FHStories

Our students involved as volunteers at the EASA international anthropology conference

From July 21–24, the biennial international conference of the European Association for Social Anthropology (EASA) took place in Poznań, Poland, under the theme “Anthropology: Possibilities in a Polarized World.” A large group of anthropologists from the Czech Republic attended the conference, and that people affiliated with the Faculty of Humanities at Charles University played a significant role. Unsurprisingly, the event featured presentations by academics and doctoral students who are active at our faculty, as well as by our alumni who are engaged in research at other academic institutions.

However, what was truly unique was the presence of our bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral students serving as volunteers. We ran into each other from the very start of the conference - at presentations or on individual panels, where they provided support in handling technical and organizational matters, or we just chatted casually in various other areas of the conference. And how many students from the Faculty of Humanities were there? The answer is: a lot (15). But anthropology isn’t a statistical discipline, and numbers don’t always matter; on the contrary, it seeks to uncover meanings, relationships between actors, and interpret social reality. So: How can we explain the presence of Czech volunteers at a conference in Poland? It is due not only to the internationalization of science, but also to our students’ interest and enthusiasm for the field they have chosen, because their teachers have inspired and continue to inspire them. It is undoubtedly also the field itself, which, in these dynamic times, is able to provide answers and explanations that help us navigate these unstable times.

In closing, we would like to say that we knew our students were great, and we thank them for proving it to us once again.

Text by Dana Bittnerová

Photo by Markéta Zandlová