First stage of the Russian Ethnographers and Anthropologists. 20th century project completed
February 9, 2017 marked the meeting of MAE RAS Academic Board, dedicated to Russian Science Day. The meeting saw Prof. Dr.Sc. Efim Rezvan, Deputy Director of Kunstkamera Museum, deliver a summary report on the Russian Ethnographers and Anthropologists. 20th century project, supported with a grant from the Russian Geographical Society (View webcast of the Academic Board meeting here). The first stage of the project (2016-2017) included: wikifying Mikhail Reshetov’s Materials for a biobibliographical dictionary of Russian ethnographers and anthropologists of the 20th century, writing over 120 new entries, serious editing of most of the materials, adding over 300 photographs, adapting software for the purposes of the project, completing the user interface, providing online access to the reference materials for outside users without right for editing, inviting relevant institutions to join the project, and electing the project’s Editorial Board. The report stressed that, in the future, those concerned will be able to contribute to the project, with minimum moderation. The idea underlying the project is not just about creating a platform, allowing to collect unique materials on the history of Russian ethnography and anthropology, but, more importantly, about creating a modern, academic, collaborative environment for scholars form Russia and post-Soviet space, about honouring the legacy of our teachers, about creating an effective tool to educate young scholars, and about promoting Russia’s scientific achievements internationally. MAE RAS Academic Board hopes that the Russian Geographical Society will support the second stage of the project approved by the RGS Ethnographic Commission in December 2016. The second stage of the project contemplates to extend the site’s reach through collaboration with relevant institutions from CIS states, to translate major articles into English, and to make the project a self-sustaining website and a serious tool for scientific research.
Webcast of the Academic Board meeting >>