Arengud piiripärimuse ja piirirahva suunas? Folkloristika interdistsiplinaarse piiri-uurimise väljal
Towards the border lore and border folk: Folklore research on the interdisciplinary research field

Summary/Abstract: The article studies folklore research in the context of the multidisciplinary research field of border studies. The article is a conceptual thought experiment enquiring how the central concepts of folklore, such as ‘people’, ‘tradition’, and ‘identity’ can be redefined when they are examined together with the central concepts of border studies, such as ‘border’ and ‘borderland’. The latter function as a means to reflexively study and deconstruct the concepts ‘people’, ‘tradition’, and ‘identity’. The article claims that in the context of national order (Foucault) the borderland cultures and identities appear as the ‘other’ and as incompatible elements of national cultures and identities. Therefore, until recently, the borderland cultures and identities have not been recognised as objects of research in the history of folklore research. In the context of multidisciplinary border studies the border cultures, identities, and traditions may appear as negotiable, dynamic, and genuine forms. It is important for folklore research to recognise these forms as the objects of research. When these forms are recognised in folklore research, it is possible to renew concepts and methods in research so that they become deterritorially defined, transnational, and post-national. The examined material includes articles in folklore research and border studies.

• Details
• Contents