Research Clusters

Some of the research questions addressed are:

• How do digital transformations impact cultural practices and daily lives across different Asian societies?
• How are migrant and diaspora communities from Asia minoritized in European countries, including Czechia, and what are the implications?
• What are the challenges of transnational migration and how are they addressed?
• Which economic and environmental challenges do people in Asia face, how are they addressed among state- and non-state actors and which consequences does this have for residents?
• What is the cultural history of plants, how were they exchanged worldwide and how is their value determined?
• How are religious virtues intertwined with daily lives, for example karate practitioners?
• How have Uyghur felt producers adapted in the rural south of Xinjiang?
• What can we learn about how anthropologists make sense of material culture, for example decaying material, in Taiwan?
• How are historical migrations, Islam and transregional networks in the Muslim world connected?

METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES

We use a broad spectrum of methods, including participant observation for prolonged immersion in the field, multi-sited ethnography, multi-species ethnography, digital ethnography, remote ethnography, mental mapping, and visual (photo elicitation, filmmaking) and object analysis methods. Our researchers immerse themselves in the field through participant observation, engaging with and studying the daily lives of their collaborators over an extended period. However, as some researchers are also unable to go into the field for longer periods due to other commitments, they also go into the field for shorter periods. We use multi-sited ethnography to identify links between activities that take place in multiple locations. Digital ethnography, which has experienced an upswing during the corona pandemic, is well suited to tracing developments that take place in the digital sphere, from websites to social media, although this cannot be done in isolation from physical life. Mental maps offer a powerful means to understand how individuals perceive and interact with their environment, serving as a visual representation to examine the complex phenomenon of belonging and place attachment. We also employ video elicitation, photo elicitation, and ethnographic filmmaking to make use of the power of images. Our approach is participatory; we create knowledge together with citizens, NGOs, and policymakers, among others.

REGIONAL EXPERTISE

The members of our research cluster study cultures undergoing transitions across diverse Asian regions, including Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand), East Asia (China, Taiwan, Japan, Mongolia), Russia, Siberia, and Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan). We do not examine these regional developments in isolation, but rather explore their interconnected nature. Accordingly, we also investigate questions that unpack the linkages between these regions, such as how migrants and diasporas from these Asian countries integrate into Europe, the challenges they face, and strategies to address them.

ACTIVITIES

In the cluster, we present and discuss research in progress, discuss readings, facilitate guest lectures, and prepare joint research projects.

CURRENT PROJECTS

Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions (MSCA)

Malaysian Reclaimed Landscapes: Urbanization, Heritage, and Sustainability along the Littoral (ID: 101062825) (MaReLand). Research project funded by the European Commission, Marie Sklodowska Curie Action (MSCA) project by Dr. Pierpaolo De Giosa (Duration: 2023-2024; Supervisor: Monika Arnez). MaReLand analyses environmental activism and the critique of heritage hierarchy and examines urbanisation at sea to explore how rights to the city and the sea are negotiated. Based on extensive research in Malaysia, MaReLand will also analyse compensation policies for artificial islands, drawing on recent developments in Penang and Langkawi.

The sociocultural formation of prices in Mongolian medicinal plant supply chains (ID: 101090330) (PLANTECON). Research project funded by the European Commission, Marie Sklodowska Curie Action (MSCA/ERA), carried out by Dr. Hedwig Waters (Duration: 2023-2024; Supervisor: Monika Arnez). Based on extensive field research in Mongolia, PLANTECON investigates from an economic anthropological perspective how Fang Feng and liquorice root plants are traded, why they are highly valued and what role different actors play in this context, from collectors to consumers to experts on these plants. The project offers new insights into pricing, aspects of wildness and domestic nature of the plants and interactions between humans and plants.

Processual Decay Paradigm: Problematizing Museums and Asian Religions (PDP). Research project funded by OP JAK, Marie Sklodowska Curie Action (MSCA-CZ), carried out by Dr. Valentina Gamberi (Duration: 2024-2025; Advisor: Monika Arnez). This project traces the material decay historically and examines the reasons why Chinese folk gods are destroyed and / or collected by the Taiwanese and Europeans. It analyses why Christian missionaries collected and destroyed Chinese folk gods and to what extent these collecting practices still influence Taiwanese society. It aims to understand material decay through contemporary practices in Chinese-speaking countries and develops a methodology for material decay based on the principles of co-creation.

Twinning project

101079460 — REMOTE XUAR — HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-03 (PI: Dr. Rune Steenberg). This Twinning project seeks to gain a deeper understanding of a region mostly inaccessible to research and the site of massive state violence, labour exploitation and rights violations, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. We use a medley of methods and sources available outside the region itself – from online material, over interviews to remote sensing. Remote Ethnography is a medley of methods to research a region from the outside. It is particularly suited for places with very limited access but can be productively employed also as a complement to on-the-ground research as well. The main point of our approach is to see research of any place or topic as a holistic endeavour. We use government online tenders, published accounts of Chinese academics’ on-the-ground research, policy papers of different levels, social media posts, satellite imagery, online maps, local media publications, interviews with relatives abroad, interviews with people recently leaving the region, TV shows, films, books, NGO reports, online data bases, government statistics and other sources.

