Katherine Verdery Libri

Katherine Verdery offers a unique anthropological perspective on the aftermath of Soviet-style socialism in Eastern Europe through a collection of essays. Drawing from her extensive ethnographic research in Romania and Transylvania, she examines the implications of political transformations, focusing on themes like civil society, market economy creation, privatization, national and ethnic conflicts, and evolving gender relations. Her work synthesizes primary data and broader sources to deepen the understanding of socialism's legacy and its potential replacements.

The current transformation of many Eastern European societies is impossible to understand without comprehending the intellectual struggles surrounding nationalism in the region. Anthropologist Katherine Verdery shows how the example of Romania suggests that current ethnic tensions come not from a resurrection of pre-Communist Nationalism but from the strengthening of national ideologies under Communist Party rule.