Course for international guest/part time students

Faculty

Faculty of Social Sciences

Organization

TÁTK Department of Cultural Anthropology

Code

EKAN121.1

Title

Anthropology of Europe

Usual semester

Autumn

Published semester

2026/27/1

ECTS

3

Language

en

Learning outcomes

“Anthropology of Europe”, from a comprehensive comparative perspective, outlines the more significant specifics of the cultures of the continent, as it introduces the unfolding anthropological researches, their trends and directions, the opportunities and dilemmas of the anthropologist conducting research within his own culture, and the topics of the eminent current researches. The aim of the lectures is to present the social, cultural, ethnic, etc. approach to the problems.

Course content

I. Europe’s historical leap (Why capitalism did not take roots in China?; “European world economy”; European specifics of social stratification, differences, revolutions, ideologies; Nowadays Europe and the global culture; Europe-concepts and myths) II. Culture’s social segmentation (Elite culture, folk culture, pop culture, mass culture; Towns and villages: peasants, artisans, middle-class, workers; Cultural segregation, strategies of boundary creation; The Restriction and Repression of Folk-culture debate; Construction of civic culture, mapping of folk-culture) III. Ethnicities, nations, states (National awareness, two waves of developing national cultures; Ethnic diversity, diasporas; Variants of nationalism; Migrations, flights, settlements; The problems of coexistence)

Assessment method

Final grade can be acquired by writing a minimum ten pages long essay, in connection with a topic of the course. The student should cite at least five different scientific sources, and use one standardized citation system. OR Oral exam: In the first part the student chooses one issue from the course description, and prepare from the assigned readings. In the second part the examiner will also pose questions about a different topic, based on the literatures and the class discussions. The students can also give a presentation concerning one matter, preferably connected to their research. In this case the student should only prepare to the second part of the oral exam.

Bibliography

Braudel, Fernand Civilization and capitalism, 15th-18th century Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992 Elias, Norbert Civilizing process Oxford: Blackwell, c2000 Fél, Edit- Hofer, Tamás Proper peasants: traditional life in a Hungarian village Chicago : Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, 1969 Kaschuba, Wolfgang. ‘The Jewish Quarter’ and ‘Kosher Light’: On the ‘Migrantisation’ of Jewish Urban Space, in: Gromova, Alina/ Heinert, Felix/ Voigt, Sebastian (Hg.): Jewish and Non-Jewish Spaced in the Urban Context, Berlin 2015, S.293-302 Wolf, Eric R., Europe and the people without history Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990

Programmes of the course