Research in the Master's Programme

The Master's programme is research-based and culminates in the Master's thesis. Research is thus at the core of the programme and students carry it out in several ways:.

• They carry out self-organised fieldwork. This means that they develop a topic and go into the field - either in another country or in Switzerland - to collect "data".
• Students take part in an excursion or a summer school offered by the institute. They prolong their stay then to gain deeper insights.
• They can carry out a project at the Ethnographic Museum.
• They conduct research in coordination with ongoing research projects.
• They conduct research in coordination with research projects conducted by partner organisations of the Institute, such as several well-known NGOs.
• Students deal with a topic on the basis of literature.

Here you will find current calls for proposals:

We are seeking an MA student in Social Anthropology to join a collaborative research project titled "Cultivating Futures: Anthropological Explorations of Alternative Education in Indonesia," in partnership with Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The selected candidate would conduct research within the broader field of alternative education in Indonesia, focusing on a topic of their choice. Potential research topics are Indonesian nature schools called Sekolah Alam, indigenous schools in East Nusa Tenggara, or homeschooling Indonesian families in Yogyakarta, for example. The length of the research would be approximately three months.

Project description:

Over the recent decades, there has been a global rise in alternative education, driven by a reaction to state efforts to establish a standardised and culturally cohesive education system for all children. Alternative education, broadly defined, encompasses educational practices outside the conventional forms of schooling endorsed by the state. It arises from parents, educators, and students who choose not to engage in the established conventional education systems. As a response, they look to alternative education to address perceived gaps in the traditional schooling provided by the state. Alternative education takes on diverse and multifaceted forms. Although it is a prevalent practice globally, prior research has predominantly focused on alternative education practices in the global North. In Indonesia, alternative forms of education, including homeschooling, nature schools, and Islamic boarding schools (pondok pesantren), are closely intertwined with the state's oversight. The state officially acknowledges these alternatives within its informal and non-formal education framework, as outlined in Law No. 20 of 2003. However, students enrolled in these programs are still required to participate in nationally standardised exams to attain formal degrees, a pivotal requirement for pursuing higher education or entering the workforce.

In this project, we propose a comprehensive investigation into a wide array of alternative education movements in Indonesia, from Islamic boarding schools in Eastern Java, women activists’ schools in South Sulawesi, to international green schools and homeschooling expatriates in Bali. Our primary objective is to comprehend how these diverse alternative education movements aspire to shape youths’ perception for the future through their distinctive approaches to education that challenge the state-prescribed vision of society and of the future. Employing ethnographic case studies, we intend to gain insight from key participants within these movements, including young people, their parents, teachers/ facilitators, and activists. Our research is driven by a set of interconnected inquiries: what kind of youths do these movements seek to cultivate through their alternative modes of education? How do these movements and participating youth envision the future, and in what manner do they envisage these youths integrating into that future? Most importantly, how do they endeavour to manifest and bring to life their imagined futures?

Practical Information:

The research project is funded by the Leading House Asia Partnership Grant, and there will be a financial contribution to accommodation and travel costs, as well as administrative support from UGM for a student visa. Ideally, the research would take place in the summer of 2024, but it could occur anytime between April 2024 and April 2025. The candidate would become a part of our international research team, which includes Molly Fitzpatrick, Pujo Semedi, Annisa Hartoto, Wahyu Kuncoro, Milena Frei, and two MA students from UGM. The candidate will be invited to attend a workshop in Yogyakarta, planned for summer 2024, where all members of the project will meet and exchange on their planned research projects. Please contact molly.fitzpatrick@uzh.ch if you would like to apply or have any questions about this research project.

Details folgen im Januar auf dieser Website.

Tagebücher, Forschungsnotizen, Fotografien, Filme und Audioaufnahmen aus dem Südsudan – der Schweizer Ethnologe Conradin Kwacakworo Perner hat dem Völkerkundemuseum der Universität Zürich das Archiv seiner Feldforschungen bei den Anyuak überlassen.

Perner hat zwischen 1976 und 1983 im heutigen Südsudan geforscht und zahlreiche Bücher zur Sprache und zu kulturellen Praktiken und Weltanschauungen der Anyuak veröffentlicht (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conradin_Perner). Im Anschluss an seine Forschungen war er als Delegierter des Internationalen Komitees des Roten Kreuzes (IKRK) im Südsudan tätig und war während des Bürgerkriegs an der Rettung von 10'000 Kindersoldaten beteiligt. Ab 2008 engagierte er sich für den Frieden und wurde nach der Unabhängigkeit des Landes 2011 zum ersten Ehrenbürger des Südsudan ernannt. Er lebt heute in Davos.

Zusätzlich zum Archiv am Völkerkundemuseum gibt es zahlreiche ethnographische Objekte, die sich im Besitz von Perner befinden. Diese Objekte können mit den Archiven in Beziehung gesetzt werden. So können Fragen nach Sammlungsstrategien Perners oder auch nach Materialien, Herstellungstechniken, Objektbiografien oder der in den Objekten eingeschriebenen Könnerschaft der Menschen im Südsudan gestellt werden.

Das Forschungsmaterial soll im Rahmen einer Masterarbeit zunächst erfasst und in den historischen Kontext bzw. in den heutigen Stand der Forschung eingeordnet werden. Beispielsweise forschte bereits E. E. Evans-Pritchard in den 1920er und 1930er Jahren im südlichen Sudan bei den Azande, Nuer und auch den Anyuak – einige der Klassiker der politischen Anthropologie sind daraus entstanden. Heute ist der Südsudan Schauplatz anhaltender Konflikte zwischen politischen Rivalen unterschiedlicher ethnischer Gruppen und dadurch einer der fragilsten Staaten in Afrika.

Gerade vor diesem Hintergrund ist das dichte und vielfältige ethnographische Archiv zur Lebenswelt der Anyuak von grossem Wert. Welche Bedeutung das historische Archiv heute für die Wissenschaft – vor allem aber auch für die Menschen im Südsudan – hat, kann im Rahmen der Forschung erarbeitet werden. Konkrete Forschungsfragen sollen im Gespräch mit dem Betreuer und Conradin Perner erarbeitet werden.

Betreuer: Dr. Alexis Malefakis (malefakis@vmz.uzh.ch)

Dauer der Forschung: 3 Monate (Zürich, Davos)

Voraussetzung: Einschreibung in den Major 90 Ethnologie, gute Englischkenntnisse, Interesse an der Ethnologie Afrikas, materielle Kultur, Archiven, Museumsarbeit

Bewerbungsfrist: offen