ETNOLOGICKÉ ROZPRAVY / ETHNOLOGICAL DEBATES 2024 / 1
Water
The theme of the first issue of Ethnological Debates 2024 is devoted to the phenomenon of water in various aspects that are part of human culture. Water is one of the basic prerequisites of life. Its intake is essential for humans, animals, and plants. Apart from direct consumption, it has served and continues to serve for food preparation, essential parts of animal feeding, crop irrigation, cleansing, industrial production, transport, recreation; as a source of energy, in rituals, etc. Watercourses and areas form part of the landscape and its perception; they are managed and used by man, but they also pose a hazard (flooding). Water is therefore not only a phenomenon of the natural environment but an important aspect of culture, on which this issue of the journal focuses its attention.
The editors welcome theoretical and empirical studies, essays, and discussions, that address the phenomenon of water in the broad context of culture, including the following aspects:
- water consumption, water in diet and purification (wells, well water, taps, bottled water)- water in production (mills, power stations)
- water transport (boats, compasses, rafts, ships), bridges
- boatmen, ferrymen, and other water-related occupations
- water and recreation (swimming, water sports, rafting, ice-skating, bathing, beaches, waterside holidays)
- fishing and fisheries
- water in the landscape and settlements (waterfronts, fountains)
- streams, rivers, lakes, canals, reservoirs and bodies of water (marshes, dams, dykes, huts, techs)
- water in rituals, folklore (proverbs), and supernatural ideas (living water; watermen, fairies)
- water and dangers (floods), climate change
- water as a topic of ethnological research
Abstracts should be sent to etnologicke.rozpravy@gmail.com. no later than 15th December 2023.
Deadline for submission: 15th February 2024
The editor of the issue is:
Mgr. Juraj Janto, PhD.
Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Arts, Department of Archeology
Submission guidelines: please follow the submission guidelines on the website of the Ethnographic Society of Slovakia, https://nss.sav.sk/en/ethnological-debates/guidelines-for-authors/
ETNOLOGICKÉ ROZPRAVY / ETHNOLOGICAL DEBATES 2024 / 2
Rituals and Ritualization
Ethnology and anthropology’s long-standing interest in rituals and beliefs associated with them has led to the elaboration of major theoretical propositions and numerous empirical studies that have permanently influenced the development of both disciplines. Typologies of rituals can be based on perceptions of time in human and natural environment, hence the frequent division of rituals according to life-cycle phases and types of calendars. Equally important are rituals related to everyday, reciprocal behaviour, the natural environment, politics, and economics. Finally, the focus on the role of rituals in socioeconomic and political processes is a major theme in the social sciences. Rituals can unite as well as separate people, communicating towards group members as well as outwards to those beyond their boundaries. Rituals establish both rules of interaction and norms of interpretation, even through symbolic subversion or enclosure. Human societies are thus permeated by rituals and ritualized practices.
The editors of the journal welcome theoretical and empirical studies, essays, and discussion papers on relevant topics, including the following:
- Theoretical and methodological approaches in the study of rituals and ritualization
- Ritual and socialization
- Ritual, cooperation and community
- Ritual, kinship, household
- Gender aspects of ritualization
- Ritual, metaphor and laughter
- Ritual and religion
- Ritual and magical practices
- Ritual and evolution
- Ritual and cognition
- Ritual in processes of secularization
- Rituals, politics and propaganda
- Rituals and mass media
- Ritualisation and intangible cultural heritage
- Ritualised expressions of ethnic and national identity
- The language of ritual and its reproduction in education
- Ritual and consumption
- Ritual and work
- Ritual and globalization
- Commercialization of ritual practices
- Ritual as therapy
We are dedicating the upcoming issue of Etnologické magazine to Kornélia Jakubíková on the occasion of her life anniversary.
Study abstracts should be sent to the editors at etnologicke.rozpravy@gmail.com and to guest editor H. Tužinska to helena.tuzinska@uniba.sk by 31st March 2024.
Deadline for submission: 15th June 2024
Guest editor:
doc. Mgr. Helena Tužinská, PhD.
Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Arts, Department of Archeology
Submission guidelines: please follow the submission guidelines on the website of the Ethnographic Society of Slovakia, https://nss.sav.sk/en/ethnological-debates/guidelines-for-authors/