Ethnographic Legacies: Niko Kuret (original) (raw)

Scraps of the history of ethnology in Slovenia

Český lid, 2008

This paper summarizes the discussion of ethnology in Slovenia between 'narodopisje' and anthropology from the point of view of its theoretical and methodological issues. At the same time it delineates some characteristics of ethnology and folklore studies in Slovenia in the 20th century, whereby the discussion on the wider social implications is omitted. Considerations put forward here are limited to those disciplinary issues which are the fruit of self-reflexive and critical insights in ethnology, which enable to highlight the origins, the formation and changes of research pattems from predominant philological and cultural-historical roots of 'narodopisje' to anthropologically oriented contemporary research. Some general observations, a retrospective view of the status of theory and methodology, the tradition of 'narodopisje', the 'farewell to folk life', the new methodological horizons, the predicament of the 'two-headed ethnology' and recent anthropologization are considered.

The Ritual of Institution: Fragments of Contiguities between Slovenian and Croatian Ethnology

Studia ethnologica Croatica, 2018

The article draws attention to the importance of comparative research in two neighbouring research traditions and the production of ethnological knowledge. Examining the intersections between Slovenian and Croatian ethnology reveals two types of parallels: the first involves intercultural comparisons in empirical research, while the second deals with patterns of knowledge production and is more focused on the theoretical and methodological issues. They are presented through fragments in a short overview of comparatively informed intersections going back several centuries. Since the institutionalization of Slovenian and Croatian ethnology around 1900, contacts between them became more intense, and were most systematic during joint work on the Slovenian-Croatian Ethnological Parallels conference series, which has lasted for several decades (since 1981). These conferences also offer an appropriate perspective on the paradigmatic transformation of both disciplines: at the end of the 1960s and during the 1970s they were marked by the shift from the cultural historical study of folk culture, and from the 1990s onward by expansion and diversification (in terms of subject matter and methodology) of dialogue with anthropological research. Keywords: history of ethnology, Slovenia, Croatia, comparative research, ethnological institutions

Ethnologia Europea in Croatia and Slovenia: Branimir Bratanić (1910-1986) and Vilko Novak (1909-2003)

2012

The author deals with a chapter from the histories of Croatian and Slovenian ethnology, particularly the period of the 1950s, when both national ethnological disciplines were engaged with the issue of the relationship between general and regional/national ethnology. As far as concerns this relationship, Branimir Bratanic and Vilko Novak, both university professors at that time, followed the contemporary line of discussions in European ethnology (EE). They presented the "novelties" and advocated the integration of specific national traditions in EE, adapting them by respecting disciplinary legacies and current state of the discipline in their home countries as well as their educational agendas and broader research practices. For this reason, this study also includes a comparative presentation of some disciplinary convergences and divergences right before this particular period: the links between Croatian and Slovenian ethnology that come to light when emphasising the concep...

Historical and current developments in ethnology and anthropology of Serbia

International Journal of Anthropology and Ethnology, 2023

The article sets to present the historical and current developments in ethnology and anthropology of Serbia. The first part is devoted to the historical overview which portrays the development of the discipline from the late 19th to the early 21st century. It ends with an explanation of the use of the concept "ethnology" and "anthropology" in present-day naming of the discipline. In the second part, the most important institutions, professional societies, and anthropological journals are presented. The third part is devoted to the advancements of the University of Belgrade Department of Ethnology and Anthropology, focusing on the period since 2006, when the implementation of the Bologna Process reforms started in Serbian universities and when the significant publishing activity was invigorated. This part presents major projects, conferences and publishing activities, as well as the course curricula implemented in the 2014-2022 period by the Department at the undergraduate, master's and doctoral levels.

"Slovenia is Europe in Miniature": Slovenian Volkskunde on the Way to European Ethnology

S. Eggmann (et al., eds), Orientieren & Positionieren, Anknüpfen & Weitermachen : Wissensgeschichte der Volkskunde/Kulturwissenschaft in Europa nach 1945, 2019

This article's title is the concluding sentence of Niko Kuret's wide-ranging book on masks throughout Slovenia, 2 which is also a significant nod to Slovenia's natural and cultural diversity. Anyone that studied history, ethnology, linguistics, and other issues up to and after the nineteenth century had to acknowledge the fact that Slovenia, as a geographical crossroads, had always been subject to numerous historical and cultural influences. The ethnic mixture of the neighboring Romance, Germanic, Hungarian, and Balkan cultures ended up being a real ethnographic laboratory. Historical and political processes in various periods more or less explicitly spurred Slovenians to delimit and differentiate themselves from neighboring nations. The design, orientation, and international connections of ethnology in Slovenia cannot be understood without awareness of these specific local circum-1 * This text was written as part of the research program Cultural Spaces and Practices. Ethnology and Folklore Studies (Etnološke in folkloristične raziskave kulturnih prostorov in praks, P6-0088, 2015-2020), funded by the Slovenian Research Agency. Translation: DEKS d.o.o., Ljubljana. 2 In Slovenian: «Slovenija je Evropa v malem». Kuret, Niko: Maske slovenskih pokrajin (Masks of Slovenian Regions). Ljubljana 1984, p. 483.

