Contextualizing Ethnographic Shows in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

The article serves as the introduction to the special issue focusing on ethnographic shows and the production of knowledge regarding Others in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. It aims at presenting the characteristics and conditions of research in Central and Eastern Europe, which may be considered an extension of Western Europe in terms of geography, communication, economy, technology and culture. The juxtaposition of the data and conclusions presented by several scholars from the region highlights the theoretical and practical problems they faced in their research. The text also lists the fundamental differences between the region in question and Western Europe which affected the emergence of local contexts and, consequently, shaped the cultural phenomenon of ethnographic shows.