Hierarchies of Knowledge in Central-Eastern European Anthropology

Abstract

The issue raised in this paper is exceptionally sensitive, since I address, in fact, the mutual relations between the so-called Western anthropologists working on 'postsocialism' and the anthropologists who work on, but at the same time work and live in, the 'postsocialist countries' of Central and Eastern Europe (hereafter CEE).A characteristic of the problems discussed here causes me to refer to the scholarly production of the people that I personally know, many of whom I consider friends (and I hope they will still consider me as such afterwards), some of whom I have collaborated with, and among whom several have been helpful to me in one way or the other.I take it for granted that they will read this piece as a preliminary attempt to ponder the issue of the hierarchies of knowledge whose existence is visible and undeniable.This is what I will attempt to show below.Therefore, it should be our preliminary task to find out what the historical and political reasons are for their emergence and perpetuation.This kind of undertaking asks for something that Bob Scholte a long time ago called the 'anthropology of anthropology.'We are eager to criticize hegemonic political discourses, unveil works of culture as a mask legitimizing domination in class inequalities, and even deconstruct the ideological character of other academic disciplines' output.Anthropology, as a part of culture and a domain of social practice, can be studied and analyzed in similar terms.This move should enable us to understand conditions structuring the field and creating this pecking order of wisdom.As in any other domain of life in which inequities have surfaced, raising consciousness has been a first step in the process of overcoming them.This should open the field for further communication and an exchange of ideas that should, in turn, contribute to the undermining of stereotypes and gaps.As a matter of fact, this is the thrust of anthropological endeavors.This is the way, I trust my fellow anthropologists, friends and colleagues will read what follows. Some 'patterns of anthropological production' of Western and Polish scholarsThere are quite a few 'Western' anthropologists who study 'postsocialism,' particularly in Central and Eastern Europe.In the case I know best, the Polish one, the list includes such names as Carole Nagengast,

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