BEROSE is an online encyclopaedia dedicated to the history of anthropology in the broadest sense, including ethnography, ethnology, folklore studies and related disciplines. The freely accessible repository rests on three cornerstones, which are constantly being expanded: topical dossiers, an original collection of e-books (Carnets de Bérose), and scientific meetings related to the research programme. The dossiers cover: the lives and work of anthropologists and ethnographers; the development of anthropological and ethnographic journals; the history of anthropological institutions, broadly defined.

BEROSE compiles work by researchers who are conscious that anthropology and the history of anthropology are infinitely multiple and that this history cannot be reduced to a single historical narrative  – a canonical and teleological corpus focusing on a few grand national traditions, theoretical currents, founding fathers and theoreticians honoured in textbooks. On the contrary they proclaim a practice and writing of the history of anthropology that is envisioned both from the central cores and from the margins of the loci of knowledge production.

The sources and findings of BEROSE researchers are presented on the group’s website. The original focus of BEROSE was the history of ethnology in France, with an attention to comparison with other European countries. The current aim is to progressively broaden the horizons of our knowledge to include all the strands of the history of anthropology, and also to bring forward and amplify the voices and singular views of forerunners who were ostracized, marginalized or left on the sidelines, of the interlocutors of ethnographers in the field and indigenous ethnographers, of those who were relays and bridges between two worlds

BEROSE hopes to be a pole that will attract and federate researchers and students working in the field of the history of anthropology. This pole relies on a steadily expanding network of collaborators affiliated with French and international institutions.