Cultures and Communities in the Anthropology of Eastern Europe and The Former Soviet

Union.

Anthropology ____ ________ College

Michael Pilakowski, Instructor

October 15, 2019

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The ethnographic and anthropological analyses of the former Soviet Union and Eastern

Europe published in the last decade can be categorized in two main aspects. One of them reflects

upon the broad prospects that came up due to the political upheavals of November 1989 in

Eastern Europe and of August 1991 in the Soviet Union; the other one expresses and

characterizes the theoretical heterogeneity of modern American anthropology.[ CITATION Wol00 \l

1033 ] The anthropological work in the former Soviet Union can be characterized as efforts made

to discover the notion of culture in different areas of social, economic, and political

transformation. On the other hand, anthropologists reviewing post-socialist societies in Eastern

Europe are moving from analyzing cultural practices of groups modernizing state projects to

reports on communities being formed by systemic changing in the politics of the economy of

states.

Wolfe discusses how the diverse subdivisions of American Anthropology have recently

received more content on the anthropology of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. With

a vast amount of data and researches that have been made in this area of anthropology, the task

of reviewing has become complicated. Therefore, Wolfe focuses on a relatively small number of

anthropological works on Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. He carefully selects the

works that are committed to the methodology of ethnographic fieldwork. The author, after

reviewing the works makes two final conclusions. The first one being the fact, that,

anthropologists seek the aspects of recent conversions or transformations at the core of different

forms of daily life. Secondly, the concern with disciplinarily, that is, the information they present

us on questions asked and channeling towards proven answers, is just as important.

Overall the article was detailed and well discussed. Wolfe’s careful selection and

appropriate referencing made all the resources in the article important sources for studying
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cultural anthropology. Most importantly, Wolfe emphasizes on the importance of theories in

anthropology, claiming that “it is impossible for ethnographers not to have a theory they work

with and within, because theories are both signs of disciplinary belonging and the means by

which evidence from one place can be made meaningful for ethnographers in other

places”[ CITATION Wol00 \l 1033 ]

The author, while describing the works of different cultural analysts, also mentions that

these were not just the works of anthropologists; they also included analyses by writers,

historian, literary scholars and philosophers, all of whom had examined the same subject, which

was the Russian culture. Thus, linking the subjects of history, philosophy, and literature with

cultural anthropology. An important conclusion that Wolfe makes in his article about culture is

that there is no unique sense of culture. Culture is discovered by each individual in their own

individual sense; it is a matter of how each person views it.

Wolfe’s article also covers significant information on research work on anthropologies of

Eastern Europe. For cultural anthropologists it offers a brief account on how the works on

Eastern Europe have evolved and transformed with time.

However, while Wolfe’s article covers most aspects in detail, it could have been more

concise and summarized, making it easier for the reader to quickly analyze and understand the

writer’s point of view. Other than that, the article contained a fair share of necessary information

and discussions, making it an exhaustive resource to study the research carried on anthropology

of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.

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Reference Cited

Wolfe, Thomas C.

2000 Cultures And Communities In The Anthropology Of Eastern Europe And The

Former Soviet Union , Annu. Rev. Anthropol (29):195-216