If asked which qualities are typical for their country, Slovaks frequently respond with “hospitality”. The touristic website “Authentic Slovakia” even declares Slovakia the most hospitable country in the world! No offense, dear Slovaks, but that statement is somewhat unoriginal. Hearing citizens declare their country inhospitable is […]

In the framework of the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Social Anthropology, I filmed several videos refugees and asylum contestants in Bratislava. The conference theme was „displacements“ and it was created to be an online only, multimedia, carbon-conscious gathering. I wanted to take advantage of […]

Knock knock. Hesitantly I open the door to my room in the hostel, the cheapest one in Žilina. It is 10 pm, freezing cold outside and the front door was locked – How did the person get into the building? In front of me: A […]

The community center is glowing with lights and a busy hustle; there are candles and lightning chains lining along walls and shelves; the promising scent of frying oil penetrates every corner of the half-parterre flat in the Bratislava center. Today is the Christmas celebration of […]

The sun barely penetrates the thick mist this early Thursday morning, but the spirits in a small blue minibus are light: Three activists, two musicians, a photographer and me are on a mission to the northernmost stretch of Slovakia, the Upper Orava region. „Azim dschan […]

During my first weeks of fieldwork, I found Facebook to be an invaluable research companion. Thanks to Facebook, I found my flat in Bratislava. Thanks to online discussions on news articles, I get a quite good grasp of the main arguments and reasoning schemes in public […]

  Ethnographic fieldwork often feels more like a conversation with friends than a scientific laboratory-style arrangement. But then, it might also happen that you encounter opinions and statements that leave you gasping for air – especially when dealing with current and controversial topics. I need […]

The ethnographer in the historical museum in Bratislava Ethnography begins with a look in the mirror. It is my first day in the field and I am going to do some street ethnography – a slightly more sophisticated term for an aimless stroll through town […]