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ETNOLOGICKÉ ROZPRAVY / ETHNOLOGICAL DEBATES 2024 / 2

Rituals and Ritualization

Ethnology and anthropology’s long-standing interest in rituals and beliefs associated with them has led to the elaboration of major theoretical propositions and numerous empirical studies that have permanently influenced the development of both disciplines. Typologies of rituals can be based on perceptions of time in human and natural environment, hence the frequent division of rituals according to life-cycle phases and types of calendars. Equally important are rituals related to everyday, reciprocal behaviour, the natural environment, politics, and economics. Finally, the focus on the role of rituals in socioeconomic and political processes is a major theme in the social sciences. Rituals can unite as well as separate people, communicating towards group members as well as outwards to those beyond their boundaries. Rituals establish both rules of interaction and norms of interpretation, even through symbolic subversion or enclosure. Human societies are thus permeated by rituals and ritualized practices.

The editors of the journal welcome theoretical and empirical studies, essays, and discussion papers on relevant topics, including the following:

  • Theoretical and methodological approaches in the study of rituals and ritualization
  • Ritual and socialization
  • Ritual, cooperation and community
  • Ritual, kinship, household
  • Gender aspects of ritualization
  • Ritual, metaphor and laughter
  • Ritual and religion
  • Ritual and magical practices
  • Ritual and evolution
  • Ritual and cognition
  • Ritual in processes of secularization
  • Rituals, politics and propaganda
  • Rituals and mass media
  • Ritualisation and intangible cultural heritage
  • Ritualised expressions of ethnic and national identity
  • The language of ritual and its reproduction in education
  • Ritual and consumption
  • Ritual and work
  • Ritual and globalization
  • Commercialization of ritual practices
  • Ritual as therapy

We are dedicating the upcoming issue of Etnologické magazine to Kornélia Jakubíková on the occasion of her life anniversary.

Study abstracts should be sent to the editors at etnologicke.rozpravy@gmail.com and to guest editor H. Tužinska to helena.tuzinska@uniba.sk by 31st March 2024.

Deadline for submission: 15th June 2024

Guest editor:
doc. Mgr. Helena Tužinská, PhD.

Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Arts, Department of Archeology

Submission guidelines: please follow the submission guidelines on the website of the Ethnographic Society of Slovakia, https://nss.sav.sk/en/ethnological-deb

ETNOLOGICKÉ ROZPRAVY / ETHNOLOGICAL DEBATES 2024 / 1

Water

The theme of the first issue of Ethnological Debates 2024 is devoted to the phenomenon of water in various aspects that are part of human culture. Water is one of the basic prerequisites of life. Its intake is essential for humans, animals, and plants. Apart from direct consumption, it has served and continues to serve for food preparation, essential parts of animal feeding, crop irrigation, cleansing, industrial production, transport, recreation; as a source of energy, in rituals, etc. Watercourses and areas form part of the landscape and its perception; they are managed and used by man, but they also pose a hazard (flooding). Water is therefore not only a phenomenon of the natural environment but an important aspect of culture, on which this issue of the journal focuses its attention.

The editors welcome theoretical and empirical studies, essays, and discussions, that address the phenomenon of water in the broad context of culture, including the following aspects:

  • water consumption, water in diet and purification (wells, well water, taps, bottled water)- water in production (mills, power stations)
  • water transport (boats, compasses, rafts, ships), bridges
  • boatmen, ferrymen, and other water-related occupations
  • water and recreation (swimming, water sports, rafting, ice-skating, bathing, beaches, waterside holidays)
  • fishing and fisheries
  • water in the landscape and settlements (waterfronts, fountains)
  • streams, rivers, lakes, canals, reservoirs and bodies of water (marshes, dams, dykes, huts, techs)
  • water in rituals, folklore (proverbs), and supernatural ideas (living water; watermen, fairies)
  • water and dangers (floods), climate change
  • water as a topic of ethnological research

Abstracts should be sent to etnologicke.rozpravy@gmail.com. no later than 15th  December 2023.

