Anthropology – A Way of Thinking. A Reflection on the Erasmus+ Trip to Brno

Authors: Anna Apīne and Ēriks Gorda, second-year students of the journalism program
Photo from the project archive

A few months ago, we at Rīga Stradiņš University received a spontaneous invitation to join as part of the Erasmus+ exchange programme with an anthropological focus. The course Current Debates in Social Anthropology was running for the second year, in collaboration with three universities – the University of Padua in Italy, Masaryk University in the Czech Republic, and Rīga Stradiņš University in Latvia.

Group photo after the group research presentations on the penultimate day of the project

Initially, the course began with a month of online theoretical introductory lectures, followed by an in-person session in the Czech city of Brno, where students from different countries conducted small-scale anthropological research in teams. It must be said that beyond the official agenda, this kind of experience opens up a much broader understanding of the world and the people around us. Over the course of a week, we experienced everything – long serious and not-so-serious conversations, laughter, thousands of steps walked each day, Walpurgis Night in the Brno highlands, mutual support and acceptance, and a small song festival by the campfire at a village monastery.

Conversations at the monestary shortly before lunch

Brno is a student city. It's compact, everything is easily accessible on foot, and if you get tired, public transport costs only four cents. Locals joked that we were overpaying, since a long-term student ticket would be even cheaper. It's also worth noting that Brno feels safe both day and night, and it seemed that everyone in the city knows how to coexist respectfully. The city’s rich architectural heritage continued to amaze us, even outside the historical centre. Ilze Žukova highlights that Brno is an anthropologist's paradise – walkable, with cheap wine and beer, mysterious places and objects to explore, and warm-hearted people open to conversation.

Latvian group in the courtyard of Masaryk University

As this was an intensive course, our daily schedule was filled with lectures, excursions, and preparation for the final project. Speaking about the programme’s intensity and planning, Anete Valaine says: “The organizational quality of the project was very high. They had considered a variety of activities and entertainment, making the trip both educational and exciting. Of course, with such a short programme, it was intense, so we had to plan our time carefully and skip some activities.” In our final discussions about the experience, we realized that despite the tight schedule and being a group of 30 people from different cultural backgrounds, everything went according to plan and no one was forgotten or left behind.

First joint lecture at the university. By the screen – anthropology professor and one of the course coordinators (Paride Bollettin)

This was a programme of exchange of ideas, thoughts and experience and one of its main goals was to bring together people from different cultures. While these differences were sometimes noticeable, they mostly brought us closer and helped us step out of our comfort zones. We learned to accept one another – because we were there to learn, to understand, and to reach our goals together. Ilze Putniņa reflects: “Human diversity is both the brilliance and the challenge of such projects. In our case, the brilliance prevailed.”

Anna, Samuel and Eric tydying the area and evaluating stones at the monastery

When speaking about the most memorable moments of the trip, they were different for everyone. Some were fascinated by the Walpurgis Night event in Brno with the large bonfire, others were amazed by the city’s architecture and museums, observing the rhythm of Czech life. However, it seems that everyone will remember how the Latvians shared their Song Festival traditions and sang late into the night, filling the monastery walls with voices. Anete recalls: “One of the loveliest moments was before we began fieldwork – sitting in a circle in the park, we shared our research ideas. The atmosphere was so calm and inclusive, and it truly reflected the overall feeling of the project.”

Discussion on the park lawn, where groups introduced one another to their research ideas

Group photo on the first day after discussion of research ideas