ETMB109 Balkan traditions and theology

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Barbora Navrátilová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. et Mgr. Eva Chovancová (assistant)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Barbora Navrátilová, Ph.D.
Department of European Ethnology – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Martina Maradová
Supplier department: Department of European Ethnology – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Wed 10:00–11:40 J31, except Mon 21. 4. to Sun 27. 4.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course follows the course Chapters from everyday life in the Balkans, but it is also possible to take it separately (it is not a prerequisite). The lecturer draws on the experience of  several years of ethnological field research in the territory of several states in the Balkans, especially Bulgaria, Macedonia and Serbia, which was carried out in  rural and urban environments. The series of lectures focuses on traditional folk culture and current cultural forms in the mentioned and some other Balkan countries (Albania, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina), especially on its spiritual and social component. The course will also provide students with a detailed description of the two largest religions in the Balkans - Orthodox Christianity and Islam, in the context of the everyday culture of the majority and minority ethnic groups.
Learning outcomes
At the end of this course, the student will be able to: orientate himself in traditional and contemporary culture in selected countries on the Balkans, understand some specifics of the development of traditional folk culture, define the phenomena of traditional folk culture typical for countries in the Balkans (slava, kurban, dovište, tekija, kanun etc.), characterize Orthodox Christianity and Islam as the two most widespread religions in the Balkans.
Syllabus
  • 1. Traditional folk culture in the Balkans - specifics, terminology, contexts and starting points, spiritual and social component
  • 2. Religion on the Balkans - general characteristics, directions and movements
  • 3. Orthodoxy in the Balkan context
  • 4. Islam in the Balkan context
  • 5. Folk religiosity
  • 6. Feast of Slava in Serbia, Bosnia and North Macedonia
  • 7. Sacrificial festivities of Kurban in Bulgaria
  • 8. Funeral celebrations and the cult of the dead
  • 9. Customary law in the Balkans - the example of northern Albania (Kanun)
Literature
    recommended literature
  • MACHOVÁ, Barbora. Kurban. Obětní slavnosti v Bulharsku (Kurban. The celebration of sacrifice in Bulgaria). Český lid. Praha: Ústav pro etnografii a folkloristiku AV, 2008, vol. 95, No 2, p. 173–190. ISSN 0009-0794. info
  • DURHAM, M. E. V albánských výšinách : putování za horskými kmeny. Edited by Robert Dobra. Vydání první. [Praha]: Malvern, 2019, 371 stran. ISBN 9788075301925. info
  • Anthropological Journal of European Cultures , 2013, Vol. 22, No. 2, THEMATIC FOCUS: Being Muslims in the Balkans: Ethnographies of Identity, Politics and Vernacular Islam in Southeash Europe
  • NAVRÁTILOVÁ, Barbora. Pravoslaví a lidová religiozita Bulharsku a v Makedonii na příkladu současných pohřebních rituálů (Orthodox Curch and Folk Religiosity in Bulgaria and Macedonia, an Example of Present-Day Funerary Rituals). Národopisná revue. Národní ústav lidové kultury, 2019, vol. 29, No 2, p. 124-132. ISSN 0862-8351. URL info
  • OSTŘANSKÝ, Bronislav. Malá encyklopedie islámu a muslimské společnosti. 1. vyd. Praha: Libri, 2009, 255 s. ISBN 9788072774043. info
  • BOČKOVÁ, Helena. Balkán jako etnologický areál ze středoevropské perspektivy. Příspěvek k evropské kulturní rozmanitosti (The Balkans as an ethnologic area within a Central European perspective. A contribution to the European cultural variety). In Studia Balcanica Bohemo-Slovaca. Brno: Moravské zemské muzeum, Masarykova univerzita, 2017, p. 139-154. ISBN 978-80-7028-492-6. info
  • BOČKOVÁ, Helena. Obyčejové právo (Common Law). Ethnologia Europae centralis : časopis pro národopis střední Evropy. Brno: Petrov, 2003, vol. 6, -, p. 108-110. ISSN 1210-1109. info
  • JIREČEK, Konstantin Josef. Cesty po Bulharsku. V Praze: nákladem Matice české, 1888, xvi, 710. info
Teaching methods
lecture, četba odborných textů, diskuze
Assessment methods
Continuous work during the semester - reading, discussion, report with presentation
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2023.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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