Europe | antropologi.info

Illustrates the history of ethnic groups in Russia with exhibition of trousers

Published on December 17, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, culture traditions, Europe, indigenous people / minorities

BBC News

St Petersburg’s Museum of Ethnography has decided to illustrate the history of ethnic groups living in Russia with an exhibition of trousers worn as part of their traditional costumes.

On display there are 70 pairs of trousers representing Turkic, Finno-Ugric and Baltic groups who inhabit the area from the Baltic Sea to the southern Urals.

The style of trousers reflects the environment people lived in and their daily routine, so they tell you more about the given culture than, say, a jacket or hat that often serve decorative rather than practical purposes, says the curator, Yelena Kolchina >> continue

BBC News

St Petersburg's Museum of Ethnography has decided to illustrate the history of ethnic groups living in Russia with an exhibition of trousers worn as part of their traditional costumes.

On display there are 70 pairs of trousers representing Turkic, Finno-Ugric…

Germans critical of Santa Claus’s spread – “symbol of American commercialism”

Published on December 9, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, Europe, politics, religion cosmology, Us and Them

Christian Science Monitor

To many Germans, Santa’s spread is an unwelcome reminder of the encroachment of American commercialism into Europe. “People are starting to become critical of commercialism in every respect,” says Hermann Bausinger, a cultural anthropologist at the University of Tübingen.

“Christmas has switched from being only a celebration within the family and the church to being a public event starting late in November and going on through January,” says Mr. Bausinger.

The problem, as German television celebrity Mr. Hahne sees it, is that American-style Santas are crowding out Saint Nicholas, the traditional Christmas icon of this hilly Germany village named after the 4th-century bishop. “Santa is a symbol of consumption,” Hahne says. “Nicholas was a real bishop [who] taught us what’s still very true today: giving does not make us poorer. It makes us richer.” >> continue

Christian Science Monitor

To many Germans, Santa's spread is an unwelcome reminder of the encroachment of American commercialism into Europe. "People are starting to become critical of commercialism in every respect," says Hermann Bausinger, a cultural anthropologist at the University of…

Cultural complexity in Norway – Turning away from ethnicity as explanatory model

Published on December 3, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, culture traditions, Europe, interdisciplinary, migration, Us and Them

University of Oslo

Cultural complexity in the new Norway, represents a large commitment by the University of Oslo towards research on cultural diversity. This is the first time in the history of the University of Oslo that it is being worked cross-disciplinary to such an extent.

Through interdisciplinary cooperation, the research project will be able to present new perspectives on Norway as a multicultural society, project manager Professor in Social Anthropology Thomas Hylland Eriksen promised. It is not immigrants alone who will be studied; Norwegians will be studied, too. One will look at ways of being Norwegian, and relations between them. It is of great importance to focus on other identities than ethnic ones. >> continue

University of Oslo

Germans as Indians: Ethnographic images explore an unsettling cultural exchange

Published on November 12, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, art, Europe, indigenous people / minorities, migration, Native American, Us and Them

Boston Globe

Photographers Andrea Robbins and Max Becher, who have work up at the Bernard Toale Gallery, are anthropologists of a sort. They document explosions of one culture within another, which occur through migration, colonialism, but also through odder means, such as appropriation.

They’ve photographed a town in Washington that sells itself as Bavarian, with chalet-style architecture, signage in a Germanic font, and lederhosen worn during parades — even though the town has no historic ties to Germany. Their work examines the strange gaps and attractions between societies with a cool, deadpan eye.

That particular interest in German culture shows up in the pair’s exhibition at Toale, ”German Indians.” Certain people in Germany enjoy dressing up in traditional Native American garb. >> continue

Boston Globe

In Britian: The local pub is the heart of the community

Published on November 10, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, books, culture traditions, Europe, fieldwork / methods, Us and Them

Manchester Online

MOST people believe the local pub is far more important to their community than the church, according to a survey published today. Kate Fox, social anthropologist and co-director of the Social Issues Research Centre, was asked to comment on the findings.

She said: “The survey confirms the status of the pub as a central part of British life and culture, a unique institution, vital for sustaining local communities. The bar of the pub is one of the very few public places in England where it is socially acceptable to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger,” she said.

“At the bar, the normal unwritten rules of privacy and reserve are suspended – we are granted temporary `remission’ from our conventional social inhibitions, and friendly conversation with strangers is regarded as entirely appropriate and normal behaviour.” >> continue

Manchester Online