This paper explains the concept of kinship terminology as an analytical category in anthropology and highlights its importance. Special attention is given to the differences in approach and ...methodology employed in anthropology compared to comparative philology and historical linguistics when it comes to this type of research. In addition to discussing the typology of kinship terminology systems, the paper addresses current knowledge regarding two longstanding questions: 1. the relationship between kinship terminology and non-linguistic elements (principles of social organisation and kinship behaviour), and 2. historical changes and transformations of kinship terminological systems.
From the perspective of contemporary anthropology, when interpreting the prevalence of different types of kinship terminology worldwide, it is necessary to consider and distinguish between two principles of grouping: the ‘principle of propinquity’ and the ‘principle of form.’ The principle of propinquity can be applied when dealing with societies that are linguistically, geographically, and historically connected. When terminologies with the same formal characteristics, including identical rules of kinship classification, exist in geographically, linguistically, and historically distinct and distant societies, the principle of form is applied, which focuses more on logical rather than historical connections between systems.
While earlier studies focused on finding logically powerful and empirically efficient analytical means of classification, in recent decades the emphasis has increasingly shifted towards broader social, historical, and cognitive issues and processes. Contemporary approaches to kinship terminology aim to identify and explain variations rather than categorise such systems into one general category or another. Because what matters is not which category fits better, but rather which features can be combined in different ways to form a concrete system in the real world.
Over the last couple of decades the phenomenon denoted as “return of religion” has become the subject of discussion in the social disciplines and humanities. Various authors stress that the social ...relevance of religion is becoming more obvious in the public and political spheres of the contemporary secular societies, as well as in the international relations and world politics. According to some interpretations, these phenomena allow thinking and talking about the contemporarity as a “postsecular age”. The paper discusses the basic assumptions of the postsecular paradigm and points to the limitations of the very concept of “postsecularity”. At the same time, the aim of the paper is to point to the importance of the relationship between religion and policy in the field of the new medical biotechnologies as one, but not exclusive aspect of anthropological research of the religious responses to the new possibilities raised by the biotechnological innovations.
At the turn of the millennium, Turkish television series became a global phenomenon, requiring comprehension of the broader social and historical context of their production, distribution and ...reception. The paper considers questions regarding their genre and points to the socioeconomic and political circumstances of their development and transformation into a cultural product with worldwide popularity and an industry with great market value. Particular attention has been given to the question of how these processes have affected the depiction of the family and family values in these series. The second part of the paper presents a case study of the series The Fall of Leaves, in which the concept of the family and family life that is offered through the plot of "the family in crisis" in the present age of changes is examined. The reception of family relationships in the series has been studied through the analysis of an internet forum in which forum members, viewers of this series in Croatia and the region, commented in 2287 posts from 2011 to 2012 on the first TV broadcast of this Turkish series.
Tokom poslednjih decenija fenomen koji je označen kao „povratak religije“ predstavlja predmet rasprava u okviru društvenih nauka i humanističkih disciplina. Različiti autori/ke naglašavaju da je ...društveni značaj religije sve očigledniji kako u javnoj i političkoj sferi savremenih sekularnih društava, tako i u međunarodnim odnosima i svetskoj politici. Ovi fenomeni, prema nekim tumačenjima, dozvoljavaju da se o savremenosti može misliti i govoriti kao o „postsekularnom dobu“. U radu se razmatraju osnovne pretpostavke postsekularne paradigme i ukazuje na ograničenja samog pojma „postsekularnost“. Istovremeno, rad ima za cilj da skrene pažnju na značaj pitanja odnosa religije i politike u polju novih medicinskih biotehnologija kao jednog, ali ne i jedinog aspekta antropološkog /ove problematike/religije i biotehnoloških inovacija
At the turn of the millennium, Turkish television series became a global phenomenon, requiring comprehension of the broader social and historical context of their production, distribution and ...reception. The paper considers questions regarding their genre and points to the socioeconomic and political circumstances of their development and transformation into a cultural product with worldwide popularity and an industry with great market value. Particular attention has been given to the question of how these processes have affected the depiction of the family and family values in these series. The second part of the paper presents a case study of the series The Fall of Leaves, in which the concept of the family and family life that is offered through the plot of "the family in crisis" in the present age of changes is examined. The reception of family relationships in the series has been studied through the analysis of an internet forum in which forum members, viewers of this series in Croatia and the region, commented in 2287 posts from 2011 to 2012 on the first TV broadcast of this Turkish series.