Deadline for submission:  15th February 2024

The editor of the issue is:

Mgr. Juraj Janto, PhD.

Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Arts, Department of Archeology

Submission guidelines: please follow the submission guidelines on the website of the Ethnographic Society of Slovakia, https://nss.sav.sk/en/ethnological-debates/guidelines-for-authors/

ETNOLOGICKÉ ROZPRAVY / ETHNOLOGICAL DEBATES 2023/ 2

Folklorism

In 2005, a monothematic issue of Ethnological Debates was devoted to conscious dealing with the phenomena of traditional folk culture and their processing. Ethnologists and folklorists paid attention to manifestations of traditional culture in visual arts, music, literature, on stage or in film and television. Such manifestations covered by the term folklorism represented contemporary ideas about the past, beauty, positive ideological values, and their proximity to the contemporary society – both domestic and foreign. The term “folklorism” was introduced by Paul Sebillaut in the second half of the 19th century to denote various forms of dealing with traditional folk culture in different communication systems and with different aims than in the so-called original environment of their existence. The theory and history of folklore have been treated continuously and intensively in the folklore studies since the 1960s, although there are more contributions on the theory and contemporary practice in folklore than summarizing studies on the history of folklore. Many contemporary phenomena of folklorism exhibit characteristics that suggest a close affinity with the phenomena, processes and functions of mass or popular culture – such as massive diffusion and accessibility, dissemination through the media, a strong commercial and entertainment function, etc.

The prepared issue of the journal Etnologické rozpravy / Ethnological Debates is aimed to draw attention to various aspects of folklorism. The editors invite analytic, theoretical or synthetic articles, research reports, essays and discussions, focused especially (not, however, exclusively) on the following issues:

  • concepts and terminology
  • phenomena of traditional culture in popular/mass culture contexts
  • history of folklore in Slovakia
  • legislation and implementation of state cultural policy in relation to traditional culture
  • personalities of folklorism
  • contemporary bearers of folklorism and related institutions
  • contemporary functions of folklorism

Please send your abstract as an e-mail attachment to the editors, at etnologicke.rozpravy@gmail.com, until 15. 4. 2023.

Final date for papers: 15. 6. 2023.

Guest editor:

doc. PhDr. Hana Hlôšková, CSc. (emeritus) (anna.hloskova@uniba.sk)

Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology SAS

Submission guidelines: please follow the guidelines for submissions as given on the website of the Ethnographic Society of Slovakia, https://nss.sav.sk/en/ethnological-debates/guidelines-for-authors/

ETNOLOGICKÉ ROZPRAVY / ETHNOLOGICAL DEBATES 2023/ 1

Migration

Migration has always been an important part of the human experience. Individuals and communities have always moved from one place to another in search of new lives. There are many factors that drive human migration: some pull people to seek out better opportunities, other push people to flee unfavourable conditions and dangers. Migration results in various experiences for migrants, their families and people who face the new arrivals.  The impacts of human migration today are truly global, and research on migration, on both its causes and consequences, is vital in various disciplines of the social sciences and humanities.

The prepared first issue of the journal Etnologické rozpravy/Ethnological Debates in the year 2023 is aimed to draw attention to various aspects of migration. The editors invite analytic, theoretical or synthetic articles, research reports, essays and discussions, focused especially (not, however, exclusively) on the following issues:

  • Factors shaping migration
  • Societal and political responses to large-scale migration
  • The consequences of migration
  • Policies in migration
  • The legal rights of refugees and other displaced persons
  • Integration of migrants into new society
  • Multigenerational integration
  • Households of migrants
  • New patterns and trends in migration and mobility
  • Gender aspects of migration
  • Transnationalism
  • Diaspora

Please send your abstract as an e-mail attachment to the editors, at etnologicke.rozpravy@gmail.com, until 15. 12. 2022.

Final date for papers: 15. 2. 2023.

