The Anthropology Of Europe

A Companion to theAnthropologyof Europe BLACKWELL COMPANIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY A Companion to the Anthropology of Europe “The volume also deserves a place on the shelves of academic libraries as well as the larger public library.” Reference Reviews “Summing Up: Highly recommended. All academic levels/libraries.” Choice “This important collection challenges all anthropologists to re-examine the importance of European perspectives on the most provocative debates of our time. It transcends regional interests to highlight the complex intellectual landscape of our field.” Tracey Heatherington, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee “This significant volume critically interrogates assumptions about Europe as an idea and a place for research. It provides fresh perspectives on the past and future of anthropological studies of Europe.” Deborah Reed-Danahay, SUNY at Buffalo, President of the Society for the Anthropology of Europe A Companion to the Anthropology of Europe offers a survey of contemporary Europeanist anthropology and European ethnology, and a guide to emerging trends in this geographical field of research. Utilizing diverse approaches to the anthropological study of Europe, Kockel, Nic Craith, and Frykman provide a synthesis of the different traditions and contemporary practices. Investigating the subject both geographically and thematically, the companion covers key topics such as location, heritage, experience, and cultural practices. Written by leading international scholars in the field, the volume constitutes the first authoritative guide for researchers, instructors, and students of anthropology and European studies.

This is the first study of Europe post-1989 from an anthropological perspective. Thirteen distinguished authors examine the social, cultural and political implications of European integration with particular emphasis on changing European identities, concepts of citizenship and levels of participation. Their aim is to suggest an agenda for future research capable of addressing developing trends in contemporary Europe. The book is divided into two parts. The first deals with major theoretical issues that have characterized the anthropological study of Europe and includes a detailed introductory chapter which charts the history of anthropology in Europe and considers the prospects for an anthropology of Europe. This is followed by key themes in the study of European society and culture including kinship, gender, nationalism, immigration and changing patterns of production. The second section develops these themes further using different theoretical perspectives to explain complex issues such as nationalism, ethnic identities, and sectarian conflicts. Nine case studies cover a wide range of contemporary topics including European integration and Irish nationalism, the transmission of ethnic identity, and identity and conflict in the former Yugoslavia and post-colonial Gibraltar. This book fills a gap in the literature on European integration and will be of interest to anthropologists and sociologists as well as students of Political Science, Communications and European Studies.

This is the first study of Europe post-1989 from an anthropological perspective. Thirteen distinguished authors examine the social, cultural and political implications of European integration with particular emphasis on changing European identities, concepts of citizenship and levels of participation. Their aim is to suggest an agenda for future research capable of addressing developing trends in contemporary Europe. The book is divided into two parts. The first deals with major theoretical issues that have characterized the anthropological study of Europe and includes a detailed introductory chapter which charts the history of anthropology in Europe and considers the prospects for an anthropology of Europe. This is followed by key themes in the study of European society and culture including kinship, gender, nationalism, immigration and changing patterns of production. The second section develops these themes further using different theoretical perspectives to explain complex issues such as nationalism, ethnic identities, and sectarian conflicts. Nine case studies cover a wide range of contemporary topics including European integration and Irish nationalism, the transmission of ethnic identity, and identity and conflict in the former Yugoslavia and post-colonial Gibraltar. This book fills a gap in the literature on European integration and will be of interest to anthropologists and sociologists as well as students of Political Science, Communications and European Studies.

This collection brings together three generations of medical anthropologists working at European universities to reflect on past, current and future directions of the field. Medical anthropology emerged on an international playing ground, and while other recently compiled anthologies emphasize North American developments, this volume highlights substantial ethnographic and theoretical studies undertaken in Europe. The first four chapters trace the beginnings of medical anthropology back into the two formative decades between the 1950s-1970s in Italy, German-speaking Europe, the Netherlands, France and the UK, supported by four brief vignettes on current developments. Three core themes that emerged within this field in Europe – the practice of care, the body politic and psycho-sensorial dimensions of healing – are first presented in synopsis and then separately discussed by three leading medical anthropologists Susan Whyte, Giovanni Pizza and René Devisch, complemented by the work of three early career researchers. The chapters aim to highlight how very diverse (and sometimes overlooked) European developments within this rapidly growing field have been, and continue to be. This book will spur reflection on medical anthropology’s potential for future scholarship and practice, by students and established scholars alike. This book was originally published as a special issue of Anthropology and Medicine.

One of the problems facing Europe is that the building of institutional Europe and top-down efforts to get Europeans to imagine their common identity do not necessarily result in political and cultural unity. Anthropologists have been slow to consider the difficulties presented by the expansion of the EU model and its implications for Europe in the 21st Century. Representing a new trend in European anthropology, this book examines how people adjust to their different experiences of the new Europe. The role of culture, religion, and ideology, as well as insiders' social and professional practices, are all shown to shed light on the cultural logic sustaining the institutions and policies of the European Union. On the one hand, the activities of the European institutions in Brussels illustrate how people of many different nationalities, languages and cultures can live and work together. On the other hand, the interests of many people at the local, regional and national levels are not the same as the Eurocrats'. Contributors explore the issues of unity and diversity in ‘Europe-building' through various European institutions, images, and programmes, and their effects on a variety of definitions of identity in such locales as France, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Belgium.

The history of anthropology has great relevance for current debates within the discipline, offering a foundation from which the professionalisation of anthropology can evolve. The authors explore key issues in the history of social and cultural anthropological approaches in Germany, Great Britain, France, The Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Slovenia and Romania, as well as the influence of Spanish anthropologists in Mexico to provide a comprehensive overview of European anthropological traditions.

This book offers a clear, inviting and fascinating introduction to the social anthropology of Western Europe, illustrating the rich diversity of dialects, cultures and everyday lives of its peoples.