Other Values, Other Anthropologists

With Aleksandar Bošković (Jagiellonian University, Krakow / Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade)

Date: 3 March 2026, 18:00–20:00
Location: NOVA FCSH, Av. Berna, Auditorium B1

Anthropology has played an important role in shaping and formulating different values. However, theoretical trends and patterns undergo major shifts, and certain types of discourse eventually become privileged and are then imposed on a global community. The lecture will present several examples of values associated with early anthropologists, including the later criticism they received—such as Edward Said’s critique of William Robertson Smith—and will contrast this criticism with what we actually know from written and historical records. Voices have been silenced, or their meanings distorted. Further illustrations come from unexpected places, such as Poland and the former Yugoslavia, particularly regarding the construction of nationhood and the roles played by different, largely little-known scholars. These include Kazimierz Moszyński and Józef Obrębski in Poland, as well as Jovan Cvijić, Niko Županič, and Milovan Gavazzi in Serbia, Slovenia, and Croatia during the 20th century. Rediscovering and reassessing these marginal voices serves as an important reminder of the power of words, as what we write and what we say as anthropologists can have unintended consequences