Practicing ethnomusicology/ethnochoreology within post-socialist realities Some comparative experiences from Serbia

Ethnomusicology matters: Influencing social and political realities, Ursula Hemetek, Marko Kölbl and Hande Sağlam (eds.), 2019

In most Southeastern European countries the beginnings of ethnomusicology and ethnochoreology as independent scholarly disciplines were inextricably linked with the state institutions of socialist regimes after World War II. In these countries ethnomusicological and ethnochoreological research, grounded in folkloristics, was sponsored under the ideological constraints of socialist systems, hence had strong national orientations in the service of the ideological and political agendas of the state parties. After the collapse of the socialist regimes which caused broad social and cultural transformations, ethnomusicology and ethnochoreology generally continued to be linked with state institutions (universities and academic institutes), but at the same time have been subject to extensive remodeling, including disciplinary orientations, methodological approaches, applicable domains of professional activities, and broadening of available financial resources for research and work. The notion that science should be market-oriented has become one of the most dominant hallmarks of the current ethnomusicologies and ethnochoreologies in this part of Europe. In this presentation I would like to explore the views of many individual researchers (including myself) about their professional work with the aim of understanding the position of ethnomusicology and ethnochoreology in the contemporary society of post-socialist Serbia, and thus the socio-political relevance of these disciplines from the perspective of the scholars themselves. Based on interviews and questionnaires I will try to compare answers to the following questions: What are the basic attitudes concerning the realities and potentials of our disciplinary relevance within the societies in which we act? What are our experiences in “practicing” ethnomusicology and ethnochoreology in various, educational, research and applied contexts? What difficulties are we facing? How do we feel about our professional relevance? What efforts do we make to increase and widen our relevance in society? The current experiences of scholars from Serbia will be compared with the attitudes and apprehensions of colleagues from other countries of former Yugoslavia by drawing on connections made during shared socialist pasts. This project will try to provide a platform for critical reflection on the contemporary position of scholars from this part of Southeastern Europe and to reveal the difficulties and challenges they are currently facing, but also to reveal their innovative ideas and professional challenges.

“Herder, Kollár, and the Origins of Slavic Ethnography,” Traditiones: Journal of the Institute of Slovenian Ethnology, vol. 40, no. 2 (2011), 79-95.

Traditiones: Journal of the Institute of Slovenian Ethnology

79 herder, kollÁr, and the origins oF slaviC ethnography Philosophy of Johann Gottfried von Herder thoroughly informed ideas of a poet Ján Kollár. Nevertheless, Kollár was more than merely a conduit for transmitting Herder's ideas: he selected, interpreted and transformed Herder's philosophy in the service of his literary Pan-Slavism. keywords: Johann Gottfried von Herder, Ján Kollár, Slavic ethnography, philosophy, Enlightenment, Romantics. Filozofija Johanna Gottfrieda von Herderja je močno zaznamovala zamisli pesnika Jána Kollárja. Kljub temu pa Kollár ni bil zgolj "odvod" za prenos Herderjevih idej, saj je njegovo filozofsko razmišljanje izbral, interpretiral in preoblikoval ter tako postavil temelje lastnega literarnega panslavizma. ključne besede: Johann Gottfried von Herder, Ján Kollár, slovanska etnografija, filozofija, razsvetljenstvo, romantika. aleXander maXWell doi: 10�3986/traditio2011400205 traditiones, 40/2, 2011, 79-95

Ethnologia Europaea in Croatia and Slovenia: Branimir Bratanić (1910–1986) and Vilko Novak

2012

7 INGRID SLAVEC GRADIŠNIK Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts Scientific Research Center Institute of Slovenian Ethnology 1000 Ljubljana, Novi trg 2, Slovenia UDK 39.01(497.5:497.4)”195” 39-051 Bratanić, B.; 39-051 Novak, V. Original scientific paper Izvorni znanstveni rad Received / Primljeno: 25. 6. 2012. Accepted / Prihvaćeno: 10. 9. 2012. ETHNOLOGIA EUROPAEA IN CROATIA AND SLOVENIA: BRANIMIR BRATANIĆ (1910–1986) AND VILKO NOVAK (1909–2003)