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Highlighting the important, but in research often neglected, experiential dimension of European traditions, this issue of Ethnologia Europaea contains a themed section edited by Cyril Isnart and Alessandro Testa, entitled Re-enchantment, Ritualization, Heritage-making: Processes Reconfiguring Tradition in Europe. It begins with an introduction by the guest editors outlining how these three concepts can open new vistas on research. They are exemplified in four research articles: Testa describes three ethnographic cases of ritualization from different parts of Europe, Isnart contemplates the dynamics of cultural heritage and religion in southern Europe, Eva Löfgren studies the reconstruction of churches in a secular society such as Sweden, and Pedro Antunes takes part in nocturnal rituals, singing for the souls in Portugal. The special section is concluded with a forum on the “hot topic” of tradition. In nine statements, prominent researchers from all over Europe reflect on how the perception and reframing of tradition specific to each of their intellectual cultures and professional networks are continuously challenged by their ethnographic experiences. In the open section of this issue are three research articles related to Poland: Paweł Lewicki looks at “Polishness and Eurostyle in EU Brussels”, showing with ethnographic detail how a dominant European self-fashioning is challenged from within the EU. Izabella Main and Elżbieta M. Goździak deploy the concept of social and cultural remittances to think more intensely about the value of transnational mobility for Polish women working in Norway, and in her article “Gender on Trial”, Agnieszka Kościańska analyzes the importance of feminist activism in Poland for shifts in the discourse on rape in the criminal justice system. In a thought-provoking fourth article, “Talking about your Generation”, Kyrre Kverndokk draws our attention to the work done by the rhetorical trope of “the children” in the discourse on climate change.

Editors: Alessandro Testa (Guest Editor), Cyril Isnart (Guest Editor)


Themed section

Open section

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