Invisible Stitch: Ethnography and Women’s Activism at the Beginning of the 20th Century

Abstract

This paper presents the activist dimension of ethnographic work within Serbian communities in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in the context of women’s emancipation. Central figures are Savka Subotić and Jelica Belović Bernadžikovskа, folk embroidery and ornamentation experts, curators, essayists, and prominent figures in women’s associations. The paper describes their activities: writing essays, organizing and curating local and international exhibitions, presenting lectures, and translation work. Special research attention is paid to the international perspective of their endeavors, which previous research has overlooked in favor of efforts pertaining to the national framework and gender policies. The international networking achieved through ethnographic activism had a transformative impact on the emancipatory discourse in Serbian culture at the beginning of the 20th century. Ethnographic work reflects the transformation of feminist discourse from the struggle for women’s inclusion in paradigmatic national narratives and economic and professional emancipation, to the pursuit of women’s political rights. The cultural mediation by ethnographers provides insight into the diverse strategies employed by activists/feminists for international networking in the early 20^th century.