SIEF2015 12th Congress: Zagreb, Croatia. 21-25 June 2015
SIEF2015 Events and meetings
Sunday 21st June
18:00-19:30: Opening of SIEF2015, Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall, Trg
Stjepana Radića 4
The ceremony will start with welcome speeches from local organisers, representatives of the University of Zagreb
and the town of Zagreb, and continue with musical interludes.
18:30-19:05: Opening keynote by Orvar Löfgren (Division of Ethnology, University of Lund), Vatroslav
Lisinski Concert Hall, Trg Stjepana Radića 4:
Living in the past, the present and the future: synchronizing everyday life.
Read more.
19:05-19:30: Concert continues, Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall, Trg Stjepana Radića 4
During the evening there will be performances by the Folklore Ensemble of Student Cultural-Artistic
Society “Ivan Goran Kovačić” and by “Ethnotine”.
More about the ensemble +
Established in 1948, the Folklore Ensemble of Student Cultural-Artistic Society “Ivan Goran Kovačić”
is among leading Croatian amateur ensembles in “choreographed folklore” - a genre that implies
aesthetically elaborated authorial suites of dance and music, sourced from the rural heritage of different
Croatian regions. The current art director of the ensemble is Dubravko Radić, a dancer and instructor of the
professional ensemble “Lado”, and the members are mostly students from various faculties of the
University of Zagreb. The performance at the opening of the 12th SIEF Congress will include two
suites: “Ajde diko, ajde lane moje” (choreography: Vesna Kožul, Dubravko Radić, music
arrangement: Tomislav Habulin, Mario Pleše) consists of dances and songs that are typical for western
Brodsko Posavlje, eastern Croatia, and incorporates genres which are included in the national register of
intangible cultural heritage. Similarly, “Stari splitski plesovi” (“Old dances from Split”;
choreography: Branko Šegović, music arrangement: Marin Katunarić, Mario Pleše) are a trademark of Dalmatian
urban heritage. The costumes for the Dalmatian suite are from the ensemble’s collection, while those
worn for the eastern Croatian suite belong to the Department for Preservation, Reconstruction and Lending of
Traditional Costumes.
The female vocal and dance ensemble Ethnotine work under the guidance of Goran Knežević, a well-known
Croatian folklore choreographer, dance teacher and researcher. Ethnotine endeavor integrating the merits of
local music and dance traditions with the sensibilities of a broader audience (both in use of sound and the
choice of lyrics), which is manifested in the piece selected for this occasion – “Pod oblokom melin
melje”, inspired by material from Podravina, central Croatia (choreography and music: G. Knežević,
music arrangement.: Dražen Varga). On Croatian accession to European Union, Knežević and Ethnotine sent
greetings to peoples of Europe through the template of bećarac (pl. bećarci), the most popular genre of
traditional music in eastern Croatia, the lyrics of which are organized in decasyllabic couplets with rhyme,
and addressing (in a cheerful way) various happenings in the life of individuals and communities. Bećarac
has been included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2011.
Based on the model of “Bećarci for Europe”, Goran Knežević and Naila Ceribašić (a member of the
SIEF2015 Local Committee) devised lyrics for the present occasion:
S.I.E.F., welcome to this town, / Zagreb greets you in its summer gown.
Let us tell you – heritage we guard, / bećarac is our ID card.
Heritage is helping us to grow, / it is real, not at all a show.
Our proverb greets guests just for three days, / five we give you 'cause of your folksy face.
19:30-21:00: Welcome drinks reception, Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall, Trg Stjepana Radića 4
Monday 22nd June
08:45-09:45: Keynote 2, Student Centre, Savska cesta 25
‘Returnee’ and ‘expatriate bubbles’: alternative modes of the search for community?
by Jasna Čapo (Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research, Zagreb)
Read more.
17:50-18:50: Working group meetings, main venue: University of Zagreb, Faculty
of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ivana Lučića 3
SIEF’s Working Groups take the opportunity the congress provides to meet, share news, discuss future
plans, register new members, and elect their boards. They carry the SIEF torch between congresses and provide
specialised platforms for conversation and cooperation. SIEF members interested in joining a working group
(there are no fees) are warmly invited to attend.
