Peter Skalník

László Kürti

Now that nearly twenty years have passed since the collapse of the Soviet bloc there is a need to understand what has taken place since that historic date and where we are at the moment. Bringing together authors with different historical, cultural, regional and theoretical backgrounds, this volume engages in debates that address new questions arising from recent developments, such as whether there is a need to reject or uphold the notion of post-socialism as both a necessary and valid concept ignoring changes and differences across both time and space. The authors' firsthand ethnographies from their own countries belie such a simplistic notion, revealing, as they do, the cultural, social, and historical diversity of countries of Central and Southeastern Europe.

Anthropological Perspectives from Home

Postsocialist Europe

This edited volume examines the critical issues of the 21st century through the prism of Ernest Gellners work. The contributors look critically at Gellners legacy, questioning whether he remains an inspiration for todays social theorists. Chapters proactively probe Gellners thoughts on a variety of pressing topicsmodernity, postcolonialsm, nationalism, and morewithout losing sight of current debates on these issues. This volume further brings these debates to life by having each chapter followed by a comment by an academic peer of the chapter author, thus transforming the text into a lively and dynamic conversation. Petr Skalnik is Emeritus Extraordinary Professor at the University of Wroclaw, Poland. Previously he taught at Comenius University, Leiden University, University of Cape Town, Charles University and the University of Pardubice. He has edited and co-edited over two dozen books over the course of his career, and is the 2006 recipient of the Chevalier dans lOrdre des Palmes Academiques. From 1992 to 1997 he served as the Ambassador of Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic to Lebanon, and from 2003 to 2013 he was Vice-President of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences.

Ernest Gellner's Legacy and Social Theory Today

C. M. Hann

Peter Skalnik

Mihály Sárkány

Mihaly Sarkany

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 Volkerkunde. 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.

Peter Skalník

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