Changes in the heart of Europe

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From WW II until the Velvet Revolution, access to Czechoslovakia was limited, with few Czech and Slovak ethnologists publishing in Western journals. Recently, interest in anthropological studies of Slovakia and the Czech Republic has surged. This volume compiles a diverse array of contemporary ethnographic research by Czech and Slovak ethnographers alongside American and Western European anthropologists. Contributors explore various topics: Raymond June examines “corruption” in Czech society; David Karjanen discusses structural violence and economic shifts in Slovakia; and Karen Kapusta-Pofahl, Hana Hašková, and Marta Kolářová investigate women’s civic organizing. Rebecca Nash analyzes Czech attitudes toward social support and welfare reform, while Denise Kozikowski shares insights on women’s experiences with breast cancer. Věra Sokolová addresses population policy and the sterilization of Romani women from 1972 to 1989. Other studies include James Quin on pornography and the commodification of queer bodies in Slovakia, Ben Hill Passmore on working women in a Moravian factory, and Krista Hegburg on Roma social workers. Zdeněk Uherek and Kateřina Plochová focus on ethnic Czechs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Leoš Šatava explores ethnic identity among Sorbian youth, and Haldis Haukanes discusses history and autobiography in a Czech village. Davide Torsello reflects on memory and local history in southern Slovakia, while Peter Skal