Taking Park's postulate of a 'marginal man' as its starting point, this essay reviews some of the key ideas and approaches that have underpinned the development of the Anthropological Journal of European Cultures from its inception. It concentrates on a discussion of the concept of 'cultures' -liminal, hybrid or otherwise -in different contexts and from different perspectives -boundaries and frontiers, places and spaces, migrants and memory -before turning towards the question of what and where Europe is, and what anthropology might have to say on it, concluding with refl ections on AJEC's past, present and future contribution. An appendix provides details of the fi rst twenty-one volumes of the journal.