Journal of Ethnography 4/2001

The Journal of Ethnography 4/2001 focuses on one theme, the selected issues of ethnology as related toward environmentalism. In his article, Bohuslav Beneš tries to outline basic features of rural tourism (Rural tourism, agro-tourism, agro-folklorism, and folk tradition; Some thoughts on what used to be and what is going to be.). Alexandra Bitušíková deals with tourism in relation toward local cultures and mutual links with global trends. (On local cultures in a global village). Miroslav Válka brings specific examples of the changes in rural life in the Czech lands, which are part of the effort to preserve local culture (Contemporary countryside and its way toward cultural identity). Gero Fischer thinks about possibilities of agro-tourism in the Czech locations in Romania (Some thoughts on agro-tourism. Is there a chance for the Czech villages in the Romanian Banat?).

The Transformation Tradition column brings materials concerning a newly born social-cultural opportunity to mow meadows in Buchlovice, south Moravia, and focuses on haymaking in the White Carpathian Mountains (an actual agro-tourism) as well. There is also the final part of the article on a new tradition of making moonshine in the column. The Social Chronicle column is devoted to several anniversaries, of the Slovak musicologist and ethnomusicologist Oskar Elschek (born 1931), ethnologist Miloš Melzer (born 1941), and ethnologist Iva Heroldová (born 1926). It also brings the obituary of the musician Václav Kupilík (1946-2001) from the folklore movement region of Chodsko. The newsletter offers conference and festival news, book reviews, and a selected bibliography of the Czech books with ethnography topics published in 1999 as well.

The main focus of the Journal of Ethnography 3/2001 are social groups. Jolana Darulová presents her research of small teenage urban groups (Social Groups in the Urban Environment: Based on Research of Youth in Banská Bystrica). Karel Altman provides an outline of a history of a marginal social group - beggars (Beggars as an Subject of Ethnographical Research). In her theoretical article, Eva Krekovičová explains stereotypes in the formation of ethnic groups and the nation (Hetero-stereotypes and the Political Elite: Based on a Slovak Example). Jana Pešicová focuses on squatting (illegal accommodation in unused buildings) in her article called The Squat: Does This Alternative Work? Jana Poláková did ethnological research on Brno municipal transport drivers, especially tram drivers (Do You Know Who is “šalinář"?).

The Transformation Tradition column brings materials about folk crafts people as a group of tradition bearers (written by Josef Jančář), and a study on economic associations and their role in the birth of new tradition in the production of moonshine (written by Martin Šimša). The Looking Back column remembers Wallachian writer and artist Jan Kobzáň, 1901-1959 (by Richard Jeřábek). The Social Chronicle commemorates the anniversary of ethnographer Josef Jančář (born 1931) and the death of musicologist Miroslav Malura (1937-2000). The Discussion column turns its attention to the TV program ETNO 2000. In the journal there is news from festivals and folklore shows, as well as book reviews.

The Journal of Ethnography 2/2001 is devoted to folk dance and dance culture. In her study, Daniela Stavělová outlines the perspectives of the contemporary dance research, considering both the existing Czech research, and new trends in foreign ethnochoreology (Folk Dance: A Social, Cultural, or Historical Phenomenon?) Martina Pavlicová deals with links of folkloristic and ethnologic dance studies with other possibilities (Folkloristics and Ethnology: A Dual Picture of a Folk Dance?). Stanislav Dúžek gives an outline of the contemporary ethnochoreologic research in Slovakia (Ethnochoreologie Research in Slovakia and its Current Issues). Jitka Matuszková based her article on her long-term field research of the south Moravian region called Podluží (Some Thoughts on the Contemporary Dance Research in its Environment in the Folklore Surviving Areas). Dorota Gremlicová deals with dance as a symbol of a national value, especially in the 19th century (Dance and Czech National Programme). Kateřina Réblová explores the same period (Reflections of Folk Dance Culture in the Work of the 19th Century Men of Letters). In his analytical article, Zdeněk Vejvoda deals with a dance called do kolečka/in circles (The Song and Dance do kolec-ka in the Czech Lands). Tomáš Spurný offers an ethnomusicologist's view on written records of dance instrumental folk music in western Bohemia (Some Initiatives from the Study of the Oldest Records of Folk Instrumental Music in Chebsko).

The Transformation Tradition column brings a specific declaration of a verbuňk dancer, focused on this male leaping dance. The Looking Back column is devoted to the western Bohemian Bible reader Václav Jan Mašek (1795-1847). The Social Chronicle notes the anniversaries of ethnographer Jaroslav Štika (*1931), folk singer, musician and narrator František Okénka (*1921), ethnologist Richard Jeřábek (*1931), and film director Rudolf Adler (*1941).

The journal brings conference, exhibition and performance news as well, together with book reviews. The issue is completed with a selected bibliography in ethnography.

The Journal of Ethnography 1/2001 is focused on folk clothing. In her article, Alena Křížová deals with a broader relationship of folk and historical garb (Folk clothing and historical costumes. Notes on Terminology, Form and Functions of Costumes). Olga Danglová shows esthetic attitudes of inhabitants of the village of Lab in western Slovakia to their costumes. (Lab. Costume and the spectrum of esthetic attitudes. Based on ethnographic notes of an area in Záhoří, Slovakia).The topic of Lenka Nováková's study is the underwear (The dress which is hidden under). Alena Jeřábková refers to a specific part of female costume in the Highland region of southeastern Moravia (Notes on the typology of highland jackets). Josef Jančář depicts new forms of manufacturing folk costumes in Bohemia and Moravia after WWII (Modern production of folk costumes).

In the photo supplement, Richard Jeřábek offers a selection of period clothing in pictures from his family archive in Valachia region in eastern Moravia.

Transforming Tradition column brings notes on the way of folk musicians performances in the town of Domažlice and its surroundings in 1850-1950. Turning Back column sums up the activity of the past ten years of the Institute of Folk Culture in Strážnice.

Social Chronicle column commemorates the birth anniversaries of the Slovak folklorist Antonín Satke (1920), the dance folklorist Hannah Laudová (1921), and the ethnographer Karel Pavlištík (1931). There are obituaries of the folk song collector Václav Stuchlý (1914-2000), the cymbalom player and a long-standing editor of the Folk Instrument Radio Orchestra in Brno Jaroslav Jakubíček (1929-2000), and the violin player Bohdan Warchal (1930-2000).

The rest of the journal deals with conference news and reports, exhibition and book reviews.