Aneliya Kuzmanova

Email address: a.kuzmanova@ucl.ac.uk

Working title of thesis: Rescuing the Field: Lessons in Engaged Anthropology

Present degree status: MPhil candidate

Start date of research: October 2009

Supervisors: Dr Eric Gordy and Dr Ger Duijzings

Centre to which the thesis is affiliated: Centre for South-East European Studies

Description of research topic:
My research aims to test the limits of the anthropological fieldwork experience by applying unconventional techniques such as 'militant' anthropology, in an attempt to save the disappearing village community of Momina Curkva, Bulgaria, former participant in the 1980s rejuvenation project of the communist regime, entitled 'Republic of the Youth'. The adoption of a radical 'compranheira' approach reflects the emphasis in this study on the moral and ethical responsibilities of the ethnographer to articulate and advocate the interests of 'their' community. In order to investigate the social dynamics of this community, the analysis will build on current research on rural ghettoisation, rural anomie, in- and outmigration, and rural-urban relations. On the theoretical level, discourses on post-modernist positionality, reflexivity, indigenous and involved anthropology will be discussed. Sources will include the Facebook group of the village, participant observation and informal interviews with the current and the former-Republic's residents.

This page last modified Wednesday 27 April 2011.