Cercetări etnografice adresate tinerilor în Transilvania (1921–1948)
Youth-Conducted Ethnographic Fieldwork in Transylvania, 1921–1948

Summary/Abstract: This study focuses on youth-conducted ethnographic research and fieldwork during the period 1921–1948, within the historical context of the development of leisure-time culture among Hungarians in Transylvania under changing regimes—under Romanian rule (1921–1940), then, in the case of Northern Transylvania, under Hungarian rule (1940–1944), and again under Romanian rule (1944–1948). The topic is examined through three chapters: youth-conducted ethnographic fieldwork as reflected in the youth magazine Ifjú Erdély (1923–1944); ethnographic fieldwork within the Hungarian scouting movement in Transylvania (1910–1948); and youth-conducted ethnographic fieldwork in the activities of prominent figures of the Transylvanian Carpathian Society (1891–1948), the most important Hungarian tourism and outdoor organization of the period. The study concludes that the calls for ethnographic fieldwork published in the Ifjú Erdély led to youth-conducted investigations that are highly relevant for contemporary ethnological studies. It further highlights that the practice of publishing competition calls, which motivated youth to engage in ethnographic fieldwork—a practice that later resulted in numerous youth-conducted investigations of Hungarian culture during Romania’s socialist period—was already in use during the interwar period. Within the Hungarian scouting movement, there was a strong interest in ethnography, with specific forms of ethnographic fieldwork developing. These practices also appeared in the scouting movement in Transylvania, although the outcomes of these fieldworks still need to be identified and analyzed. Finally, the study shows that during the period investigated, the prominent members of the Transylvanian Carpathian Society consistently encouraged both youth and adults involved in tourism and outdoor activities to undertake ethnographic fieldwork.

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