Abstract:In this paper I aim to contribute to the debate about hegemonic relations between the West European "core" and Southeast European "margins", by showing the links between mutually challenged and engendered quasi-anthropological traditions in the totalitarian projects of nation-building and empire-building. New aspects of a continuous resonance will be addressed regarding a politically instrumentalized German-writing tradition of Volks-and Völkerkunde grounded in Herderian Romanticism and the imperial ambitions of the nineteenth century. In the course of discussion, the successive German traditions of National-Socialist Volkskunde and Communist East German Ethnographie until the revised tradition of Europäische Ethnologie in the 1990 s are shown to operate from a historicist tradition rather than from a critical tradition as a reflexive successor to former Volkskunde. In this discussion particular attention is given to contextualizing the historical and current production of knowledge by the German and Austrian "West" on a Southeast Europeanand Albanian culture, which is reduced to its archaic or pre-modern "traditions" and its specific or antiquated "mentalities".

International audienceIn this paper, I aim to contribute to the debate about hegemonic relations between the West European ''core'' and southeast European ''margins,'' by showing the links between mutually challenged and engendered quasi-anthropological traditions in the totalitarian projects of nation-building and empire-building. New aspects of a continuous resonance will be addressed between a politically instrumentalized Albanian tradition of ''folk'' or people's culture studies (kultura popullore) and a German-speaking tradition of Volks-and Völkerkunde grounded in Herderean Romanticism and the imperial ambitions of the nineteenth century. In the course of discussion the successive German traditions of National-Socialist Volkskunde and Communist East German Ethnographie, until the revised tradition of Europäische Ethnologie in the 1990s, are shown to operate from a historicist tradition rather than from a critical tradition as a reflexive successor to former Volkskunde. In the course of this discussion, I will pay particular attention to contextualizing the historical and current production of knowledge by the German and Austrian ''West'' on a Balkan and Albanian culture, which is reduced to its archaic or pre-modern ''traditions'' and its specific or antiquated ''mentalities.'

ⅢIn order to appreciate the very historical significance of the successive processes of conversion and reconversion among Albanians and other Southeast European populations, and to subject them to a more effective anthropological analysis, this article argues that they should be understood in terms of the dynamics of objectification and resistance against pressures exerted by authorities holding political and religious power. This approach allows us to put the meaning of religious affiliations into the perspective of negotiation and redefinition of social identities, leading to the transformation of Albanian identity and ethnicity, and re-establishing traditions of political, social and national history.The study of religious belief, collective identity and Islamic conversion of Albanians and other Southeast European groups provokes both passion and research. The origins of Islamic conversion, its nature and its rationale, are still subject to academic debate, and even to ideological and sentimental confrontation, as indeed are its consequences for Albanian ethnicity and for Albanians as a people, and for inter-ethnic relations in the entire region. Islamic conversion is still a delicate issue, and there has as yet been no serious analysis of why different social groups choose to convert. The understanding of inter-religious relationships in Albania in the context of mass Islamic conversion during the period between the 16th and 18th centuries remains difficult, despite substantial historical research in this area. The increase of partisan approaches confronting national historiographies which are steeped in an official demagogy -communist or nationalisthave served only to confuse the issue further. In order to understand fully the nature of conversion, whether it was voluntary or coerced, one has to avoid any form of anachronism. The reasons why these communities were prompted to convert are diverse, and so any single theory would be premature at this time.Religious conversion relates primarily to a collective history, which

In this article, the author focuses on the speculative literalism and typologism in current scholarship to construct a taken-for-granted view, taking issue especially with many points raised in the literature on the subject that have associated fertility rates in Albania more closely with the existence of patriarchal cultural traits. This leads the author to argue that the specific rationale for the myth of many children, high fertility rates, and complex family structures in Albanian context, as elsewhere in patrilineal societies, is an ideological elaboration of patriarchy. Methodologically, the analysis of the standard view of childbearing, based on standard ethnographic methods, traditional historical sources and aggregate demographic data, is aimed to illustrate the inadequacy of the historical-ethnographic paradigm against the available empirical evidence. In turn, understanding how ideological elements are emphasized in cultural activism should lead, against current scholarship claims, to an understanding of the way in which the urgent need for male children must have been to hide away other more troubling reasons.

Lévi-Strauss's centennial is an opportunity to show his inextricable connections with the evolution of 20th-century thought and what these promise for 21st-century anthropology. He has mapped the philosophical parameters for a renewed ethnography which opens innovative approaches to history, agency, culture and society. The anthropological understanding of history, for instance, is enriched by methodical application of his mytho-logical analysis, in particular his claim that myths are `machines for the suppression of time'. Lévi-Strauss's thought has led to the development of new and invigorated forms of structural analysis, exemplified by the way that his concept of canonical expression has provided the foundation for the sophisticated application of transformational analysis and formalization.