Archives (A105)
Body, senses, and emotions (exploratory meeting) (A123)
Cultural Heritage and Property (D6)
Ethnology of Religion (A107)
Food Research (A122)
Historical Approaches in Cultural Analysis (A111)
Migration and Borders (exploratory meeting) (D2)
Museums and Material Culture (founding meeting) (A113)
Place wisdom (A102)
Space-lore and Place-lore (A106)
The Ritual Year (A112)
Young Scholars Working Group (A101)
19:00-20:00: Coordination meeting for university department
representatives, D3, main venue: University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social
Sciences, Ivana Lučića 3
To promote collaboration in higher education in ethnology and folklore studies, SIEF arranges this coordination
meeting of academic staff members present at the congress, representing their departments and institutes.
19:00-20:00: Young Scholars Wine Mixer, A101, main venue: University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and
Social Sciences, Ivana Lučića 3
All PhD students and other early career scholars taking part in the congress are invited to this social event to
meet colleagues from across Europe and beyond. Please join us for a chat and a free drink! Hosted by SIEF and
the Young Scholars Working Group.
19:00-20:00: Journal launch for Ethnologia Europaea and Cultural Analysis, Foyer space
near the library, main venue: University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ivana Lučića
3
Come and meet SIEF’s journals - Ethnologia Europaea and Cultural Analysis - and their
editors. This event gives every member a chance to talk to some of the editors and explore the possibilities of
publishing in a journal, while enjoying a free drink.
Tuesday 23rd June
08:45-09:45: Keynote 3 Student Centre, Savska cesta 25
Slow ethnography, slow activism: listening, witnessing and the longue durée
by Deborah Kapchan (Performance Studies, New York University)
Read more.
15:30-16:00: Congress poster session, Foyer, main venue: University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and
Social Sciences, Ivana Lučića 3
Utopias, Realities, Heritages: ethnographies for the 21st century
The authors will be available to comment on their posters exhibited in the Foyer during the refreshment break.
17:50-18:50: Young Scholar Prize and presentation, D7, main venue: University
of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ivana Lučića 3
As a symbolic gesture to stimulate the research and participation of young scholars, SIEF has instituted the
Young Scholar Prize. The 2015 Prize has been awarded to Čarna Brković for her fascinating research on
Humanitarian Actions in Bosnia. The laudatio will be given by Vice-President Clara Saraiva, after which Čarna
Brković will present her prize-winning research. Come and listen to a stimulating presentation, as well as the
Concordia Discors, the mixed academic choir of the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social
Sciences who have come to help celebrate the occasion.
More about the choir +
Concordia Discors was founded in 2010 and consists of a hundred members, all students of the University’s various faculties. Marina Jurković, Vinko Karmelić, Lobel Filipić and Jurica Bošković are in charge of the choir’s artistic work. The Choir systematically encourages musical creativity and puts a special emphasis on Croatian authors. The repertoire includes remakes of pieces belonging to traditional and popular music, as well as secular and spiritual works of classical music. In its brief history, the Choir has won numerous awards at competitions and festivals in Croatia and abroad (Barcelona, Venice and Prague). Notable achievements include performing at Croatia’s official EU entrance ceremony and representing Croatia at the international musical spectacle in Vienna, Europe Sings. The performance at the Young Scholar Prize event comprises covers of two internationally and nationally renowned songs: “In my life” (John Lennon, arranged by Steve Zegree) and “Naranča” (“Orange”), written by Croatian jazz composer and guitarist Elvis Stanić, which resembles dialectal and musical motifs characteristic of Istria and Hrvatsko primorje (northern Croatian littoral and islands). The arrangement of “Naranča” for vocal ensembles, made by ethnomusicologist, conductor and composer Joško Ćaleta, has become equally popular.
19:00-20:00: General assembly, D7, main venue: University of Zagreb, Faculty of
Humanities and Social Sciences, Ivana Lučića 3
All SIEF members are strongly encouraged to participate in the biennial General Assembly of the society. The
state of the society is discussed, reports from the SIEF board and SIEF Working Groups will be presented and the
(re-) election of the SIEF Board takes place.
