Nikola Balaš
Nikola Balaš
QUALIFICATIONS
2020 Ph.D., General Anthropology, Faculty of Humanities, Charles University
2011 Mgr., Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of West Bohemia
2009 Bc., Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of West Bohemia
PRINCIPAL RESEARCH INTERESTS
History of Anthropology and Ethnology; State Socialism; Postsocialism; Sociology of Social Sciences; History and Sociology of Science; Knowledge Production; Pierre Bourdieu; Field Theory; Philosophy and Social Theory; History of Czechoslovakia; Cold War Studies; Nationalism
RESEARCH PROFILE
My current research revolves around three topics. Firstly, I delve into the inner workings of state socialism, focusing on its academia, economy, relations of power, and informal networks. Secondly, I am interested in sociological approaches to knowledge production, currently trying to explore the advantages and shortcomings of the sociology of science developed by Pierre Bourdieu. Thirdly, I specialise in the history of anthropology and ethnology, without putting too much stress on intellectual history. I tried to combine all these interests in my An Ethnographic Chiefdom: Epistemic Arrest and Knowledge Production in Czechoslovak Ethnography 1969–1989 (Berghahn Books, 2025). The book focuses on how an interplay of forces typical of the state socialist situation brought about an absence of discussion with further consequences for theory in Czechoslovak ethnography.
Apart from this, I am a keen reader of philosophy, which offers a better handling of some contemporary issues in sociology and sociocultural anthropology.
Books
2024 An Ethnographic Chiefdom: Epistemic Arrest and Knowledge Production in Czechoslovak Ethnography (1969–1989). New York: Berghahn Books.
Edited Volumes and Special Issues
2025 Ethical and Methodological Uncertainties in Studying the Eastern Bloc Ethnology and Folkloristics. Special Issue of Slovenský národopis (forthcoming). (co-editor Langer, Kaisa)
Journal Articles
2024 A Crusade for Social Anthropology: An Analysis of Politics in Postsocialist Debates. A Crusade for Social Anthropology: An Analysis of Politics in Postsocialist Debates.Sociologický časopis/Czech Sociological Review 60(3): 239–266.
2024 Through a Peephole: Vladimír Karbusický, the Secret Police and the Scholarly Ethos in Socialist Czechoslovakia. History and Anthropology 35(2): 352–371.
2019 Antropologové v pasti? Teorie vědy / Theory of Science, 41(1): 133–149.
2018 Academia without Contention? The Legacy of Czechoslovak Ethnography and Folklore Studies in Czech Anthropology. Sociologický časopis/Czech Sociological Review 54(3): 343–370.
2016 Čím vším může být sociokulturní antropologie. Český lid / The Czech Ethnological Journal 103(3): 473–490.
2015 On Dualism and Monism in Anthropology: The Case of Clifford Geertz. Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford 7(2): 128–152.
2014 Anthropology Limited. Studying Anthropology in the Czech Republic (and England). Cargo: Časopis pro kulturní/sociální antropologii 12(1–2): 75–88.
2012 Pokrok ve společenskovědní teorii náboženství: Mezi Durkheimem a Geertzem. Teorie vědy / Theory of Science 34(4): 495–514.
Book Chapters
2022 General Comments on Chapters by Vytis Čiubrinskas, Guido Franzinetti, David Gellner, Chris Hann, Grazyna Kubica, Zdeněk Uherek, and Ralph Schroeder. In: Skalník, Petr (ed.): Ernest Gellner’s Legacy and Social Theory Today. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 521–524.
Board Memberships
Ongoing Czech Association for Social Anthropology, member of the board
2019–2020 CARGO: Journal for social/cultural anthropology, member of the editorial board
External Reviewing
Journal Articles Manuscript Review: Anthropological Journal of European Cultures; Antropowebzin
Teaching Experience
2024– Lecturer, Institute of Ethnology and Central European and Balkan Studies, Faculty of Arts, Charles University
Invited Talks, Public Lectures or Roundtables
2023 June, 9. Young Scholar Prize Lecture. SIEF2023 16th Congress, Brno, Czechia.
Conference and Workshop Organisation
2024 May, 10. Bourdieu a (post)socialismus. (co-organisers Pehe, Veronika – Kupka, Petr)
