At the beginning of September, Magdalena Bubík participated in the mid-term meeting of the Anthropology of Religion Working Group of the German Anthropological Association (DGSKA) at the University of Bremen. The event brought together scholars in the anthropology of religion from all over the world. Magdalena listened to presentations on a variety of topics, such as beliefs in Jakarta, Bengal, or Bangladesh. Each was followed by a discussion by all conference participants. The lecture by keynote speaker, Professor Tyler Zoanni (University of Bremen), on beliefs in Uganda was especially captivating: it tackled the issue of the natives who have learned to live with spirits because they believe it benefits them. This tempted Magdalena to carry this issue onto her research and to consider how ghosts are perceived by the inhabitants of post-displacement regions in Central Europe and how they are aware of their presence. During her presentation, Magdalena shared the story of an altar painting from a blown up church in Liberec. She posed the question of what insights can this story offer about both former and present religious communities in Liberec.
After the conference, Magdalena also had the opportunity to visit the city center of Bremen, part of which is UNESCO-listed, and take a photograph with the famous characters from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, as touching them is said to bring good luck.
