Hande Birkalan-Gedik, SIEF Historian

SIEF History and Its Historians: Networks, Voices, and Active Projects

My work as SIEF Historian grows from a long-standing fascination with the transnational networks that shape European ethnology and folklore. Conferences, personal connections, and scholarly exchanges have long been central to these fields, revealing a rich, complex, and often negotiated tapestry of both collaboration and contestation that has been fundamental to the formation and development of our society.

Building on this research, I had the privilege of contributing to the marking of the 70th anniversary of a key moment in the history of ethnology and folklore: the 1955 CIAP Congress held in Arnhem, the Netherlands. Congrès International d’Ethnologie Régionale gathering was a pivotal and programmatic event, organized by Winand Roukens and hosted by the Dutch Academy of Sciences, and it played a formative role in shaping international scholarly networks in the field. According to the congress program, the central point was to facilitate a deep self-reflection on the state and future of our disciplines of ethnology and folklore.

In recognition of my ongoing engagement with SIEF’s institutional and intellectual history, I was honored to be appointed SIEF Historian at the Board meeting in Amsterdam in 2026, following my invitation to speak at the SIEF Congress in Aberdeen on the anniversary of the landmark 1955 CIAP Conference, that continues to resonate as a cornerstone of international scholarly networks.

SIEF’s history is shaped not only by its institutions and conferences but also by the people who have guided the society: its presidents, board members, and other key actors. Exploring these networks provides insight into SIEF’s international reach and the intellectual journeys of its members, showing how SIEF has fostered collaboration across national, personal, and scholarly boundaries.

As SIEF Historian, my first focus is on uncovering the contributions of forgotten, marginalized, and sidelined female ethnologists and folklorists, both within SIEF and beyond. Highlighting these voices is vital for creating a more inclusive understanding of the association’s past and for opening new perspectives on its future.

Building on the foundational work of Bjarne Rogan, I also plan to examine the intertwined histories of national institutions, personal trajectories, and scholarly milieus, alongside the pivotal role of SIEF conferences in shaping the field. In addition, I will be developing collaborative research projects within SIEF to trace how members and their national traditions of ethnology and folklore have interacted with SIEF over time. As part of this work, I plan to conduct interviews with living SIEF presidents and board members to capture their experiences and reflections.

Alongside scholarly research and building on these materials, one immediate but ongoing project is to develop accessible, material ways of engaging with SIEF’s history—such as archival postcards, posters, stickers, and pins—while also expanding the existing SIEF historical depository with new research outputs. This work will be carried out in a collaborative fashion, with the aim of presenting at least some of these materials at the 2027 SIEF meeting in Bolzano.

These efforts, I hope, will illuminate both the people and the networks that have shaped SIEF, highlighting overlooked voices while connecting the society’s rich past to its dynamic present and future.

SIEF Historian
Hande Birkalan-Gedik