A c ta E th n o g ra p h ie H u n g a ric a , 40 ( 3 —4 ) , p p .

353—358 (1 9 9 5 )

DN IN T E R D IS C IP L IN A R Y ASPECTS OF BALKANOLOGY

Gabriella SCHUBERT

I n s t i t u t fü r B alkano logie
F re ie U n iv e r s itä t B e r lin
D-14195 B erlin-D ahlem , G a ry s tr. 55, Germany

When I decided to speak about the in te rd is c ip lin a ry concept of teach­

ing and research w ith in the subject of the Balkanology in B e rlin , I was
aware that i t is not very w ell known among ethnologists or fo lk lo r is ts . Even
w ith in our own u n iv e rs ity landscape i t is an extremely exo tic fie ld which
can e a sily f a l l in to o b livio n in fin a n c ia lly d if f ic u lt times as the present
ones. Everyone is w ell informed of Germanistics, S la v is tic s , H istory, Eth­
nology and Folklore — but Balkanology? While established subjects of long
tra d itio n do not need any ju s tific a tio n fo r th e ir existence, the so-called
orchid subjects are f a ir ly isolated and endangered in d i f f i c u l t times re ­
gardless of th e ir social or p o lit ic a l relevance and c a p a b ility to contribute
th e ir s p e c ific and innovative ideas to tra d itio n a l fie ld s o f research.
The In s titu te of Balkanology was founded in 1950 at the Free U niversi­
ty o f B e rlin by the chair holder of Romanistics, Professor Dr. Günther
Reichenkron. The invention of Balkanology as an ordinary subject of studies
was also in itia te d by him. Oue to th is , from i t s very beginnings, a roma-
n is tic angle was p re va ilin g in the s c ie n tific work of Balkanology — espe­
c ia lly concentrating on the p a le o -lin g u is tic s itu a tio n of the Balkans. This
was a tra d itio n a l or so to say p o s itiv is tic method of research which at the
same time served p o lit ic a l in te re sts on a l l sides of South-East Europe eager
to prove th e ir pretentions o f p r io r ity in ce rta in regions. Among others,
Günther Reichenkron tr ie d to reconstruct the Dacian language as a substrate
of Rumanian.
In 1960, the Balkanology was however detached from the Seminar o f Ro-
manistics and integrated in to the Faculty of Philosophy having the status of
an independent in s titu te . In 1969 i t was again reorganized and became a de­
partment of the East-European In s titu te . With organizational changes, the
p r o file of the subject changed as w e ll. A fte r the death of Günther Reichen-

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354 GABRIELLA SCHUBERT

krön, a new and independent chair o f Balkanology was opened and f i l l e d with
a s la v is t and expert of the Balkans, Professor Dr. Norbert R eiter. Under his
leadership, a curriculum of Balkanology became e ffe c tiv e in 1978. Since that
tim e, the Free U niversity of B e rlin has been the only in s titu tio n in Germany
and probably even w ith in a greater range where th is subject is independently
organized and taught and where examinations of M. A., Doctor of Philosophy
have been taken even with the p o s s ib ility of h a b ilita tio n fo r the profes­
sor ' s p o s itio n .
The Balkanology defines it s e l f as a "science of the languages w ith in
the cultures of the Balkan Peninsula". I t is a supranational com paratistic
science consisting of two subdisciplines:

a) lin g u is tic s and

b) ethnology respectively so cia l anthropology.

