Publication details
Spišští Romové a příroda. Teoreticko-metodologický rámec výzkumu
| Title in English | Romanies from Spiš and Nature. A Theoretical-Methodological Frame of Research |
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| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2013 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Sociální studia |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | http://socstudia.fss.muni.cz/sites/default/files/Pelik%C3%A1n.pdf |
| Field | Archaeology, anthropology, ethnology |
| Keywords | Romanies; Gypsies; Spiš; Slovakia; Nature; Culture; Interdisciplinarity |
| Description | In the field of environmental studies as well as in other related disciplines there is an ongoing debate about how to deal with the key topic of the relationship between society and nature. A case study of Roma settlements in Spiš, Slovakia can provide promising empirical material for studying this phenomenon. Cursory comparisons of local cultural patterns with the cultural patterns of the majority have demonstrated considerable differences in the conceptualization of nature and in the environmental dimensions of lifestyle. This study discusses suitable methodological and theoretical approaches to this research in Spiš. It clarifies the difference between “environmental behavior” and “relationship to nature” and defines two dimensions of viewing nature – as a physical environment or as a metaphysical category. This article differentiates between conscious and unreflected connections between society and nature and points out that research has up until now rather ignored unreflected connections. It then identifies three relevant theoretical frameworks – the biophilia hypothesis, the concept of ritual impurity, and approaches dealing with the connections between the environment and way of life. In the conclusion two ways of conceptualization are suggested, one based on conservation psychology and the other based on symbolical classification of the world through the nature-culture dichotomy. |
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