Submission guidelines: please follow the guidelines for submissions as given on the website of the Ethnographic Society of Slovakia, https://nss.sav.sk/en/ethnological-debates/guidelines-for-authors/

ETNOLOGICKÉ ROZPRAVY / ETHNOLOGICAL DEBATES 2022 / 2

City during socialist period

Research on the social life in the second half of the 20th century, or more precisely during the regime of state socialism, is one of the important themes in contemporary ethnological research in Slovakia. In addition to examining the memories associated with historical events and twists of political history, the research also focuses on the way of life, the culture of everyday life and the holidays of this period. It is especially important to follow this topic today, during the current urbanization and modernization of Slovakia in urban areas. The prepared issue of Ethnological Debates will focus on urban culture. The editors invite analytic, theoretical, or synthetic articles, research reports, essays and discussions, focused especially (not, however, exclusively) on the following issues linked to the pandemic:

  • socialism in urban space
  • building the city and its (new) inhabitants
  • city and (industrial) factories
  • living in the city
  • the public space
  • lifestyles
  • holidays and festivities
  • free time
  • narrative representations of the city’s history
  • the culture of modern (socialist) society

Please send your abstract as an e-mail attachment to the editors, at the address etnologicke.rozpravy@gmail.com and the address of the guest editor juraj.janto@uniba.sk until June 15, 2022.

Final date for papers: August 31, 2022.

Guest editor:

Mgr. Juraj Janto, PhD. (juraj.janto@uniba.sk)

Department of Ethnology and Museology, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava

ETNOLOGICKÉ ROZPRAVY / ETHNOLOGICAL DEBATES 2022 / 1

The body and society

The research on the body in a social and cultural context is one of the classic themes of ethnology and sociocultural anthropology. Questions about the body and physicality intersect with many areas of research in social sciences, including sexuality, physical and sports activities, and health and disease. Mass media representations, which are now part of everyday life all over the world, contain various depictions of the body and physiological processes. At the same time, moral norms are associated with the body in every culture, as well as a number of stereotypes. The prepared first issue of the journal Etnologické rozpravy / Ethnological Debates in the year 2022 will give space to contributions on cultural heritage. The editors invite analytic, theoretical, or synthetic articles, research reports, essays and discussions, focused especially (not, however, exclusively) on the following issues:

  • Mass media representations of the body
  • Gender aspects of the body and corporality
  • Transgender and Queer studies
  • History of research on the body and corporeality
  • Moral assessment of physical and sexual practices in history and at present
  • Medicine and health
  • The body and sexuality
  • Medicalization of the body and sexuality
  • Sports and physical activities
  • Methodological issues of research on the body and corporeality

Please send your abstract as an e-mail attachment to the editors, at the address etnologicke.rozpravy@gmail.com until January 15, 2022.

Final date for papers: March 31, 2022.

ETNOLOGICKÉ ROZPRAVY / ETHNOLOGICAL DEBATES 2021 / 2

Moral narratives in history

Stories about historical events belong to the most important aspects of any culture. They are
related to the identity of the members of a given society and connected with moral norms.
Narratives about the past are a part of cultural education – they provide a model for heroic
deeds, but also images of enemies. They can therefore reveal not only the nuances of moral
rules, but also the role of history in the socio-political context. The prepared second issue of
the journal Etnologické rozpravy / Ethnological Debates in the year 2021 will give space to
contributions on relevant topics. The editors invite analytic, theoretical or synthetic articles,
research reports, essays and discussions, focused especially (not, however, exclusively) on
the following issues linked to the pandemic:

• The use of history in interpretations of the present
• Moral emotions in representations of historical events
• Images of heroes and enemies in history
• The role of history in cultural education
• Moral assessment of religious and ethnic groups in stories about the past
• Mass media representations of history
• Conspiracy theories
• Representations of historical events in a political context
• Commemoration rituals

Please send your abstract as an e-mail attachment to the editors, at etnologicke.rozpravy@gmail.com until 15. 4. 2021.

Final date for papers: 30. 7. 2021.