COST Actions

CA 18215 - China in Europe Research Network (CHERN). This COST action aims to consolidate research on China's economic engagements with Europe, develop a comprehensive understanding of their impacts and strategies, analyze political and geo-political consequences, and provide policy input involving relevant stakeholders. Runya Qiaoan, a Management Committee member for this COST Action in Czechia, and Natalia Ryzhova, a member of this network, contribute diverse expertise to the project. Runya Qiaoan has recently published research on digital populism in authoritarian settings. Natalia Ryzhova's work examines the role of Chinese labor in European agriculture, particularly in the context of Sino-Russian cooperation.

CA 21120 - History of Identity Documentation in European Nations: Citizenship, Nationality, and Migration (HIDDEN). HIDDEN examines how states facilitate or hinder citizens' access to identification, the role of technology in this process, and the ethical dimensions of access to historical personal data. By linking historical research on identity documents with modern digital identification methods and applicable laws, HIDDEN explores topics such as identity, citizenship, and migration. Monika Arnez, a member of the Management Committee for this COST Action in Czechia, focuses on capturing personal narratives related to ID documentation and exploring individuals' everyday encounters with identification.

IGA Projects

IGA_FF_2024_042 - Exploring multifaceted subjective values of Mahasthangarh archaeological heritage site, Bangladesh: a photo elicitation study (PI: Ahmed Sharif; Supervisor: Monika Arnez). This study, which is part of Ahmed Sharif's PhD project, explores the personal meaning that residents attach to the archaeological site of Mahastangarh in Bangladesh. Using the interview technique of photo-survey, this project aims to document how residents talk about, remember, and interact with the site. In this way, the value of the site for people in their daily lives will be further illuminated, going beyond the authorized discourse on cultural heritage.

IGA_FF_2024_037 - Čína jako ekologická civilizace? Výzkum důvěry veřejnosti v environmentální politiku (PI: Veronika Vaseková; Supervisor: Dr. Olaf Günther). The aim of this research project is to explore public attitudes and perceptions regarding environmental issues and the level of trust in Chinese environmental policy. It focuses on both Chinese native residents and foreigners living in Chinese directly administered cities and intends to compare and contrast their perspectives, as well as to assess the media portrayal of China’s environmental stance in other countries. Given China’s aspirations to become an “ecological civilization” and its importance in global environmental protection efforts, this project will examine the actual public sentiment under conditions of limited citizen participation in decision-making processes. The project will use qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, specifically interviews and questionnaires to collect data.

IGA_FF_2024_045 - Depiction of migration in texts of authors of Dungan and Salar nationality (PI: Jan Brzobohatý; Supervisor: Doc. David Uher). This project focuses on selected literary works by writers from two selected minorities living in the territory of China and Central Asia: the Salar ethnic group, which belongs to the Chinese province of Gansu, and the Dungan, whose members live in northwest China. The connecting element between the two ethnic groups is migration between China and Central Asia. The literary works belong to migrant literature. The project aims to make a contribution to how the relationships between ethnic groups in China and Central Asia are reflected in literature and how migration in these regions affects the development of national literatures.

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

MatKulLab

Kateřina Šamajová works in the Laboratory of Material Culture (MatKulLab), together with Pavla Kučerová and Lukáš Kučera. In this laboratory, diverse material artifacts such as jewelry, cloth, daggers, and plant seeds from Asia and Europe, are examined. Advanced researchers and students carry out their work in the laboratory. If you are interested to know more, please contact Kateřina Šamajová.

HOW CAN YOU CONTRIBUTE?

Are you interested to learn more? If you are interested in participating in the cluster, please send a message to the research cluster head: monika.arnez@upol.cz.

PEOPLE

Cluster head: Doc. Monika Arnez

Members: Mgr. Jan Brzobohatý, Dr. Michaela Budiman, Dr. Pierpaolo De Giosa, Dr. Valentina Gamberi, Mgr. Iuliia Koreshkova, Dr. Filip Kraus, Dr. Petra Maveekumbura Karlova, Dr. Azim Malikov, Dr. Muhetaer Mukaidisi, Dr. Runya Qiaoan, Dr. Natalia Ryzhova, Dr. Kateřina Šamajová, Mgr. Ahmed Sharif, Dr. Rune Steenberg, Dr. Martin Šturdík, Mgr. Veronika Vaseková, Dr. Lenka Vyletalova, Dr. Hedwig Waters, Dr. Michaela Zahradníková