Findings of both subdisciplines are joined together in order to obtain

knowledge of the past and present ways of l i f e , social structures and cor­
re la tio n s in South-East Europe from Hungary in the North to Turkey in the
Southeast. Balkanology is consequently an in te rd is c ip lin a ry and in te g ra tiv e
su b je ct. In th is respect i t d iffe r s from tra d itio n a l ph ilo lo g ie s as Roma-
n is tic s , A n g lis tic s , Germanistics etc. — even methodically: I t does not in ­
ve stig a te those s p e c ific t r a it s which d iffe re n tia te peoples but rather those
which due to c e rta in comprehensive c u ltu ra l and social factors they have in
common w ith one another in a ll spheres of l i f e .
From it s beginnings u n til now, the Balkanology in B erlin has ra d ic a lly
changed it s outlook. While the number of students at the beginning did not
exceed a dozen, in the Winter Semester 1993/94 about a hundred students were
re g iste re d fo r Balkanology. This is , o f course, due to p o litic a l events and
re vo lu tio n a ry changes in East and South-East Europe. A fte r the decay of the
Eastern block and the re u n ific a tio n o f Germany, more and more students came
from the t e r r it o r y of the former Yugoslavia and neighbouring countries as
w e ll as from East Germany to B e rlin to study th is exotic subject because
they wanted to know more about th is m ultinationa l area and centre of con­
f l i c t s . Thus, a m ultin a tio n a l group of students has formed aroung our sub­
je c t .
Their expectations and whishes have of course influenced teaching as
w e ll as the s c ie n tific conception of the subject to a certain extent. When
they had taken up Balkanology they had quite d iffu se ideas about th is sub­
je c t and i t has taken quite a considerable time u n til they have understood
 ON INTERDISCIPLINARY ASPECTS OF BALKANOLOGY 355

the very aim o f th e ir studies which is not the association o f a balcanic

natio n a l id e n tity to an in d ivid u a l person but the disclosure of a global
European in te g rity .
The skeleton of studies has remained — the purpots, ways of ques­
tio n in g and methods of investigatio n have however changed. We have at le a st
conceptionally ra d ic a lly broken with tr a d itio n a l perceptions. The targets o f
in v e s tig a tio n do not any more lie in the past — that means we do not ask in
the tra d itio n a l way: who has taken what from where respectively from whom
but o rientate ourselves in a prospective d ire ctio n s ta rtin g from a ce rta in
past or present state and then asking the function of those factors found at
th is stage.
Another p rin c ip le o f our investigatio ns is comparison. This automati­
c a lly leads us beyond the South-East to other parts of Europe, too. From the
South-East we take the m aterial and there is a good reason fo r doing so: I t
is the oldest cu ltu re area of Europe where in the course of often changing
periods of h is to ry many peoples of d iffe re n t languages, ethnic and confes­
sio n a l determination have live d together. This gives us the basis of com­
parison and leads us to other parts of Europe in order to fin d out the d i f ­
ferences and the s p e c ific c u ltu ra l t r a it s o f the South-East.
With the exception o f Serbo-Croate and Bulgarian, the Balkan languages
are not g e n e tica lly related to each other. Regardless of th is they reveal
common t r a it s , lin g u a l interferences or fa m ilia rly ca lle d balkanisms. The
Balkan lin g u is tic s investigates the emergence and function of those in te r ­
ferences — consequently i t deals w ith languages not under genetic but
s tru c tu ra l and functiona l aspects. W ithin the Balkan lin g u is tic s , Norbert
R eiter has created the foundations of a concept which he c a lls Eurolingu­
is t ic s . In contrary to the Balkan p h ilo lo g ie s of the 19th and even 20th cen­
tu rie s which played a highly important though not always noticed role in
s ta b iliz in g the national consciousness w ith in newly founded nations, a pro­
spective supranational and comparatistic Balkan lin g u is tic s does not serve
any more fo r the reconstruction of former lin g u a l states. I t is rather con­
centrated on the semantic analysis of the spoken practice o f d iffe re n t la n ­
guages in order fin d out th e ir social background.
To fo llo w th is i t is impossible to lim it oneself to lin g u a l fa cto rs;
h is to ry , ethnology, fo lk lo re , sociology and many other fie ld s have to be
taken in to consideration as w e ll. In th is way Balkanology has from it s very
beginnings combined lin g u is tic s and ethnology with other d is c ip lin e s . Even
those students who q u a lifie d themselves in Balkan lin g u is tic s gradually be­
356 GABRIELLA SCHUBERT

