Matija Murko in Antun Radić (Izhodišča za razpravo)
Matija Murko and Antun Radić (Theses for Discussion)

Summary/Abstract: The presented comparison of Matija Murko’s and Antun Radić’s views of ethnology is meant to elicit discussion, while the topic will be considered in greater detail at another occasion. The comparison opens an interesting question as where to look for the reasons of their different professional orientation. Differences between Murko and Radić are quite obvious, although both formulated their concepts at about the same time. While Murko - had been still hindered by traditional philological frameworks, Radić already conceptualized an independent ethological science. Murko did not attempt to distinguish between folk culture and the general course of cultural development, whereas Radić based his ethnological and political endeavors precisely on this distinction. Murko took a distance from everyday political struggles and, compared to Radić, was more concerned with the national than with the folk culture. Both men came from the families of peasant small-holders, and both were educated as slavists. Differences in their views were determined as much by wider social context as by their personal inclinations, probably conditioned by their social status. In both cases alike, the scientific orientation they offer has inevitably become antiquated.

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