Emerging subdisciplines in ethnology and anthropology of Serbia: research trends at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

Abstract

This article presents the in-depth analysis of the disciplinary landscape of ethnology and anthropology in Serbia within the institutional contexts of humanities and social sciences. Focusing on the Department of Ethnology and Anthropology at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, it provides insights into the main subdisciplines, fields, and themes of research since 2006, a time when significant publishing activity was invigorated and the Bologna Process reforms were implemented in Serbian universities. Using a theoretical approach to knowledge production as a complex mosaic of complementary research, rather than a hierarchy of different quality works, the article tracks the dynamics of disciplinary (re)orientations in the Department over the past 16 years. This is accompanied by a methodological approach whereby the author does not assume the role of an epistemic arbiter who selects and labels representative work, but instead invites members of the studied Department to exercise the selection processes by filling out a survey that the author composed and distributed. The article is based on information collected through the survey, the Department documentation, as well as the author’s own interpretation of the published works. Related subdisciplines are grouped in larger wholes and presented in counter-alphabetical order of the names given to them. Finally, the concluding part discusses the innovative and dynamic developments of the Department’s faculty research.