Institute of Asian and Transcultural Studies

 Funded by the Vilnius University. Implementation period: 2023–2025

Supervisor: Prof. Dr Victor de Munck (Institute of Asian and Transcultural Studies)
Researcher: Dr Hyunhee Lee (Institute of Asian and Transcultural Studies)

Purpose and objectives

This research aims to analyze changes in perceptions of love, marriage, and gender relations in Korean life's cultural, economic, and linguistic aspects to understand declining marriage rates among South Korean youth, particularly in contemporary Korean society. Starting in the 1990s, the meaning of marriage and childbirth for the young generation has changed significantly, with the average marriage age increasing, the marriage rate decreasing, and the non-marriage rate increasing. This research examines the individual aspects of experiences and narratives associated with love and marriage in South Korea. From an anthropological perspective, it addresses these questions: (1) How do social expectations evolve, and how do they influence the practices of love and marriage in South Korea? (2) In different eras, how do gender roles and expectations manifest in dating and marriage, and how do they impact individual experiences? (3) How does the meaning of love and marriage change over time? (4) How are these changes reflected in linguistic practices?

This research on love and marriage in South Korea is poised to offer profound insights into the dynamics shaping fundamental aspects of life. It aims to enrich our understanding of the nature of love and marriage in South Korea by grounding its findings in anthropological research. This study's comprehensive examination of evolving personal narratives, cultural norms, social expectations, and related phenomena will not only deepen our understanding of love and marriage but also shed light on the potential implications of these changes on broader social structures, such as family dynamics, interpersonal relationships, and the functioning of Korean society.

 Funded by the Vilnius University. Project number MSF-JM-09/2023. Implementation period: 2023–2024

Supervisor: dr. Kristina Jonutytė (Institute of Asian and Transcultural Studies)
Researcher: Edvinas Ivanskis (Institute of International Relations and Political Science)

Purpose and objectives

The war in Ukraine has escalated debates of identity and belonging among non-ethnic-Russian populations in the Russian Federation. While Russia has waged a war for its vision of Eastern Slavic unity, its non-Slavic minorities debate their place in the nation. The war may facilitate their deeper integration: many sacrificed their lives for Russia, with disproportionate losses in minority regions (Mediazona 2022). But the war has also sparked oppositional and separatist movements, as minorities question their place in Russia and call for its “de-nazification”. It is crucial to understand the views and experiences of Russia’s minorities today as social inclusion, belonging, and resistance are complex processes.

The purpose of the project is to examine, through a case study, how Russia’s minority citizens relate to Russia today and what this means for the future of the region.

Objectives:

1. To conduct an ethnographic study of Russia’s Buryat minority, paying attention to alternative visions of belonging, which have limited space for expression in Russia. Buryats, a Mongolian ethnic group, are one of Russia’s largest minority groups and among the highest casualty counts. Buryat ethnic anti-war movement was the first one since February 2022 and the most influential.

2. To explore how the war is reshaping this identification.

3. To productively combine insights from ethnography with political science for a rounded interdisciplinary perspective on Russia’s ethnic minority position.

„Žmonių ir plėšrūnų sąveika: santykiai su gyvūnais besikeičiančios aplinkos kontekste“ (LMT S-MIP-21-43)

Research Council of Lithuania P-MIP-21-49). 2021-2024.

Research leader: Prof. D. Brandišauskas.

The main aim of this proposal is to conduct ethnographic field research and contribute to the theoretical discussions of human/animal relations in the scope of "ontological turn" that occurred in anthropology as well as other sociocultural sciences over the last decade. Participant observation will be conducted in different indigenous communities of East Siberia, interacting with wild and domestic animals on their daily level. The research will mainly focus on human interactions with predators and will aim to reveal how these interactions shape economic, ecological, political, or religious practices and experiences. In the case studies, there will also be discussed how we can analyze the "point of view" of animals in the study of their relationships with humans and what methodological approaches can allow an ethnography of animals.

 „Tarp pasirinkimo ir determinizmo: kultūrinė laisvos valios, sėkmės ir atsitiktinumo patyrimo bei
konceptualizavimo įvairovė“ (Nr. DOTSUT-22 (09.3.3-LMT-K-712-01-0111)/LSS-250000-56)

The project was co-funded from the EU Structural Funds (Nr. 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-01-0111), 2018-2022.