came accustomed to integrate e th n o lo g ica l, fo lk lo r is t ic , h is to ric a l and

other re s u lts in to th e ir work — th a t means to apply an in te rd is c ip lin a ry
method of research in order to reveal c u ltu ra l interdepences and ca u sa li­
t ie s . This is by no means easy fo r i t requires a great amount of f l e x i b i l i ­
ty and above a l l the active knowledge o f many languages not related to each
o th e r. Our students have indeed to a ffo rd a lo t of energy and time in order
to learn at le a st three of the Balkan languages.
Balkan ethnology as the other leg of Balkanology comprises a ll spheres
o f so cia l l i f e and is not lim ite d to ru ra l f o lk lif e . I t deals with a p o ly­
e th n ic region which in comparison w ith Middle and Western Europe shows a
c e rta in "c u ltu ra l la g ". More than in any other parts of Europe, a syncretism
characterizes the liv e s of the Balkan peoples — even in the c itie s where
regardless of heterogeneous group cu ltu re s agrarian tra d itio n s could much
more be preserved than in Western Europe.
In a l l spheres of l i f e and c u ltu ra l objectivatio ns, Balkan peoples
show very s im ila r s tru c tu ra l c h a ra c te ris tic s which can be called " c u ltu ra l
balkanisms". Those are due to a long period of sim ila r p o lit ic a l and so cia l
co n d itio n s which were given w ith in the Ottoman Empire on the one and the
Austro-Hungarian Empire on the other hand. Under those conditions, c e rta in
tr a its of lif e have developed which are s t i l l persisting in present liv e s .
To investigate them in th e ir in tr a - and interethnic forms of appearance
— th is is the aim o f Balkan ethnology as i f is taught in B e rlin by me. The
f ie ld s of research of the Balkan ethnology in fa ct correspond to those of
European ethnology. I t investigates the complex basic layers of cultures and
s o c ie tie s , the s o c io -c u ltu ra l utterances and cognitive concepts of peoples
liv in g in South-East Europe. In th e o re tic a l respect, the concepts of s tru c ­
tu ra lis m and semiotics are especially favoured but others the applied, too.
Quite a lo t remains to be done w ith in a comparatistic Balkan ethnol­
ogy. I f we have a look at ethnological an f o lk lo r is tic research done up to
now on the Danube-Balkan region the number of works is endless. I t is how­
ever conspicuous th a t they mostly fo llo w the tra d itio n a l categorization o f
c u ltu re in to an "o b je ctive culture" ( fo r instance "b u ild in g and dw e llin g ",
" f o lk costumes", " fo lk a r t" ) , a "s o c ia l cu ltu re " (here above a l l " jo in t fam­
i l y " a ffa ir s ) and a "mental culture" ( fo r instance "customs", " fo lk b e lie f" ,
" f o lk lite r a tu r e " , " fo lk music"). Although i t is at le a st fo r the la s t
twenty years known th a t th is categorization is not adequate, a contextual
and global s c ie n tific approach is not very often applied in ethnological in ­
ve stig a tio n s on the subject. In many o f them ru ra l c u ltu ra l tra d itio n s and
 ON INTERDISCIPLINARY ASPECTS OF BALKANOLOGY 3 57

ru ra l normative systems deliver the s ta rtin g -p o in t and basis of in vestiga­

