Anthropology in the city:  Ethnographic explorationsof contemporary urbanities

As generally acknowledged for the anthropological study of urban life (urban anthropology / ethnologie urbaine), it might be represented as a „a third subject matter”1 in the development of our discipline, after the research pursued in the middle of tribal or peasant populations. Indeed, a series of processes like the migration of many people from rural societies to urban centres2, the adaptation of traditional structures or networks of kinskip in the socioprofessional context of cities3, the integration or acculturation of diverse ethnic groups within towns4… – have accordingly tailored directions of investigation that define “the science of humane” in its dialogue with other socio-humanistic disciplines.

The Journal of Urban Anthropology, specialized publication of the Bucharest City Museum (now in its twelfth year of publication), proposes for its next issue not so much a theme or a particular dimension of ethnological reflection on the citadel and its customs still effective intra muros, but a (re)consideration of ethnographic practice – as a documentary anthropological approach – in the polymorphism of urban sites of all kinds (neighbourhoods, blockhouses, streets, marketplaces, parishes…)

From our viewpoint, fieldwork in the city5 can value as an “Ariadne’s thread” in the anthropological unraveling of the generic complexity of the City (as a reality of human geography), so that the methodological continuity of the anthropology of tribal or peasant communities mirrors a more general process in the historical development of „wholes” or nuclei of urban coexistence. Beyond the local contextualization of a certain “topography” of ethnological research (for example, at the level of a group of kinsmen, neighbors or “parishioners”), the field investigation might also include socio-professional networks or cases of extending urban forms of sociality within some economic, ethno-confessional, political trajectories, etc. We therefore have in mind not only (or not so much) the mapping of an “archipelago” (perhaps illusory) of “locations” of the urban community, but also (or especially) the reconstruction – descriptive and interpretative – of the often unseen “threads” of the urban fabric, in their variegated and yet enduring “tapestry”.

For the next issue of The Journal of Urban Anthropology, we therefore invite contributions from researchers and students in ethnology / anthropology, but also historians, sociologists, architects, etc. interested in exploring the way of life of today’s townspeople (from Bucharest or other cities), as well as in theorizing ethnographic methodology.

The texts thus submitted for publication will be (preferably) case studies in their first edition, or will specify the additions or completions brought to a possible first printed version. We expect from our collaborators articles, studies and reviews dedicated to the ethno-anthropological approach to the urban forms of sociality and relationships of a social, cultural, economic, and artistic dimension… included in these frameworks of coexistence and interaction. The authors will assume full responsibility for the written information and the professional ethics aspects involved (in particular, the confidentiality of the data presented and, if applicable, the names of the interlocutors).

Texts sent for publication will comply with the magazine’s editing rules (see https://rev-antropologieurbana.ro). Acceptance for publication involves a peer-review process, during which the contributors will receive the comments of some evaluators, and will respond to them within the current call timeline.

Submission Procedure:

Please submit article proposals and an abstract (approximately 300 words) by September 30th, 2024, to the email address antropologie@muzeulbucurestiului.ro .

We look forward to your contributions to shape a complex and captivating thematic issue.

With all due consideration,

The Editorial Team of Journal of Urban Anthropology