Team: Prof. Audrius Beinorius (team-leader), Dr. Vytis Silius, Dr. Renatas Berniūnas, lect. Vilius Dranseika.

The task of the project is to carry out a transcultural textual-historiographical and empirical-anthropological study in order to reveal the connection between the theoretical-intellectual traditions and everyday conceptions of free will, destiny, choice, and luck in different cultural contexts of contemporary Europe and Asia. How the free will issue is conceptualized in various traditions and how it is approached experientially on a popular level. Previous similar studies did not take into account the cross-cultural element, did not evaluate the influence of non-Western intellectual traditions on everyday practice and conceptualization. The current project proposes a critical assessment of the possibility to generalize the results of research that was conducted in Western cultures. This way, we seek to include different systems of knowledge and action from different civilizational fields (India, China, Mongolia, US, Lithuania) into a fruitful intellectual dialogue and to make comparisons on an empirical level by applying the methodologies of Cognitive studies.

„Miesto religija ir erdviškumas daugiaetninėje posocialistinėje Ulan Udėje“ Nr.09.3.3-LMT-K-712-19-0059

Postdoctoral fellowship programme. Research Council of Lithuania 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-19-0059). 2021 – 2023.

Postdoctoral fellow dr. K. Jonutytė

Research supervisor prof. D. Brandišauskas

This social anthropology research project explores the dynamics of the interrelation between religion and urban space in the Republic of Buryatia (Russian Federation). Buryatia is significant as a multi-ethnic region in Southeast Siberia, which is strongly affected by centre-periphery tensions, resource extraction and changing geopolitics, as well as rapid urbanisation and the revival of religion (mainly Buddhism but also Christianity and shamanism). The project will explore how these processes shape local society in the changing multi-ethnic urban space as well as how the urban space itself influences identity and sociality. It will pay special attention to the cultural-religious revival of Buryat Buddhists, which has significant social and political consequences on local, state-, and international levels. These questions will be explored through the prism of religion, bearing in mind its link with ethnicity and politics as its role in postsocialist multiethnic contexts is growing. The project will use theories of urban religion and spatiality, and it will aim to make a contribution to this field. The researcher will conduct ethnographic fieldwork in Ulan-Ude, the capital of Buryatia. It will consist of participant observation, interviews, as well as analysis of various sources and of urban space. The postdoctoral researcher will aim at preparing a monograph on urban religion and spatiality in Ulan-Ude and submitting it to an international publisher. She will also prepare and submit an academic article, give two presentations at international conferences as well as a seminar presentation, and will write a popular article. She will conduct a research stay at the University of Cambridge (the UK), at the Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit.

„Lietuvių kilmės žmonių emigracija į Pietų Ameriką ir jų integracija San Paulo, Buenos Airės ir Montevidėjaus visuomenėse pagal KSAK modelį“ (09.3.3-LMT-K-712-19-0161)

Postdoctoral fellowship programme. Research Council of Lithuania 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-19-0161). 2020 – 2022.

Postdoctoral fellow dr. V. Bartochevis, research supervisor prof. V. Čiubrinskas)

Isolation or assimilation is a common phenomenon in the process of interaction between immigrants and the host society, but people of Lithuanian descent have managed to avoid it in host societies in São Paulo, Buenos Aires and Montevideo. People of Lithuanian origin, without renouncing their identity, have integrated and become a valuable part of the host societies, contributing to the development and prosperity of those countries both economically and socially and culturally. This is a part of the history of Lithuania, and at the same time Europe, with South America, which is still very little studied. The goal is to analyse the integration of people of Lithuanian descent into the societies of São Paulo, Buenos Aires and Montevideo through the KSAK model.

„Įveikiant traumines patirtis: dvasinių būtybių įsitraukimo atvejai krikščionybėje“ (09.3.3-LMT-K-712-23-0116)

Postdoctoral fellowship programme. Research Council of Lithuania 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-23-0116). 2021 – 2023.