tio n . This is in some ways ju s tifie d but i t should not close the eyes fo r
phenomena which are everything else but tra d itio n a l. Otherwise present re ­
search becomes a research of r e lic ts . Moreover, most of the works in ques­
tio n are related to a lim ite d region respectively cu ltu re and do not com­
p rise a greater area. Instead of h ith e rto e xistin g works on "the Bulgarian
house", the "Mythology of Serbs", the "Albanian Kreshnik-songs" such works
as "b u ild in g and dw elling in the eastern h a lf of the Balkans" or "b u ild in g
and dwelling in the Pannonian region", "Mythology of the Eastern South-
Slavs", "Epic heroic songs in the Dalmatian and D inaric area" would be de­
s ira b le . They should moreover not be only concentrated on the surface le v e l
o f the phenomena as i t is mostly the case but should also examine th e ir deep
stru ctu re respectively semantic meanings. This requires an in te rd is c ip lin a ry
approach which goes beyond ethnology or fo lk lo re and integrates lin g u is tic ,
so cio lo g ic a l, h is to r ic a l, theological and even mythological fa c ts . The t a r ­
get o f a com paratistic Balkan ethnology is to fin d out the c u ltu ra l is o ­
glosses respectively common factors which are c h a ra c te ris tic of past and
present everyday cu ltu re s w ithin the Danube-Balkan region. This of course
a ffo rd s much more e ffo r t than in Balkan lin g u is tic s which can re ly on
w ritte n m aterial w hile ethnology has to c o lle c t inform ation from h is to r ic ,
iconographie and o b je ctive sources, excavations and above a l l fie ld work.
F ie ld research raises the greatest problems. Many f ie ld workes, a lo t of
time and fin a n c ia l a id is necessary fo r th is work which is fu rth e r complica­
ted by a progressive disfunctioning or contextual a lte ra tio n and v a r ia b ility
o f c u ltu ra l phenomena, by th e ir mutation from one micro region to another,
from one social class to another. Nevertheless, systematic fie ld and source
work has to be made in order to approach gradually th is ta rg e t.
Contemporary research is gaining an ever more important ro le w ith in
the Balkan ethnology. This is of course due to the emerging and exploding
ethn ic c o n flic ts w ith in th is area which force to be d ealt w ith on a scien­
tific le v e l. While in Middle and Western Europe p o lit ic a l boundaries become
gradually abolished, people in the Danube-Balkan region erect a r t i f i c i a l
boundaries of separation and hate in re la tio n to each other. An ethnological
research has to disclose the deep-rooted reasons of those boundaries in
order to give it s co n trib u tio n to the solution of c o n flic ts . This is a very
s u b tile work a ffo rd in g a very intim ate and comprehensive knowledge of the
Balkans in th e ir h is to r ic a l s e ttin g . The application o f any s c ie n tific re ­
s u lts in p o lit ic a l r e a lity is however very d i f f ic u lt . Balkanology has no
358 GABRIELLA SCHUBERT

p u b lic re la tio n s , and German p o litic ia n s rather pay a tte n tio n to loud state­
ments o f Human Rights' Organizations, parliamentarians and jo u rn a lis ts than
u n iv e rs ity scholars. Otherwise those fa ta l errors recently made by German
Foreign Policy in the Balkan c o n flic t could have been avoided.
Whenever our graduates leave th e ir Balkanological cradle in order to
apply th e ir special knowledge in p ra c tia l or s c ie n tific work they are — in
my opinion u n ju stly — faced with a c e rta in degree of reserve by other eth­
n o lo g is ts who do not recognize them to be re a lly competent fo r European eth­
nology. On the other hand, I have gained the impression that some ethnolog­
ic a l chairs at le a st in Germany claim to be European without having a re a l
com paratistic concept and without going beyond the German-speaking t e r r it o ­
r ie s . In order to f u l f i l l the requirements of a European ethnology, com-
p a ra tis tic s are in my opinion in e v ita b le . I t is in evitable as w ell to obtain
an intim ate knowledge o f European languages and among them not only of En­
g lis h , French, Ita lia n and Spanish. In addition, an in te rd is c ip lin a ry method
o f research lik e th a t of Balkan ethnology which exceeds the mere fo lk lo r is -
tic and ethnological boundaries is h e lp fu l fo r a European ethnology, too.