As a classical field of anthropological studies, gender studies have not remained outside the process of critical considerations and deconstruction of theoretical and analytical categories and the ...values of the discipline which characterizes the contemporary anthropological theory. As in the case of changes in the general theory and practice of anthropology, the reasons which have led to a transformation in the gender studies, are the result of theoretical arguments and controversies within the discipline, but to a significant degree, from outsider influences as well- the factors which are exterior in relation to the anthropology as a discipline. The contradictory character of the contemporary period in gender studies is being emphasized, with an effort to give the answer to the question what did the phrase "gender crisis" denote and whether the crisis signifies a broad trait of anthropological studies at that point in time. The article pays particular attention to the analysis of the criticism of the theoretical i methodological formalism of the classic kinship theories and to the perspectives aimed to prove that " kinship does not exist",
Over the last couple of decades the phenomenon denoted as “return of religion” has become the subject of discussion in the social disciplines and humanities. Various authors stress that the social ...relevance of religion is becoming more obvious in the public and political spheres of the contemporary secular societies, as well as in the international relations and world politics. According to some interpretations, these phenomena allow thinking and talking about the contemporarity as a “postsecular age”. The paper discusses the basic assumptions of the postsecular paradigm and points to the limitations of the very concept of “postsecularity”. At the same time, the aim of the paper is to point to the importance of the relationship between religion and policy in the field of the new medical biotechnologies as one, but not exclusive aspect of anthropological research of the religious responses to the new possibilities raised by the biotechnological innovations.
As a classical field of anthropological studies, kinship studies have not remained outside the process of critical considerations and deconstruction of the theoretical and analytical categories and ...values of the discipline, characteriying the contemporary anthropological theory. As in the case of changes in the general theory and practice of anthropology, the reasons leading to the transformations in kinship studies are the result of theoretical arguments and controversies within the discipline, but as well, and to a significant degree, from the factors which are exterior in relation to the anthropology as a discipline. The paper emphsizes the contradictory character of the current state in kinship studies, suggesting an answer to the question what the phrase "kinship crisis" denotes – whether this crisis signified the general trait of anthropological studies of the period. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the criticism of the formalism of the classical kinship theories and to the perspectives aimed to prove that " kinship does not exist".
Anthropological research demonstrates that exchanges and transactions related to marriage alliances, regardless of their central organising principle and form, are not governed by the logic of the ...market but by the logic of gift exchange. Thus, the exchange of women for worthy material goods and valuables (bridewealth), which is (or has been) a dominant form of marriage transactions in Africa and some parts of Asia and Oceania, cannot be understood as commodity exchange and "wife purchase". The "marriage by wife purchase" thesis, developed within a Victorian evolutionist paradigm, has been rejected in anthropology a long time ago. At the same time, some more recent research showed that the exchange of persons for goods as a principle of marriage exchanges and transactions does not entail only the practice of exchanging women for material goods. In some societies, marriage transactions are based on the principle of exchanging men for goods (groomwealth). This research called into question, once again, not only the "wife purchase" theory but also Levi-Strauss' fundamental assumption about the "exchange of women between groups of men". In response to the fact that the "marriage by wife purchase" thesis is still regarded as an adequate explanation not only in the popular discourse but also in the Serbian scientific literature, this article seeks to offer an anthropological critique of the thesis and to draw attention to some key interdisciplinary disagreements that emerge in the interpretation of this particular form of marriage transactions. The article also discusses theoretical and epistemological assumptions which underpin the "marriage by purchase" thesis, as well as the process of critical examination that led anthropology to discard the thesis. From a contemporary anthropological perspective, the article suggests a possibility to explore a cultural and political economy of the gift, since the logic of gift is different from but not diametrically opposed to the logic of commodity exchange.
Kao klasično polje antropološkog izučavanja, studije srodstva nisu ostale van procesa kritičkih promišljanja i dekonstrukcije teorijskih i analitičkih kategorija i vrednosti discipline koji odlikuju ...savremenu antropološku teoriju. Kao i u slučaju promena u opštoj antropološkoj teoriji i praksi, uzroci koji su doveli do transformacija u studijama srodstva rezultat su teorijskih rasprava i kontroverzi u okviru discipline, ali u značajnoj meri i vandisciplinarnih uticaja, faktora koji su spoljašnji u odnosu na antropologiju kao disciplinu. U članku se ukazuje na kontradiktoran karakter savremenog perioda u studijama srodstva, uz nastojanje da se pruži odgovor na pitanje šta se uopšte podrazumevalo pod sintagmom "kriza srodstva" i da li je kriza predstavljala opštu odliku antropoloških izučavanja u tom periodu. Posebna pažnja je posvećuje kritici formalizma klasičnih teorija srodstva i perspektivama koje su imale za cilj da dokažu da "srodstvo ne postoji".
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