Postdoctoral fellow dr. E. Liutkevičius, research supervisor prof. D. Brandišauskas

The objective of this ethnographic research project is to examine the relationship between human and spiritual beings within Christianity by studying how religious communities seek to heal people suffering from alcohol and drug abuse. The researcher will have a particular focus on the personal and social stages of trauma, along with the experienced healing strategies and practises. The researcher was alerted to the issue of religious rehabilitation during his previous research conducted among Ukrainian Baptists. From previously drug addicted believers he learned about their perception of the active role the Holy Spirit takes during the healing, just as he learned that they understood that Satan and demons often are involved. This not only affects their healing process, but spiritual beings start interacting and participating in people's day-today lives in such a way that this affects their perception of reality and the meaning they attribute to daily activities. The goal is to conduct an ethnographic research project within the discipline of Anthropology of Christianity, and investigate the interrelations between humans and spirits and how these are expressed during healing processes, that seek to help people recover from drug and alcohol abuse.

„Meilės santykiai šiuolaikinėje Lietuvoje ir jų poveikis santuokos,
šeimos kūrimo ir vaikų auginimo pasirinkimams“ (sut. reg. nr. S-MIP-21-47)

Project duration: 2021 m. April-2024 m. March

Project leader: prof. dr. (HP) Victor C. de Munck

Project team: dr. Jūratė Charenkova

Project is funded by Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT) grant No. S-MIP-21-47.

Aim of the project: to reveal how youth’s perceptions of love relations changes and how it correlates with prognoses of second demographic transition.

The purpose of the project is to answer the question “are monogamy, marriage and family no longer normative features of the human life cycle?” This project investigates the interaction between three theories explaining this question in a way that has not yet been studied. Theory 1: Lesthaege and Van Kaa (1986) used the term second demographic transition to describe the shift by western nations to sub-replacement fertility rates and decreasing marriage rates. This shift was said to be caused by three factors: (1) technological advances in contraception; (2) increase in female socio-economic status, and (3) Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in which Westerners now seek self-actualization or “individualization” rather than meeting basic subsistence needs. Theory 2: Giddens (1992) presciently argued that romantic love and its affiliation with marriage and family was changing to “confluent love,” a purely agent-based love, where pleasure was the goal. Ilouz (2012; 2019), Regenerus (2018), and Slater (2016) are among the many that amplified and provided evidential support for Giddens’ perspective. Theory 3: May (2010) concluded that while sexual norms vary across time and place, the features of intimate romantic love remain a “constant”. Thus polyamory and the confluent love are fashionable, but will not replace love, marriage and family as portals through which humans pass. This study relies on quantitative and qualitative methods to illuminate an anthropological perspective on how the three theories interact. We will start with a “bottom up” inductive approach to discover what styles of love relations people choose and why they do so. The research will describe the different styles and the values, ideology and behavioral patterns associated with these different relational forms. From these descriptions we will use top down approaches to test hypothesis about each of these styles focusing in particular on aspects that facilitate or resist decision to marry or have children.

Planned results: results of the project will be published in 5 national and international level publications and conferences. It is also planned to publish a monograph and popular articles based on the research data.

Funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council. Project no. AH/W006464/1. Implementation period: 2022-2024.

Principal Investigator Professor Valentina Vitali (University of East London),
co-investigator Dr. Deimantas Valančiūnas (Vilnius University).

Sharing a colonial past under British rule and separated by regional tensions since 1948, South Asian nations have all been equally exposed to Hindi cinema for decades. Within the region, Hindi cinema made in India has been simultaneously a shared medium and a modern form of cultural colonisation. Video online distribution (VOD) is now beginning to destabilise this film industrial configuration, enabling the global circulation of films from South Asian countries that, until recently, were confined to the domestic market. 

By bringing together filmmakers from different South Asian countries and scholars, and combining theoretical approaches with the experience of creative industry professionals, this network enables research that explores how VODs' operation (distribution, commissioning and production) is shaping ideas of South Asian identity and regional relations. It will be the first network to research VODs' operation from this methodological and geographic perspective. Networking also stimulates transnational dialogue among nationals who share common historical and cultural influences but have entertained conflictual political relations. Third, networking enables us to address questions of content, aesthetics and representation from different professional windows, implementing an interdisciplinary, comparative methodology that, based on localised angles, will be of relevance to the study of VOD's impact on independent cinema also in other regions.

More information

On 21 January 2023, we invite you to the scientific interdisciplinary conference "Facing the Inevitability of Death: Eastern and Western Perceptions", organised by the Institute of Asian and Transcultural Studies at Vilnius University in collaboration with the Institute for Humanistic and Existential Psychotherapy (HEPI).