Volkskunde#

Folklore Studies: The development of folklore studies hailed on the one hand from traditional interest in "the country and its people" (W. H. Riehl), as evidenced by the "Landesbeschreibungen" (country descriptions) mainly from the 18th and early 19th centuries, that were written for administrative purposes (e.g. "Attempt at a statistics about the cameral districts of Fohnsdorf in the Judenburg Kreis", written in 1813 by J. F. Knaffl on commission of Archduke Johann), and on the other hand from a romantic school of thought which, owing to its philological-historical orientation, attempted to define an idealised "folk spirit" (Herder). The two Vienna Schools, that of "mythologists" (G. Huesing, K. Spiess, E. Mudrak) and that of "ritualists" (R. Much, O. Hoefler, R. Wolfram) supported the thesis of a continuity that reached back to the early Germanic peoples, and a Folklore Studies canon soon began to develop: Folklore studies as a subsidiary branch of cameralistic studies and, later, in its role as a supplement to Germanistic anthropology mainly dealt with material evidence of rural agricultural practice (food, clothing, housing, equipment) and, to a smaller extent, studied "intangible" testimony (customs and traditions, fairy tales and legends, religion and beliefs) of the German "people´s character", which was championed in the course of the conflicts between the various nationalities and ethnic groups of Austria-Hungary towards the end of the Monarchy.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the development of folklore studies was influenced by German studies, prehistoric studies, physiological anthropology, geography and ethnography and was first mainly pursued in the context of museums. In 1895, the Austrian Folklore Museum was founded, in 1913, V. Geramb, founded the Styrian Folklore Museum, and in 1924, K. Adrian opened the Salzburg Folklore Museum. Recognition as an independent academic field of study at university level was achieved only much later: From 1924, Folklore Studies was taught in Graz by V. Geramb within the framework of German studies, and an independent institute was not established until 1949; Innsbruck possessed a department of folklore studies from 1941; this department was the successor of the earlier "Institute for Historic Settlement Studies and Local History and Geography of the Alpine Countries" (founded in 1923); the "Institute for Religious Folklore" (founded 1932) headed by H. Koren was closed in 1938; in Vienna, from 1939 to 1945, there was an "Institute of Teutonic German Folklore", which was re-established in 1961 as "Institute of Folklore Studies". Austrian Folklore Studies had considerably more influence on activities of popular cultural policy, e.g. Heimatkunde (homeland studies), "Heimatpflege", which was dedicated to promoting cultural values and traditions and education, particularly in rural areas, in the name of a Popular Culture that was used as an instrument to uphold the existing political system ( Heimatwerk, Local Heritage Museums). These activities were mostly performed and promoted at the non-academic level and were also those which, as "applied folklore studies" were for a long time used to promote Austrian national identity after the Second World War.

Concerning contents, Folklore Studies during the time of the Monarchy and the First Republic was partly committed to a supernational and comparative view (M. Haberlandt) and partly adhered to the German Nationalistic stance (V. Geramb) of a more or less pronounced nationalist-racist character (R. Wolfram). After 1945 the rejection of the ethnicity and continuity principle which had compromised the image of Folklore Studies on both scholarly and political grounds resulted in the discipline being primarily seen as the "Study of life in traditional orders or contexts" (L. Schmidt), based on a historical approach and a critical evaluation of documentary and other sources (L. Kretzenbacher). In the wake of developments in Germany and elsewhere since the late 1960s, Folklore Studies (which has also become known as "European Ethnology" in academic circles since the 1970s) has tended to develop into a discipline in the context of the Social Sciences; in so doing, it has adopted a broader conception of culture which also comprises every-day cultural and behaviour patterns, and tends to increasingly focus on contemporary issues, including the long-neglected area of urban life.

Literature#