Urbanization in modern times has been one of the salient features characterizing social change in Southeast Europe, especially during the post-World War II socialist period, and producing obvious novelties in the post-socialist period. However, despite the significance of cities and towns, anthropology and related disciplines have so far displayed only scant interest in the study of urban lives and cultures in Southeast Europe. Structures, dynamics and contingencies of contemporary urban milieus in Southeast Europe still await thorough investigation, and have yet to be brought into a comparative perspective with urban communities in other parts of the world.
The 3rd InASEA Conference therefore intends to initiate scientific debate on the fundamental questions related to anthropological investigation of contemporary cities in Southeast Europe. The aim is to determine what is “urban” in phenomena and processes taking place a city vis-à-vis the countryside as well as how “urbaneness” varies in cities differing in history, size, demography, economy and culture.
The organizers invite papers that bring together different approaches to urban studies, such as those of anthropology, ethnology, ethnography, history, sociology and urban planning. The papers will discuss the phenomena, processes and narratives that define urban life and culture in Southeast Europe, and thus open new areas for basic and applied research.
The intention of the organizers is to enable the exchange of experience in exploring cities and towns in Southeast Europe between scholars from the region and colleagues from other parts of the world and to facilitate the networking between scholars within the region, thus, to stimulate a more coordinated exchange of information about ongoing scientific and educational projects.