Wednesday 24th June
08:45-09:45: Keynote 4 Student Centre, Savska cesta 25
The experience of culture: approaches to an ethnography of the immediate in complex relations
by Bernhard Tschofen (Institute of Popular Culture Studies, University of Zurich)
Read more.
15:30-16:00: Congress poster session, Foyer, main venue: University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and
Social Sciences, Ivana Lučića 3
Utopias, realities, heritages: ethnographies for the 21st century.
The authors will be available to comment on their posters exhibited in the Foyer during the refreshment break.
17:50-19:20: Closing roundtable, D7, main venue: University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social
Sciences, Ivana Lučića 3
Closing roundtable: Utopias, realities, heritages: ethnographies for the 21st Century
Chair: Regina Bendix (Institute of Cultural Anthropology/European Ethnology, University of Göttingen)
Participants: Jasna Čapo, Orvar Löfgren, Deborah Kapchan, Bernhard Tschofen, and guests.
The closing roundtable reviews, in conversation, perspectives and insights generated by the conference theme.
What kind of research and results has the conference theme stimulated? How has it impacted our grasp of ongoing
work? The participants will bring to the table what struck them most during the Zagreb meeting, both topically
and in terms of the utopias and realities of ethnology and folklore studies.
Read more.
20:30-22:30: Banquet, Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall, Trg Stjepana
Radića 4
Entry to the banquet is by pre-purchased ticket only. The ticket costs €40 and can be bought from the NomadIT
office IF there are any still available during the congress. The congress banquet will include an excellent
buffet meal of several courses, wine, coffee/tea, aperitifs and live music provided by Lidija Bajuk.
More about the musician +
Lidija Bajuk has studied primary school teaching, library and information science, ethnology and cultural
anthropology. She is currently employed as an assistant at the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research
in Zagreb. Her first significant public performances took place at the concerts of John Mayall and Joan Baez
in 1987 and 1989 in the then-Yugoslavia. She is an award-winning member of the Association of Croatian
Writers and Croatian Composers Associations and has released seven albums, published seven books of poetry,
three short stories and a dozen scholarly papers. As one of the pioneers and key figures of the Croatian
ethno-music scene, which has been developing since the early 1990s, she revives old Croatian tunes presented
in modern arrangements with contemporary ways of singing and playing. At the SIEF2015 congress banquet,
Lidija will be playing tunes from various Croatian regions recognizable for their complex metro-rhythmical
organization, refined tunes and lyrics that evoke touch, secret meanings and wisdom between sound and
silence.
1. Na Ivanjsko navečerje / On a Midsummer's Evening (Podravina)
2. Izresla je šipek roža / The Rose has Bloomed (Gorski kotar)
3. Lepa Jana / Beautiful Jana (Gradišće)
4. Uspavanka / Lullaby (Dalmacija)
5. Snočka sam senjala / Last Night I Dreamt (Međimurje)
22:30-00:00: Final party, Matis Absolut Lounge, Trg Stjepana Radića
3
The final party that begins after the banquet in Matis Absolut Lounge (located just outside of the Lisinski
Concert Hall) is FREE FOR ALL DELEGATES – everyone is invited! Music for dancing and entertainment will be
provided by the Croatian ethno-band Veja from Pazin, Istria.
More about the band +
The band was founded in 2007 and their name derives from the Istrian word for the wake – the custom of gathering around the deceased and holding a night-long vigil, which was usually accompanied by eating, drinking and singing. Members of the Veja are Goran Farkaš (vocal, mih, fiddle, bagpipes, kaval), Saša Farkaš (guitar, percussions), Marko Pernić (vocal, accordion), Sebastijan Demark (bass guitar), Ljuban Rajić (cajon) and Marijan Jelenić (sound designer). The band finds its inspiration in the Istrian traditional music and performs new arrangements by using various traditional instruments from all over the world. Up until now, Veja has participated in world music festivals throughout Europe. In 2014 the band released their first album, Dolina mlinova (Valley of the Mills, the area around Pazin, where the band’s creativity takes place). The album contains 10 songs that can be downloaded at www.vejamusic.com/download/veja_dolina_mlinova.zip.
