This volume is the second Annual of the Konitsa Summer School in Anthropology, Ethnography and Comparative Folklore of the Balkans containing the proceedings of two years, 2007 and 2008. It includes papers written by members of the teaching staff, papers delivered as lectures or especially prepared for the Annual, papers written by students based principally on their fieldwork exercise in Greece and Albania, presentations of ongoing PhD theses and, finally, the syllabi of the subjects of instruction.

Under socialism the anthropological sciences developed under conflicting pressures: on the one hand Soviet influences, Marxist ideology and institutional changes, on the other the continued influence of national traditions and of the distinction between Volkskunde and Volkerkunde. The chapters bring out striking differences between the countries considered: the German Democratic Republic, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. They also draw attention to variation within countries, and between sub-branches of the discipline. Coverage extends from the Stalinist years to the end of the socialist era, and the topics range from folklore studies at home to fieldwork expeditions abroad.

Territorial behaviour among various herders and hunter-gatherers has been discussed in earlier studies, but this is the first time that a comparison of these three types of mobile populations has been attempted. The original papers presented in this volume discuss the conditions and problems of securing access to resources among pastoralists, peripatetics, and hunting, gathering and fishing communities in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. A comprehensive introductory chapter places these empirical studies in a broader theoretical context of the behaviourial sciences.

Uradyn Bulag presents a unique study of what it means to be Mongolian today. Mongolian nationalism, emerging from a Soviet-dominated past and facing a Chinese-threatened future, has led its adherents to stress purity in an effort to curb the outside influences on Mongolian culture andidentity. This sort of nationalism views the Halh (the 'indigenous' Mongols) as 'pure' Mongols, and other Mongol groups as 'impure'. This Halh-centrism excites and exploits fears that Mongolia will be swallowed by China; it stands in opposition to pan-Mongolism, the view that links between Mongolsof all kinds should be strengthened. Bulag draws on an abundance of illuminating research findings to argue that Mongols are facing a choice between a purist, racialized nationalism, inherited from Soviet discourses of nationalism, and a more open, adaptive nationalism which accepts diversity,hybridity, and multiculturalism. He calls into question the idea of Mongolia as a homogeneous place and people, and urges that unity should be sought through acknowledgement of diversity.

IBSS is the essential tool for librarians, university departments, research institutions and any public or private institution whose work requires access to up-to-date and comprehensive knowledge on the social sciences.

Renowned for its international coverage and rigorous selection procedures, this series provides the most comprehensive and scholarly bibliographic service available in the social sciences. Arranged by topic and indexed by author, subject and place-name, each bibliography lists and annotates the most important works published in its field during the year of 1997, including hard-to-locate journal articles. Each volume also includes a complete list of the periodicals consulted.

IBSS is the essential tool for librarians, university departments, research institutions and any public or private institution whose work requires access to up-to-date and comprehensive knowledge of the social sciences.

IBSS is the essential tool for librarians, university departments, research institutions and any public or private institution whose work requires access to up-to-date and comprehensive knowledge of the social sciences

IBSS is the essential tool for librarians, university departments, research institutions and any public or private institution whose work requires access to up-to-date and comprehensive knowledge on the social sciences.