CALL FOR PARTICIPATION IN AN INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE
“Ethnology and Anthropology Through Time:
Reflections on the Discipline and
the Horizons Ahead”
The Department of Ethnology and Anthropology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, invites scholars and researchers to participate in an international scientific conference organized on the occasion of 120 years since the establishment of the Seminar of Ethnology at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade and 145 years since the beginning of university-level teaching of ethnology in Serbia.
The aim of the conference is to critically review the disciplinary development to date and to open a discussion on the contemporary position, role, and social relevance of ethnology and cultural anthropology in Europe, with particular attention to post-socialist contexts. Starting from the historical transformations of the discipline—from ethnography and ethnology to cultural anthropology—the conference will address the theoretical, methodological, and institutional changes that have accompanied this transition, as well as the dilemmas that have marked it.
Rather than offering normative answers to questions such as what the discipline was, what it is, and what it should be, the conference seeks to approach these issues through presentations of current research, theoretical interests, projects, professional practices, and empirical insights.
Taking into account the fact that ethnologists and anthropologists in many European settings—and especially in post-socialist societies—have operated between national expectations and international academic standards, as well as between state-based and transnational sources of legitimacy, the conference opens a space for discussion on the long-term consequences of such “dual positioning,” together with its contemporary potentials and limitations.
We invite authors to submit paper proposals that may be thematically situated within the following areas:
- Histories of the discipline and disciplinary transformations: ethnology, cultural anthropology, and related fields in European and comparative perspectives; institutional, epistemological, and generational changes.
- Theoretical and methodological challenges of contemporary anthropology: иchoices of theoretical frameworks, methodological innovations, and the limits and possibilities of critical and deconstructive analysis.
- Anthropology, society, and politics: relations with the state, public policies, identity regimes, populism, crises, and conflicts.
- Heritage, memory, and culture in contemporary societies: cultural practices, heritage policies, museums, public discourses, and popular culture.
- Professional practices and the social role of ethnologists and anthropologists: teaching, research, applied anthropology, public engagement, and interdisciplinary relations.
The conference will be held in person.
The working languages are BCS and English.
Conference fee: 30 EUR
Important dates:
- Abstract submission deadline: 01 March, 2026.
- Notification of acceptance: 01 April, 2026.
- Deadline for payment of the conference fee: 15 July, 2026.
- Conference dates: 11-13 September, 2026
Abstracts (up to 300 words) and a short biographical note should be sent to: ea.konferencije@f.bg.ac.rs
Conference Programme and Conference Book of Abstracts marking the 120th anniversary of the Department of Ethnology and Anthropology.
We look forward to your participation and to a shared reflection on the contemporary challenges of ethnology and anthropology.