Page 111 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 12(2) (2024)

manj poglobljeno dopolni z lastnimi vonjalno- turno dediščino, ki lahko svojo antropološko te-
-etnografsko-antropološkimi raziskavami. Če orijo in prakso pomembno dopolnijo z obravna-
sklenem: knjigo vsekakor priporočam tako šir- vo občutka voha, za katerega smo šele ob njegovi
ši javnosti, ki jo zanima vpogled v antropolo- začasni ali trajni izgubi »po covidu« lahko uza-
ško obravnavo vonja, kakor tudi antropologom, vestili, da je izjemnega pomena za celovito eksis-
etnologom ter muzealcem – specialistom za kul- tencialno izkušnjo.

Review of Anthropology of Smell (Antropologija vonja) by Mojca Ramšak

fter the sensory turn in anthropology in ry culturally conditioned perceptions of sight,
the 1980s, it has been a long time since sound, touch and taste), as well as elsewhere. The 111
ASlovenian ethnology and/or cultural social environment in which people live defines
anthropology have produced a comprehensive the importance and hierarchisation of the sens-
and in-depth debut, a scientific monograph that es, which is linked to survival strategies. The de-
systematically and comparatively addresses the velopment of sensory ability and sensitivity to
sociocultural aspects and meanings of smell and smells and the attribution of a particular (minor)
the ability to smell. Dr Mojca Ramšak, full pro- value to smell is also significantly linked to the
fessor of cultural anthropology at the University dimensions of the social environment. It is with
of Ljubljana and the Alma Mater Europaea – In- regard to the olfactory aspect of the sensory per-
stitutum Studiorum Humanitatis, has been re- ception of the natural and cultural environment
searching the topic since the Covid-19 pandemic that we humans are socialised into the cultur-
and published her scientific monograph this year al norm of so-called Western European society,
(2024). Many people have experienced a more which dictates silence or ignoring odours iden-
or less temporary or permanent loss of the abil- tified as unpleasant. It is also true that pleasant
ity to detect smell, altered sense of smell, olfac- and discreet odours are often not even perceived, Review of Anthropology of Smell (Antropologija vonja) by Mojca Ramšak
tory hallucinations or perceptions of smells that which is exploited, for example, by scent market-
are not in the air, etc., after suffering from a new ing strategies.
coronavirus disease. Although the first odour re- This aesthetically pleasing book, which is
search in the Slovenian national context start- also pleasing to the eye, consists of a foreword –
ed already in 2019, it is certainly no coincidence the first inhale, an introduction – the deeper in-
that a broader interest in sensory research related hale, and ten central chapters. The core chapters
to odour has emerged during and after the pan- cover a methodological outline of the anthropol-
demic, when odour studies have also proliferat- ogy of smell and olfactory heritage, the linguis-
ed concerning international contexts, e.g. in the tic dimensions of the idea of smell, smell in med-
Odeuropa, Horizon 2021–2023 and Odotheka icine, and the olfactory imaginary, in addition to
2021–2024 projects. the cultivation of smell in literature and the cul-
Perhaps the fact that smell and olfactory tivation of miasmas and aromas. The central part
skills are not ranked high on the scale of sen- of the book deals with the legal regulation of
sory perception in the so-called ‘Western’ cul- scents within the national state of Slovenia and
ture also contributed to the later consideration the European Union, covering the legal regula-
of smell and olfactory skills in a cross-cultur- tion of the (working) environment, food, bev-
al perspective in the Slovenian national context erages, tobacco, and perfumes, also highlight-
(in a comparative perspective with other senso- ing the legal loopholes that allow the marketing