I step into the cool, dimly lit chapel on the second floor of the theological college. The air is heavy with incense. People greet me on all sides, children run between the benches, some are sitting motionlessly in silent prayer. It’s time for the Holy Mass […]

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 […]