Deutsche Gesellschaft für Volkskunde

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Volkskunde
Name	Deutsche Gesellschaft für Volkskunde
Native name	Deutsche Gesellschaft für Volkskunde
Founded	1926
Headquarters	Berlin
Fields	Volkskunde, Ethnologie, Kulturgeschichte

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Volkskunde is a German learned society for the study of Volkskunde and cultural history, founded in the interwar period and active in promoting research, collections, and scholarly exchange across German-speaking Europe. It has engaged with university departments, museums, archives and international associations, connecting scholars associated with institutions such as the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, the University of Leipzig, the Universität Göttingen, the Deutsches Historisches Museum, and the Museum für Völkerkunde zu Leipzig. Its membership and activities intersect with organizations like the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, the Austrian Society for Folklore Research, and the International Council of Museums.

History

The society was established in the 1920s amid debates that involved figures associated with the German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic, scholars from the Max Planck Society predecessor institutions, and museum curators from the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum. During the 1930s its activities became entangled with cultural policies linked to the Nazi Party, prompting postwar reconfigurations that involved personnel from the Federal Republic of Germany and scholars returning from exile linked to the Kindertransport and refugee networks associated with the University of Vienna émigré community. In the post-1945 period the society collaborated with researchers attached to the German Historical Institute, the Leibniz Association, and the Bundesarchiv to rebuild curricula at the Freie Universität Berlin and the Technische Universität Dresden. From the 1970s onwards it engaged with comparative projects involving the University of Oxford, the Sorbonne University, the University of Vienna, and the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Objectives and Activities

The society’s stated aims align with initiatives promoted by institutions such as the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, the Volkskundliche Institut der Universität Freiburg, and the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology: to document material culture in collections like those of the Museum für Kommunikation Berlin, to support ethnographic fieldwork comparable to projects at the Smithsonian Institution and the Musée de l'Homme, and to foster curricular development at universities including the University of Copenhagen and the University of Helsinki. It organizes thematic collaborations with museums such as the Ethnological Museum of Berlin, publishes guidelines paralleling standards from the International Council on Archives and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, and promotes exchanges with centers like the Volkskundemuseum Wien and the Nordiska museet.

Organization and Membership

Governance structures mirror models used by the Deutscher Kulturrat and the Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, with an elected executive board drawing members from faculties at the University of Heidelberg, the University of Münster, the University of Tübingen, and curators from the Rijksmuseum and the British Museum. Membership includes academics affiliated with the European Association of Social Anthropologists, museum professionals from the Museum Folkwang, doctoral researchers connected to the Graduate School of Humanities Dresden, and independent scholars who collaborate with institutes like the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science. The society has instituted working groups analogous to those of the International Society for Ethnology and Folklore, and cooperates with funding bodies such as the VolkswagenStiftung and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Publications and Conferences

The society issues journals and edited volumes in the tradition of periodicals like the Zeitschrift für Volkskunde and collaborates with presses comparable to the De Gruyter and the Routledge lists. It organizes biennial conferences and specialist symposia that have taken place alongside events at the Deutsches Historisches Institut London, the Folklore Society (UK), the EASA Conference, and gatherings at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies. Notable conferences have invited keynote speakers from institutions such as the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, the Princeton University, the Yale University, and the Columbia University. Its proceedings have been cited in work from the British Academy, the Royal Historical Society, and the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Research and Collections

Research themes promoted by the society include material culture studies comparable to projects at the Völkerkundemuseum Zürich, vernacular architecture studies linked to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre registers, and ritual studies in conversation with scholarship from the School of Oriental and African Studies. Collections associated with members reside in repositories such as the German National Library, the Berlin State Library, the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, and municipal archives in Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, and Leipzig. Collaborative cataloguing projects have drawn on methodologies from the International Council of Museums and dataset standards promoted by the Europeana digital platform.

Controversies and Criticism

The society’s historical entanglements during the 1930s and 1940s have prompted critical scrutiny from scholars at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, the Free University of Berlin, the University of Göttingen, and the Center for Research on Antisemitism; debates have referenced case studies involving the Reich Cultural Chamber and critiques published in outlets linked to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Postwar restructuring and decisions about provenance research in collections have been contested in forums hosted by the German Lost Art Foundation, the Bundesanzeiger, and the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz. Contemporary criticism from scholars affiliated with the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity and the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe addresses questions of disciplinary boundaries, decolonization, and research ethics.

Category:Scientific societies based in Germany Category:Folklore studies organizations