Re-thinking Ethnology
5th and 6th of June 2009
UCL Material Culture organizes a
working conference entitled Re-thinking Ethnology that will be
hosted by the Department of Anthropology/Centre for Museums, Heritage and
Material Culture on the 5th and 6th of June 2009. The event is sponsored by the
Journal of Material Culture.
Although Ethnology, Folklore
Studies and Anthropology emerged at the turn of 20th century from the same
intellectual and scientific roots, they have grown into separate disciplines
that today are distinguished by an array of methods, theories and school of
thought, which find their distinctive articulation in specific geopolitical,
historical and institutional contexts. These intra-disciplinary distinctions
between theories and methods, however accustomed we may have become to them, are
in the processes of loosing their relevance in a postcolonial and global world
where the restitution of indigenous scholarship and new technologies are forcing
us to consider whether there is a new future for old methods that once were
relegated to the periphery of anthropology. With the resurgence of interest in
the study of material culture and cultural heritage, providing a new impetus for
research on collections and archives, it is an open question whether ethnology
could harbor methods that could be fruitfully engaged to meet the new challenges
of an anthropology in the 21st century.
The two day working conference
will see representatives of the domain of ethnology and folklore studies in
Europe, the USA and China, who will speak about the diverse histories, practices
of ethnology and its projected future in their own country. The working
conference encompasses presentations on how ethnology is active, dormant or dead
in the anthropology of different nations. 'Re-thinking Ethnology' hopes to open
fruitful discussion drawing out whether there is a role for ethnology today, and
how we may best rethink its methods and theoretical aspirations to meet the
challenges of the future.
The papers will explore the following themes:
- Ethnology as material and technical practice - current approaches and what we anticipate as future developments
- The return to comparison and its methodological underpinnings
- How do we see the return to ethnology to impinge upon categories of anthropological knowledge.
Speakers:
Frederic
Damon (University of Virginia)
Mihaly Hoppal (Institute of Ethnology,
Budapest)
Giovanni Kezich (Museo degli Usi e Costumi della Gente Trentina,
San Michele all'Adige, Italy)
Orvar Lofgren (University of Lund)
Vintilla Mihalescu (University of Bucharest)
Wang Mingming (Peking
University, Central Minzu University)
Papataxiarchis Evthymios (University
of the Aegean)
Cristina Sanchez - Carretero (Spanish Council for Scientific
Research)
Martine Segalen (University of Paris, Nanterre)
Pieter Ter
Keurs (National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden)
Chris Wingfield (Pitt Rivers
Museum, Oxford)
Click here for the speakers
abstracts.
Website Links
University College
London - Department of Anthropology
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/anthropology/
Journal of Material
Culture
http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journalsProdDesc.nav?prodId=Journal200859
Centre for Museums, Heritage and Material Culture
http://www.mhm.ucl.ac.uk/
Workshop timetable and program:
Click
here for the conference
program.
Costs
The working conference is
free of charge but please note that places are limited to 40 seats. The
participants will make their own arrangement regarding lunch break.
Please confirm your participation to Laurence Douny: l.douny@ucl.ac.uk
Accommodation
Delegates are responsible for
all charges associated with their accommodation. The area surrounding the
University has numerous bed and breakfasts and small hotels within walking
distance. The following list shows some accommodation providers.
http://www-mice.cs.ucl.ac.uk/multimedia/projects/icecar/hotel.html
Detailed information about UCL can be found on the website:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/anthropology/
Maps
and Directions
The Workshop will take place at the UCL
Anthropology Department 14 Taviton street WC1H 0BW in the Lecture theatre,
ground floor (facing the reception). On map 2, the Anthropology Department is
indicated as E3 (just behind the Institute of Archeology).
A Campus map
is available online:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/about-ucl/location/maps
The
nearest underground station is Euston, which is on the Northern line. The
Anthropology Department is within walking distance (5-10 minutes) of the
following underground and train stations: Euston, King's Cross, St Pancras,
Euston square, Warren Street, Goodge Street and Russell Square.
For an
underground map click here:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/1108.aspx
For
information on travelling into London from various Airports: http://www.visitlondon.com/
or http://www.ukguide.org/
For transport within London:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/
