Projects / Programmes
Ethnological, anthropological and folklore studies research on everyday life
January 1, 2022
- December 31, 2027
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 6.04.00 |
Humanities |
Ethnology |
|
| 6.03.00 |
Humanities |
Anthropology |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 5.04 |
Social Sciences |
Sociology |
| 6.02 |
Humanities |
Languages and Literature |
everyday life, practices, cultural processes, heritage, normalcy, uncertainty, crisis
Data for the last 5 years (citations for the last 10 years) on
April 17, 2024;
A3 for period
2018-2022
| Database |
Linked records |
Citations |
Pure citations |
Average pure citations |
| WoS |
62 |
265 |
249 |
4.02 |
| Scopus |
206 |
925 |
765 |
3.71 |
Researchers (21)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
The main goal of this research programme is to study and present everyday life in the past and present, while critically evaluating the central ethnological, anthropological, and folkloristic concepts in order to better use any previous as well as reconsider new findings and be able to predict scenarios for everyday life and co-habitation in the future. With such a starting point, we are preserving a long tradition of this research program, while at the same time we want to update it. In this research, as has been done in the previous ones, we will focus on the area of contemporary Slovenia. At the same time, we will cross borders more often and compare the results from our own environment with the analysis of everyday life abroad. In doing so, we will maintain the consolidated and establish new links with foreign institutions. We will also emphasise the comparative and inter- and transdisciplinary cooperation within and outside the programme. The general starting point on cultural spaces and practices discussed in the previous funding period of the research programme will be deepened by conceptualising everyday life as a venue for cultural practices, survival strategies, various forms of reciprocity, creativity, and a locus of permeating traditions and contemporary innovations. By everyday life, which is the central concept of the research programme, we define the practices and phenomena of human existence that are studied by ethnology, anthropology, and folkloristics. The research will take into account the historical, social, cultural, political, economic, ecological, spatial, and other circumstances that affect people's daily lives, as well as the findings of other sciences dedicated to everyday life, e.g., psychology, sociology, historiography, culture studies, etc. We will study the factors that influence the formation and change of everyday practices and related identity formations, and we will be particularly interested in new forms of everyday life in social groups occupying different living spaces; in them we see possible answers to crises, such as the Covid-19 pandemic that marked Slovenia and the world. The programme will continue, deepen, and expand previous research areas: history of the discipline and theoretical and methodological issues, research of material, social, and symbolic phenomena, and practices specific to the life of individuals and communities in various local (from microlocations to transnational venues), professional, and social environments. Through research on disciplinary history, theory and methodology, we will continue to shed light on cognitive and research dynamics involved in the development of the humanities in Slovenia and in the world, and especially on research self-reflection, which will accompany individual research.
Significance for science
Research of everyday practices is intended to deepen the attention to the procedual, dynamic character of culture, which reveals the role of the cultural and social in everyday life and analytically avoids the pitfalls of cultural essentialization. Such a focus allows researchers to contribute to the understanding of practices and processes by which social actors and groups define attitudes towards the social world (local, national, transnational), and also includes the study of creative ways in which actors and groups place themselves in relationships (e.g., old and new forms of reciprocity and community, identity practices) and relationships with tradition in the broadest sense (survival strategies, heritage) as they face the many challenges (economic, environmental, social) of the modern world. Knowledge of everyday practices is important for other sciences in Slovenia and for international comparisons. In the last decade, we have been increasingly involved in the circulation of knowledge through international projects. We rely on the rich institute infrastructure base in the archive and the Audiovisual Laboratory. Its work is nationally and internationally important for the visual production and development of the digital humanities. Special care in the programme is intended for the transfer of knowledge: by publishing in the Slovenian and international scientific production, by intensive cooperation with domestic and foreign experts and institutions, by organising and participating in domestic and foreign scientific meetings (e.g., Why the World Needs Anthropologists and Days of Ethnographic Film), in international editorial boards, and by participating in international projects. The programme group will continue to publish and edit international scientific journals (Traditiones, Studia mythologica Slavica) and several book collections (EFCA, Opera ethnologica Slovenica, Ethnologica - Dissertationes, SMS - Supplementa, Slovenski pravljičarji, Glasovi). In the last decade, the cooperation of the programme with the university sphere in joint research projects has intensified, and we plan to continue this trend in the future as well. Since most researchers have a university habilitation, we will transfer the findings into the study programmes of the University of Ljubljana, the University of Maribor and the ZRC SAZU's Postgraduate School, as well as to students abroad. In working with students, we will encourage the formation of inter- and transdisciplinary groups and the implementation of innovative research that will bring new insights and applied results related to the topic of the programme.
Significance for the country
The research of the program group brings basic knowledge about people, society, and culture, which is important for understanding the humanity, national and other identities in a globalised world. In this way, it contributes to civic awareness and self-confidence based on knowledge of ones own cultural foundations, as well as to the openness and respect for different cultural patterns, practices, and ways of life that are characteristic of a globally connected multiethnic and multicultural environment such as Slovenia. Historical and ethnographically oriented research draws attention to the ethnic, linguistic, generational, etc. social bases of cultural diversity, which researchers largely reveal in direct contact with people as socio-cultural actors and members of various groups and communities. At the same time, researchers encounter their everyday problems when they respond creatively to circumstances and processes (political, economic, social, cultural, natural) that they face on several levels. Understanding everyday strategies and practices can also be essential for the formulation of a local, regional, and national policy, especially that part of it aimed at sustainable economic, social, cultural, and environmental conditions, which is also one of the central issues of the research program. It is in this spirit that we will, as before, cooperate with institutions, governmental and non-governmental organizations, associations. The research on clothing culture and folk costumes that we will carry out in the program will help folklore groups and other activities that lean on historical reconstructions, and the results will be the starting point and inspiration for arts and crafts, souvenirs, fashion industry, tourism, etc. Findings from the field of literary folklore of individual regions and local communities can be included in the tourist and cultural-economic development of Slovenia, rural development planning, and a wider cultural offer at the local and national level. Research into the process of folklorization (e.g., folklore genres and storytelling in general), which is associated with the growing number of public cultural, tourist, and didactic storytelling events, will contribute to the professional preservation of traditional storytelling for educational, cultural, tourist, and development purposes. Research into social practices, survival strategies, and various forms of reciprocity and solidarity will shed light on the potential that traditional practices can have in modern times when it comes to sustainable development and protection of natural and cultural heritage (e.g., new ways of cooperation and production in cooperatives and housing communities). We see critical research into cultural heritage as an important contribution to its holistic and interdisciplinary care. With the development of our own archive and its growing openness, we are promoting our research and valuable collections. The Days of Ethnographic Film as a central Slovene and international film event for the promotion of world and Slovene culture will additionally contribute to the expansion of knowledge. Another important mission of the program is the transfer of knowledge to education at various levels. In addition to the scientific promotion of findings, the professional popularisation of knowledge and the transfer of knowledge to experts in the school system, education in general, the economy, social and cultural activities is also important. Through mass media, events and consulting activities, we will continue to present the results of our research to the general public and establish new ways of dissemination by transferring the results via social media.
