field in Slovakia. A vivid picture of this topic was completed by Eva Krekovicová (IE SAS) who sought links and relationships between conspiracy theories and ethnic stereotypes.

The aim of panel 6 with the short title Cultural Heritage was to open a discussion on theoretical concepts, methodological approaches, thematic orientation and urgent challenges concerning the ethnological/anthropological research of culture heritage in the 21st century. The key paper was presented by Noel B. Salazar, Belgian anthropologist and author of several publications on cultural heritage, from the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Leuven, Belgium. He spoke about the relationship between cultural heritage and tourism. According to him, tourism is one of the strongest tools by means of which heritage is not only "consumed", but also created. He also spoke about the development of heritage-oriented tourism (mainly UNESCO monuments) as an opportunity and a risk. Sustainable tourism requires strategies to eliminate the negative impacts of tourism without threatening its benefits. Hana Cervinková (EI AS CR) recounted the story of the "Centennial Hall", a unique architectonic work in Wroclaw, which is listed as UNESCO world cultural heritage and which raises contradictory interpretations within the local community linked to memory, citizenship and identity. The Hungarian anthropologist Tamás Régi (University of Applied Sciences of János Kodolányi, Székesfehérvár, Hungary) spoke about his research conducted within the Ethiopian tribe Mursie and the impacts of the construction of a dam on local life and heritage and, in particular, on the understanding and concept of heritage and tradition by the local community. Daniela Stavelová (EI AS CR) focused in her paper on the commodification and hybridisation of intangible cultural heritage and specifically on the "Ride of the Kings" after it was included in the list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2011. Alexandra Bitusíková (IE SAS) presented an example of local activism aimed at preserving the Calvary in Banská Stiavnica. The papers in this panel highlighted the diversity of the scientific discussion about cultural heritage, reflecting the fact that heritage is a value-burdened term and that what is or what is not cultural heritage is the result of political and power relations.

The last panel of the conference in Smolenice was the presentation of national ethnological journals of V4 countries (V4Networking Panel). Teresa Smoliñska presented the Polish LUD journal, Hana Cervinková the Cesky lid journal, Ágnes Fülemile (Ethnographic Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest) the Acta Etnographica Hungarica journal, and Vladimír Potancok and Gabriela Kiliánová (both from the IE SAS) the Slovensky národopis/Slovak Ethnography journal. Besides short stories about the history and development of the journals, the participants of the panel learnt about the current problems of the ethnological journals from all participating countries which are very similar - digitisation, an effort to reach impact factor and current contents, problematic financing, seeking of suitable topics, authors and reviewers, and the maintaining of the expert level and regional or national character in spite of pressures on globalisation and universality. The participants called for finding solutions to common problems by combined efforts and for mutual help and solidarity.

The conference and lively discussions during the panels and in the lobbies resulted in many interesting conclusions and ideas for further work in this scientific field. Some of them were summarised by Tatiana Podolinská, Director of the Institute, in her closing speech in the form of "headlines" in current ethnology and anthropology:

(+) Seek to ensure maximum sensitivity and ethical correctness not only with respect to contacts, but in the entire research field. Similar correctness should be respected also against the very researcher by practising reflective ethnography and auto-ethnography.

(+) In order to eliminate the remains of post-colonialism in our approach, we should design and conduct our research with expertise and personal engagement as fairtrade, i.e. research in the form of actions with benefits for all stakeholders, while taking into account the constant potential impacts of our actions in the field.

(+) Even though we agree with the most recent slogan of the non-asymmetric anthropology that "everybody has the right to research", as representatives of top academic and university institutions, we are aware of the fact that we are the bearers of expertise par excellence and that as such we are responsible for the scientific purity of our disciplines. This position should be appropriately demonstrated in the public.

(+) The research data should be disseminated and popularised not only within the scientific and professional circles, but prepared simultaneously also for the lay public and the decision-making sphere. It is necessary to work more closely with the mass media (on a professional basis) and shape proactively the public discourse so that it is not based on stereotypes, but on the findings from our basic and applied research.

(+) Contribute to the greatest extent possible to understanding the constantly changing society - not only by bringing basic knowledge, but also with concrete expertise and application outputs for the social practice.

The international conference represented a decent culmination of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Institute of Ethnology SAS. The research topics, theoretical discussions and methodologies that we apply in tackling our research tasks resonate also in our partner institutions in Europe. In addition to visions of common topics and joint projects, similar meetings also bring the formulation of new issues that deepen and move the theoretical discussions in social sciences and humanities forward.