Andrej Gogora ed. 
- Jaroslava Panáková ed.
- Jaroslava Panáková ed. Understanding Slovakia: Contemporary Approaches in Local Anthropology
Abstract
This publication represents the first instalment in the series Challenges and Directions in Slovak Ethnology and Anthropology. The book offers a comprehensive and theoretically engaged examination of contemporary issues in Slovakia through the lens of local anthropology. It brings together leading Slovak ethnologists and anthropologists to explore themes such as political polarisation, migration, religious devotion, and methodological innovation.
The volume is divided into two sections. The first focuses on contemporary challenges, analysing key sociopolitical developments, including the assassination attempt on Slovakia’s Prime Minister, the housing crisis for Ukrainian refugees, and the evolving role of Marian devotion. The second section introduces emerging methodologies, highlighting new approaches in ethnographic practice, such as sensory ethnography in environmental anthropology and the integration of artificial intelligence into archival research.
Rooted in reflexive anthropology, the book engages with global academic debates while addressing the local realities of ethnographic practice in Slovakia. It critically reassesses the role of home anthropology, challenges the constraints of disciplinary traditions, and advocates for methodological pluralism. The volume is an essential contribution to the field, relevant to scholars of Central and Eastern European anthropology, ethnology, and cultural studies.
This open-access publication is a valuable resource for academics, students, and professionals in social sciences, fostering an interdisciplinary dialogue on Slovakia’s shifting sociocultural landscape.
Content
Integrating Sensory Methodologies in Environmental Anthropology, strany: 156-195 Full text
Conclusion, strany: 228-230 Full text
Information
Publisher: Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences
Book type: edited book
Edition: 1.
Edition year: 2024
Edition place: Bratislava
Pages: 230
Language: English
Keywords:
home anthropology, societal challenges, innovative methodologies, reflexivity, Slovakia
ISBN 978-80-69127-00-5 (online)
Public license:
This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0
How to cite
ISO 690:
Gogora, A. - Panáková, J. ed.: Understanding Slovakia: Contemporary Approaches in Local Anthropology. 1 vyd. Bratislava : Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. 2024. pp. 230. ISBN 978-80-69127-00-5. Dostupné na: https://doi.org/10.31577/2024.9788069127005
APA:
Gogora, A., Panáková, J. ed(2024). Understanding Slovakia: Contemporary Approaches in Local Anthropology. Bratislava : Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. ISBN 978-80-69127-00-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31577/2024.9788069127005
Chapter details
In: Understanding Slovakia: Contemporary Approaches in Local Anthropology
Jaroslava Panáková 
- Andrej Gogora
- Andrej Gogora Anthropology at Home: Rethinking Methodologies in Slovakia
In recent years, European anthropology has grappled with the complexities of multiple interwoven crises—pandemics, war, climate change, and social instability—leading to debates on whether we are living in an era of ‘polycrisis’. While crisis thinking often isolates events from broader historical contexts, anthropology provides a critical framework for sustained ethnographic inquiry into these pressing issues. This volume, the first in the Challenges and Directions in Slovak Ethnology and Anthropology series, engages with these challenges by exploring the evolving landscape of home anthropology and anthropology at/of home, combining institutional selfreflection with methodological innovation. The introductory chapter shows that the unifying themes of liminality and temporality in the first section of the volume provide crucial interpretative frameworks for understanding contemporary Slovakia. These concepts bridge seemingly disparate case studies by capturing how individuals and communities navigate uncertain, transitory, and often precarious political, social, and religious circumstances. The study traces evolving methodological debates in athome research presented in the volume's second section, centering on the interrelated themes of reflexivity, mediation, and knowledge production. These concepts unify the discussions on positionality, sensory ethnography, and AIdriven archival research, highlighting how contemporary ethnographers engage with their own embeddedness in the field, navigate the mediation of experience through digital and material practices, and confront the changing nature of archival work in the age of artificial intelligence. By critically examining these issues, this volume contributes to the advance ment of ethnographic practice ‘at home’ and ensures that anthropology and ethnology in Slovakia remain responsive to global academic discussions.
Information
Pages: 8 - 28
Language: English
Edition year: 2024
Keywords:
home anthropology,
ethnographic field,
polycrisis,
anthropological reflexivity,
methodologies,
Slovakia
Public license:
This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0
How to cite
ISO 690:
Panáková, J. - Gogora, A.: 2024. Anthropology at Home: Rethinking Methodologies in Slovakia. In: Understanding Slovakia: Contemporary Approaches in Local Anthropology. 1. vyd. Bratislava : Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, pp.8-28. ISBN 978-80-69127-00-5. Dostupné na: https://doi.org/10.31577/2024.9788069127005.8-28
APA:
Panáková, J., Gogora, A.. (2024). Anthropology at Home: Rethinking Methodologies in Slovakia. Understanding Slovakia: Contemporary Approaches in Local Anthropology. Bratislava : Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, 8-28. ISBN 978-80-69127-00-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31577/2024.9788069127005.8-28