Universität zu Köln

Mengel, Maurice (2015). The Archaeology of an Archive: Uses of Knowledge at the Institut de Etnografie și Folclor in Bucharest. PhD thesis, Universität zu Köln.

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Abstract

This dissertation looks at Romanian ethnomusicology, primarily through analyzing the publications of one important research institution, the Institut de Etnografie și Folclor and its predecessors. It covers a period from the 19th century to the 1970s. This study utilizes the archaeological approach (derived from M. Foucault's book The Archaeology of Knowledge) to map the ethnomusicological knowledge produced at the Institute and investigates uses of this knowledge, primarily in the field of cultural politics. The study begins chronologically in the 19th century when folk music first became a topic in an emerging field that today is known as folkloristics. The study shows the importance of academic folklore research in relation to the political project of Romanian independence. In the 1920s, in large part due to the activities of Constantin Brăiloiu, a new subdiscipline emerged that became known as folclor muzical (musical folklore). This new discipline was based on a new, more formal and more technical notion of music as pioneered in Romanian discourse by Bela Bartok and others. Brăiloiu (and his adversary G. Breazul) founded folk music archives in the late 1920s that were later transformed into the Institute de Etnografie și Folclor. With the takeover of the communists, the Institute was integrated into the Stalinist cultural policy. Institute in Bucharest played an important role in context, overseeing the work of other folklorists and ethnomusicologists in the country. It is likely that the Institute was supposed to check if other folklorists in the country complied with political demands. After 1956 and in particular under the director Mihai Pop in the early years of Ceausescu's rule (around 1965), the ethnomusicologists at the Institute find a modus vivendi that allows them to engage in productive research with a noticeable amount of autonomy. However, since the implementation of the Stalinist regime of cultural policy in the late 1940s, the public image of folk music was largely governed by communist images and researchers, ethnomusicologists among them, were typically only visible in the public when they confirmed the official political line. Around 1970 a new phase began both in Romanian politics at large, with Ceausescu's travelling to China and North Korea, and in the Institute. Under new directorship and after several reorganizations, the ethnomusicologists lost influence mostly to so-called literary folklorists. At the same time, a new research agenda encouraged them to concentrate on musical typologies that -- in contrast to their own proclamations -- lead the Institute's ethnomusicologists to work that was more removed from the principles established by Constantin Brăiloiu.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD thesis)
Translated title:	Title Language Archäologie eines Archivs: Gebrauch von Wissen am Institut de Ethnografie și Folclor in Bukarest German UNSPECIFIED Romanian
Translated abstract:	Abstract Language This dissertation looks at Romanian ethnomusicology, primarily through analyzing the publications of one important research institution, the Institut de Etnografie și Folclor and its predecessors. It covers a period from the 19th century to the 1970s. This study utilizes the archaeological approach (derived from M. Foucault's book The Archaeology of Knowledge) to map the ethnomusicological knowledge produced at the Institute and investigates uses of this knowledge, primarily in the field of cultural politics. The study begins chronologically in the 19th century when folk music first became a topic in an emerging field that today is known as folkloristics. The study shows the importance of academic folklore research in relation to the political project of Romanian independence. In the 1920s, in large part due to the activities of Constantin Brăiloiu, a new subdiscipline emerged that became known as folclor muzical (musical folklore). This new discipline was based on a new, more formal and more technical notion of music as pioneered in Romanian discourse by Bela Bartok and others. Brăiloiu (and his adversary G. Breazul) founded folk music archives in the late 1920s that were later transformed into the Institute de Etnografie și Folclor. With the takeover of the communists, the Institute was integrated into the Stalinist cultural policy. Institute in Bucharest played an important role in context, overseeing the work of other folklorists and ethnomusicologists in the country. It is likely that the Institute was supposed to check if other folklorists in the country complied with political demands. After 1956 and in particular under the director Mihai Pop in the early years of Ceausescu's rule (around 1965), the ethnomusicologists at the Institute find a modus vivendi that allows them to engage in productive research with a noticeable amount of autonomy. However, since the implementation of the Stalinist regime of cultural policy in the late 1940s, the public image of folk music was largely governed by communist images and researchers, ethnomusicologists among them, were typically only visible in the public when they confirmed the official political line. Around 1970 a new phase began both in Romanian politics at large, with Ceausescu's travelling to China and North Korea, and in the Institute. Under new directorship and after several reorganizations, the ethnomusicologists lost influence mostly to so-called literary folklorists. At the same time, a new research agenda encouraged them to concentrate on musical typologies that -- in contrast to their own proclamations -- lead the Institute's ethnomusicologists to work that was more removed from the principles established by Constantin Brăiloiu. English
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Mengel, Maurice mauricemengel@gmail.com UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
Corporate Creators:	Universität zu Köln
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-66872
Date:	5 February 2015
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Fächergruppe 1: Kunstgeschichte, Musikwissenschaft, Medienkultur und Theater, Linguistik, IDH > Musikwissenschaftliches Institut
Subjects:	Social sciences Customs, etiquette, folklore Romance languages French Music Stage presentations Geography and travel
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language Michel Foucault, Archäologie des Wissens, Musikethnologie, Wissenschaftsgeschichte, musikethnologische Fachgeschichte, Rumänien, Volksmusikforschung, Kulturpolitik, Constantin Brăiloiu German Michel Foucault, archaeology of knowledge, ethnomusicology, history of ethnomusicology, Romania, folcloristics, politics of culture, Constantin Brăiloiu English
Date of oral exam:	13 May 2015
Referee:	Name Academic Title Koch, Lars-Christian Prof. Dr. Spinetti, Frederico Prof. Dr. Hentschel, Frank Prof. Dr.
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/6687