Dr. Aline Johner

Research Project  | 1 Project Members

Since the end of the nineteenth century, folklore studies have developed all over the world to the point of becoming institutionalized in universities in academic chairs. This is the case in Switzerland, in Basel and Zurich. In French-speaking Switzerland, however, folklore never managed to find its place in the academic world, and there were no sections of the Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Volkskunde (Swiss Society of Folk Traditions) in Romandie. It is probably for this reason that the practice of the discipline in this part of the country has not yet been studied systematically. This silence is extremely problematic. Although folklore was not institutionalized, amateur production flourished between the end of the 19th century and the 1950s. This material and its authors have been completely neglected by historical research, partly because of the criticism formulated against the discipline, but obviously also because it was produced outside academic circles. Notwithstanding this academic lack of interest, the national and regional myths generated by this amateur production have become realities that are still invoked today, both for political and tourist purposes. There is therefore an urgent need to conduct a comprehensive study of this materials. The goal of my project is to reverse the approach generally used to study folklorists by focusing on the production of knowledge ‘from below’ and to write a history of this vast reservoir of knowledge, in order to provide scientists and the general public with tools to assess its real value. I look into the conditions of its production, as well as the folklorists’ networks to assess their impact on their research. Moreover, I address their political, religious, and scientific influences to determine whether the goals they pursued were guided by these interests and connections. Ultimately, this study shall highlight the reasons why the discipline has failed to become institutionalized in French-speaking Switzerland, and the relationships that have existed between Swiss folklore and local actors in this region. Thanks to my research, the works of French-speaking folklorists could be considered a heritage in their own right, in the same way as any other historical source, since this study would finally replace them in their production context.