In a major undertaking, the Department of Anthropology of
the Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, in collaboration
with scholars from other universities and the Academy of
Sciences of the Czech Republic, has launched an ambitious research
project, the first-ever online interactive Encyclopaedia of
Anthropology. Conceptually, it is – to some extent – akin to the
well-known Wikipedia, the largest and most popular general
reference work on the internet, or rather its predecessor, Nupedia,
in that it is a web-based, collaborative, free content, interactive
and frequently updated resource open to anyone. These
similarities apart, the projected “anthropopedia” distinguishes
itself by several unique features. In particular, a devoted cadre
of eminent specialists in their respective fields, touching upon
anthropology, the science of man or the study of humanity, as
well as an editorial board assisted by consultants and peer-reviewers
will guarantee the validity of its scholarly content and
academic eminence of individual entries, which will be periodically
revised and updated to reflect the progress in scientific
knowledge. Though the basic edition of the web encyclopaedia
in spe will be in Czech, other language editions can be visualized,
depending on the cadre of potential contributors and/or
translators.
The Encyclopaedia of Anthropology is conceived as a follow-up
to The Dictionary of Anthropology (with consideration of the history
of literature and art) or What Every Human Should Know
about Humans. This dictionary was published in 2009 (Brno:
Akademické nakladatelství CERM, ISBN 978-80-7204-560-
0; the on-line version is available for free at http://is.muni.cz/
do/1431/UAntrBiol/el/antropos/index.html). Like this dictionary,
The Encyclopaedia of Anthropology respects the fact
that modern anthropology is an interdisciplinary, comparative
and holistic field of science seeking answers to fundamental
questions relating to humankind: “Where do we come from?
What are we like? Where are we heading?” This is based on
the knowledge that people and human societies, their origins,
developments and transformations are determined by the interrelationship
of given facts in areas such as biology, medicine,
psychology, society and culture. It is therefore essential in this
scientific discipline to engage in holistic research. Anthropology
studies the biological variability of humans – the similarities
and differences in relation to other biological species
(especially our closest relatives – primates). At the same time,
it investigates the local socio-cultural variants of the universal
structures of human thought and behaviour, their disparities
and parallels within the whole continuum of development as
well as possible future directions.
What is specific to The Encyclopaedia of Anthropology is its
original concept, going beyond all other similar works which
have been published on this topic anywhere in the world so
far. Structurally, it has been designed as an integrated database
of knowledge acquired in the fields of human, social and cultural
sciences in the context of the development of anthropology
and its sub-disciplines, research methods, paradigms and
theories. In contrast to standard Anglo-Saxon dictionaries and
encyclopaedias, this encyclopaedia broadens the thematic horizon
to encompass belles-lettres and the fine arts. It includes
a comprehensive list of entries devoted to the area of art culture
which has largely been neglected by traditional anthropology.
This encyclopaedia could thus be considered a contribution to
the development of the anthropology of art that has so far been
insufficiently processed on a  world-wide basis as well as an
enrichment of the epistemological foundations of general anthropology.
Some other original aspects of The Encyclopaedia
of Anthropology are its interactivity and range of international
backgrounds of the authors: the work will be continuously updated
with the latest scientific knowledge (the authors of the
entries are often the discoverers of new findings) and it will be
possible to respond to critical remarks as well as user feedback
and suggestions.
Another original feature of The Encyclopaedia of Anthropology
is its web platform “New Discoveries and Findings” (commensurate
to scientific journals of international calibre) delivering
reviewed studies and reports on the latest research and discoveries
in anthropology and related disciplines.
The encyclopaedia is meant for students and researchers in
the area of anthropology and related disciplines (area studies,
archaeology, astronomy, bioculturology, biology, computer
science, economics, ethnology, philosophy, folklore studies,
genetics, geology, history, kinanthropology, cultural studies, linguistics,
mathematics, media studies, medicine, palaeontology,
political science, law, psychology, religious studies, sexology,
sociology and theology) as well as for teachers and students of
secondary schools and universities and for the general public.
The encyclopaedia will be ab initio free of charge and accessible
to all users of the internet – this will make it possible to
fulfil its purpose as an up-to-date educational and scientific research
tool. As a matter of course, encyclopaedias tend to be
rightfully considered as regular reference resources par excellence.
But they can also be speculated upon in another sense.
The alphabetical order of individual entries in encyclopaedias
and dictionaries offer lautréamontian “accidental encounters”
(“Beautiful … as the accidental encounter, on a dissecting table,
of a sewing machine and an umbrella.”) of unrelated or different
objects and ideas. Thus we can easily find, side by side, cannibalism,
capitalism, celibacy and Crow-Omaha systems in the
neighbourhood of death …, and there arise other surprising
neighbourly relations stimulating fantasy, inspiration, originality
and creativity. Hopefully, The Encyclopaedia of Anthropo­logy
will fulfil not only the role of an information handbook, but
also the vision of surrealists or the French philosopher and literary
theoretician Roland Barthes, who in his study devoted
to Diderot’s Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences,
des arts et des métiers (1751–1772) states that” (...) there is not
one plate of the Encyclopédie that does not vibrate well beyond
its demonstrative intent. This singular vibration is above all an
astonishment”.