The Study of European Ethnology in Austria: (Progress in European Ethnology)

The study of ethnology or ’Volkskunde’ in Austria has had a troubled past. Through most of the 20th century it was under the influence of the so-called Viennese ’Mythological School’ and the controversy between the two opposing branches, the ’Ritualist’ and the ’Mythologists', set much of the agenda from the 1920s until long after the World War ended in 1945. The volume examines two Austrian characters, Richard Wolfram and Karl Haiding, and the impact of their research and sets them in the context of Austrian ethnology before, during and after the war years. The book concludes by examining the present day ethnological outlook in the country.

Table of Contents:
Contents: All beginnings are difficult; Between the wars: 1918-1938; Vienna, Vienna, you and you alone; Pure German scholarship; Zero hour was not zero hour; Farewell to folklife - also in Austria?; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

About the Author :
James R. Dow is Professor of German in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at Iowa State University, USA. Olaf Bockhorn is a Professor at the Institut fur Europaische Ethnologie, University of Vienna, Austria.

Review :
'Based largely on recently opened archives, interviews, and intense new research, Dow and Bockhorn offer an intriguing account of the development of Austrian folkloristics and related fields of great interest to students of the history of humanistic disciplines and of intellectual history generally...Dow and Bockhorn have provided here rich and complex basic materials for a variety of future researchers.' Professor Joseph Harris, Harvard University, USA 'This very thorough study, solidly based on archival as well as published sources, is an outstanding contribution both to folkloristics and the history of the scholarly social sciences in the German-speaking countries. The authors are to be thanked for providing us with another in the series of books which greatly revise and extend the history of the topic...' Dr Stephen D. Corrsin, Wayne State University, USA 'No doubt, this study of the history of Austrian Volkskunde will, by its nature, appeal to expert folklorists...Highly informative and eminently readable, the volume is an important contribution to the understanding of 20th century Austria.' Professor Jürgen Koppensteiner, University of Northern Iowa, USA