Anthropologie, Europäische ethnologie, Folklore-Studien: Max Grunwald und die vielen historischen Bedeutungen der Volkskunde

In this article I discuss the concept of "Volk" as it was formulated by Max Grunwald, the founder of jüdische Volkskunde (1871-1953). I show that his concept of "Volk" constructed a vision of Jewish culture as multiplicity in ways that stood in opposition to sociological views of Jewish cultural singularity that was occasionally formulated in racial terms. I trace Grunwalds conceptual legacy as it continued shaping the development of folklore-studies in Israel. I suggest viewing this legacy not as an "exception" to the history of Volkskunde. Rather, I argue that in the context of the internationalization of studies of cultures, disciplinary history ought to accommodate different perspectives that may enable viewing jüdische Volkskunde and its continuities in folklore-studies in Israel as part of an entangled history with Volkskunde/European Ethnology.