Culture, Identity, Politics: A Scholarly Conference in Honour of Dunja Rihtman-Auguštin

Conference venue: Zagreb (Croatia)
Period: Oct. 25-27, 2012
Deadline for submitting abstracts: Jun. 17, 2012

This conference on culture, identity and politics is organized by the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research in Zagreb in honour of one of its former directors and prestigious scholar Dunja Rihtman-Auguštin, PhD (1926-2002). The rich scholarly work of Dunja Rihtman-Auguštin demonstrates both the prolific work of this internationally recognised scholar and testifies to the vibrancy of the disciplines – ethnology, cultural anthropology and folkloristics – during the second half of the 20th century within which she was active.
Her work focused on themes related to tradition and its changes in contemporary times, the construction of identity and the correlation between culture and politics in everyday life and ideology, form a theoretical and anthropological perspective.
The conference aims at starting a critical academic debate on the study of contemporary everyday life from the viewpoint of ethnology and cultural anthropology, to which Dunja Rihtman-Auguštin made such a notable contribution over a period of some forty years. Dunja Rihtman-Auguštin contributed to the spread of knowledge on these issues not only through research but also through public engagement.
The conference shall be held at the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research in Zagreb on October 25-27, 2012.

Following the research interests of Dunja Rihtman-Auguštin and their theoretical and methodological breadth, eligible topics inlcude:

Classic ethnological themes (customs, family, folklore) will be the focus of the conference. The debate will indicate the development of research trends, many of which were set precisely by Dunja Rihtman-Auguštin (tourism, the town, socialism, modernity, gender, political rituals, folklorism, the engagement of scholars), examine the relation between ethnology and anthropology and initiate discussion on key disciplinary notions (culture, people, identity) which are central in the contemporary integrationary policies of Croatia and Europe.

The deadline for applying is June 17, 2012. Applications should include an abstract with name, affiliation, title and summary of the paper (max. 300 words) and must be sent via e-mail to the following addresses: marks@ief.hr; institut@ief.hr.

Ljiljana Marks, PhD
Organizing Board, Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research
e-mail: marks@ief.hr; institut@ief.hr