DepartmentAnthropology

The Anthropology Department was established in 1992. It has contributed to the introduction and establishment of two new academic programs in Bulgaria – Anthropology and Artes Liberales, and the department is committed to improving the specific teaching methods in these fields of study.

The department runs the following permanent seminars: Anthropological Readings; East of Sofia: Society and Politics; Anthropology in Films; and the Seminar focusing on the students’ field research findings.

The Department has set several objectives, among which are: to establish a network of universities, research centers and teams for developing research projects with the Balkan and Black Sea countries; to expand and strengthen contacts with European universities, with departments and programs in Anthropology for developing joint research projects; to develop projects for researching the city (Anthropology of/in the city).

Focus areas for the department’s research include: Anthropology of Europe; Anthropology of the Balkans and the countries from the Black Sea region; Anthropology of/in the city; Visual Anthropology.

Department faculty members are actively engaged in scientific research. The projects which they work on cover different aspects of political and economic anthropology, anthropology of development, consumer culture, anthropology of religion, etc. The geographic scope or research areas includes Bulgaria, Turkey, the Republic of Macedonia, the United States, Italy, Greece, Switzerland, Ukraine, etc. The research projects also engage students at different levels of training as well as doctoral students who gain practical skills for a career in Anthropology.

The theoretical works of faculty members are published in prestigious international and national journals, including the series published by the department: Anthropological Studies – a yearbook with research articles, published since 2000; Brain Hunters – a collection of lectures on anthropology, published since 2001; Distinguished Names in Anthropology – a collection of lectures on anthropology, published in two volumes. This list also includes the two journals, published in electronic form: The Yearbook of the Department of Anthropology and the Bulletin of Contemporary Bulgarian Society – Research, Analyses and Commentaries.

The Anthropology Department develops its international cooperation along the lines of research, publication and teaching. The Department has agreements for academic exchange under the Erasmus+ program with the University of Lyon-2, France, La Sapienza, Rome, the Panteion University, Athens, Greece, the University of Copenhagen, METU – Ankara, the Yildiz Technical University, Turkey, the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, Chambéry University, France.

The Department was a partner in the intensive Erasmus program Studies of Migration and Mobility in Europe (MOBILE), carried out in Sopot, Poland in the period 2011–2013, and co-organizer of the intensive Erasmus program Food and Cultural Identity, Sozopol, 2012.

The key projects of the Department of Anthropology include: BG051PO001-3.3.06-0060: Expanding the skills and qualifications of doctoral students, postdoctoral students, and young researchers in interdisciplinary fields (Visual Anthropology and Public Communications) in order to create sustainable links in education, vocational training and business, funded by the Operational Program Human Resources Development, the Ministry of Education and Science, August 2013 – July 2015; Cultural Heritage and Local Development along the Southern Border of Bulgaria, funded by the National Science Fund with the Ministry of Education and Science; New Consumer Practice in Bulgaria, funded by the Central Strategic Development Fund under the Board of Trustees of NBU; Community and the Environment, funded by the Central Strategic Development Fund under the Board of Trustees of NBU.

The Department has also been involved in other projects in varying periods, namely: Anthropology of Europe (a long-term project in collaboration with 20 European universities), Cultural Tourism and Intercultural Environment, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Italy, in partnership with the University of Bologna, the Ancient Plovdiv Association, the Regional Ethnographic Museum of Plovdiv, etc.; Anthropology of/in the City, with the Open Society Foundation and the Ministry of Education and Science; Summer School of Anthropology for Students with the participation of European anthropologists; Social Science Field Stations in the Sub-Arctic Region (in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute of Social Anthropology, Halle); NOMAD with external funding on the broader topic by the Max Planck Institute with participation of students. Research on the Teaching of Anthropology in Bulgaria and Macedonia (comparative analysis); Social Optimism and Economic Development; Health Culture and Health Services – an anthropological field study; The City in Transition; The Masquerade – “between” the Village and the Town; Sacrificial Offering Tradition of Bulgarian Muslims from the Western Rodopi (village of Draginovo, Velingrad region) – a field study.

On April 7, 2011, the internationally renowned anthropologist Prof. Asen Balikci was awarded with the Honorary Doctorate by New Bulgarian University, being nominated by the Department of Anthropology for his contribution to popularizing academic culture and anthropology in society and founding and developing anthropological studies in NBU and Bulgaria.

Head of Department:
Assoc. Prof. Irena Bokova, PhD
Building 2, Room 615
tel.: 02/8110 615
e-mail: ibokova@nbu.bg

Secretary:
Natalia Valkova
Building 2, Room 615
tel.: 02/8110 615
e-mail: anthropo@nbu.bg