Paper short abstract:

I will approach my own theoretical trajectory in the analysis of the recovery of the Camino de Santiago. In particular, the focus on the concept of "heritage regime" has led me to rethink the role played by associationism in the process of heritagization.

Paper long abstract:

The concept has allowed me to discover the ambiguous, essentially paradoxical and contradictory character of the associations as a value producer for the tourist market of the pilgrimage to which they themselves oppose.

Paper short abstract:

Jaliscan Highlands were studied for the first time in 1973 by a team of researchers leaded by Andres Fabregas. 25 years later, Fabregas revisited the region, this time together with Pedro Tome.

Paper long abstract:

Jaliscan Highlands conform a region in the eastern part of Mexico, studied for the first time in 1973 by a team of researchers leaded by Andres Fabregas. It was the first time Anthropologists approached the charro culture as an object of study, since traditional Anthropology developed in Mexico centered on indigenous people and urban problems. 25 years later, Fabregas revisited the region, this time together with Pedro Tome. The region had undergone deep transformations because of the large production of Tequila and eggs. But Anthropology was also different in many ways. Furthermore, in this revistitation we had the contrast of a native (Fabregas) and a foreigner (Tome) perspective; the message "it wasn`t this way before" on the one hand, and "it's different in…", on the other hand.

Paper short abstract:

Replicating a multi-sited ethnography of the circular migration of Portuguese construction workers to Spain offers some lessons on the uses of ethnographic «revisits». The authors, which have also other sociological revisits, discuss the contributions of this approach to social research.

Paper long abstract:

During the height of the crisis, large numbers of construction workers from the Northwestern region of Portugal, where traditional industries were especially exposed to the negative business cycle, adopted patterns of circular migration towards Spain, in search of an alternative to the pervasive consequences of the turmoil in the Portuguese construction sector. This migration, albeit almost invisible to official statistical records, had very tangible impacts on local economies - and in the lives of these workers. To grasp the social impacts of this migratory movements, a multi-sited observation of the places of origin (local communities in the Vale do Sousa area) and the places of destiny of these workers (namely in O Carballino, Galicia, Spain) was put forward. Years after, a travel in time complemented this travel in space. When these migrations seemed to wither, returning to these places, and replicating the ethnography in a short cycle, provided the opportunity to develop an account on the impact of global historical transformations and to review the initial interpretations. Profiting from other sociological revisits done by the authors (Pinto & Queirós, 2010; Monteiro, 2017), this paper will present and discuss some of the main challenges and contributions that can be brought by this kind of approach to social research.

Paper short abstract:

This paper explains my experience editing a book with anthropologists who reflected on, and revisited, different aspects of the community ethnographies they had previously produced in the Andes.

Paper long abstract:

Community ethnographies were the most paradigmatic form of anthropological study for decades, before becoming largely considered as obsolete and somehow out of fashion in the late 20th century. This was also the case of Andean Anthropology, where rural communities have been a key focus of study as a result of their centrality in the Andean highlands.

In 2016 I edited a book in which I reviewed the evolution of these ethnographies in the Central Andes, and reassessed their role in the study of Andean culture. The book also brought together prestigious authors who had produced community ethnographies in previous decades, mostly between the 1970s and 1990s, in Bolivia, Ecuador and, above all, Peru. In their respective chapters, these authors reflected on their early work in light of contemporary Anthropology, and revisited different aspects of it.

In this paper I explain the origin, evolution and results of this book, reflecting on the nature and value of this "revisiting strategy", and on its current place in academia according to my editing experience.

Paper short abstract:

I will analyze the processes of heritagization in the city of Lugo during the last 20 years, following the criteria of the Unesco listings, and through the comparison with the city ethnographically portrayed 20 years ago.

Paper long abstract:

In the last decades, the city of Lugo experienced important urban transformations and in its definition as a city, guided by European and international guidelines that add tourism activity to its functions as capital of services at a provincial level. The Declaration of the roman wall as heritage of humanity, the recognition of the Primitive Way in its passage through the city and of the surroundings of the Cathedral and the old town, have led to the mobilization of new networks and associative movements that go beyond the specific consequences of Unesco's support. It is appropriate to take into account all these new dynamics on the basis of the Lugo described in an ethnography written 20 years ago.

Paper short abstract:

My thoughts will be based on a series of key questions to be considered by all colleagues invited to the session.

Paper long abstract:

My thoughts will be based on a series of key questions to be considered by all colleagues invited to the session. It will involve reflecting and debating with the various guests at this roundtable of anthropologists who have gone through the professional experience of ethnographic field work and have the sufficient temporal distance for a compared analysis focused on the "revisit" concept.

Paper short abstract:

I intend to identify theoretical and methodological responses and practical challenges confronted by Portuguese anthropology over the past half-century. I raise the issue of the difference between ethnography and global anthropology (World Anthropologies).

Paper long abstract:

My focus is on the analysis of current ethnographies as pieces that compose an Anthropology with vocation of global discipline. I deal with the issue of the rupture of 1974 (collapse of the authoritarian regime, revolutionary crisis, establishment of a parliamentary democracy) and with the institutionalization of Anthropology as an autonomous field and its expansion within the university system. Issues addressed, change. The methodological approach, now focused on field work, translates into a shift in ethnographic production. The balance reveals rupture with the past (generational discontinuity), individualization of the topics addressed, public funding since the 90s (European funds), and the increase in the production of monographs followed by the appreciation of the scientific articles with the entrance of the 21st Century (internationalization). In comparison with other destinations chosen for ethnographic research, Portugal arouses the interest of foreign anthropologists especially in the revolutionary period. With regard to the knowledge produced, several phases (perhaps generational) are distinguished. In the 80s, Portugal is mainly portrayed as rural country, though already in phase of abandonment of agriculture. Later came studying the experience of dictatorship and colonial warfare. This was followed by the portrayal of current popular culture, except ethnographic museology (because of a scarce commitment to the public good). Facing accumulated knowledge, remains the challenge of its applied character.

Paper short abstract:

I propose the revisitation of two ethnographic research carried out in the Aragonese Pyrenees (70s) and in Andorra (90s), in order to compare the experiences of field work and critically evaluate the conditions, possibilities and limits in each case.

Paper long abstract:

I propose the revisitation of two ethnographic research carried out in the Pyrenees at different times and circumstances, in order to compare the experiences and the limits and conditions I had to confront. In 70s, I did fieldwork in the Aragonese Pyrenees and focused on the the transformations of the peasant household. The result was my doctoral thesis. It was an investigation of youth, of individual character, based on learning as an anthropologist and without funding. In the 90s, I did fieldwork in Andorra. This time I was part of a team and had a more ambitious perspective: to study the economic, political and social transformations that turned this microestate into an international commercial and tourist headquarter. The research was adequately funded, allowing to maintain researchers in the field for two years. These fieldwork experiences were very different, conditioned by the life stage of the anthropologist, by her degree of cultural competence with the Pyrenean culture, and by the way in which she was perceived and incorporated in the context of study by local people and institutions. Here I want to critically assess the constraints that acted in each one of these projects. I plan to revisit, in a material and academic sense, these two areas of the Pyrenees in the near future, and this previous reflection is necessary.