Studying Peoples in the People's Democracies: Socialist Era Anthropology in East-Central Europe
Author
Chris Hann, Mihaly Sarkany and Peter Skalnik
Publisher
Lit-Verlag: Münster
Year of publication
2005
ISBN
3-8258-8048-6
OPAC
Abstract
Under socialism the anthropological sciences developed under conflicting pressures: on the one hand Soviet influences, Marxist ideology and institutional changes, on the other the continued influence of national traditions and of the distinction between Volkskunde and Völkerkunde. The chapters bring out striking differences between the countries considered: the German Democratic Republic, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary; they also draw attention to variation within countries, and between sub-branches of the discipline. Coverage extends from the Stalinist years to the end of the socialist era, and the topics range from folklore studies at home to fieldwork expeditions abroad.