Ethnology

The term ethnology is composed of the two Greek words ethnos „people“ and logos „customer,“ so that the discipline was called ethnology until the 20th century (Fischer 2003, 16).

Ethnology is a scientific discipline that focuses its research on the methodological and theoretical examination of different ethnic groups. In particular, this scientific approach to ethnicities strives to create a comparison, i.e., „ethnological discourse has in this way developed specific modes of defining boundaries, determining collective identities and distinct (cultural) affiliations“ (Friese 2007, 190).

Communities of collective identity

For this scientifically reflective process of knowledge, engagement with individual ethnicities is essential, and the focus is not on the accentuation of individuals, but on the representation of a collective. By collective in this context is meant an ethnicity that encompasses the existence of a community. „Members of an ethnic community regard themselves as a homogeneous community with a collective identity“ (Broszinsky-Schwabe 2011, 52) and with this self-awareness create a clear differentiation from other ethnic groupings. Communities invoke the same ancestry, a shared history, conventional affinity in culture and lifestyle, and individual „ethnic self-consciousness“(Broszinsky-Schwabe 2011, 52).

These parameters not only allow the ethnological field the possibility of a differentiated discussion, but also offer the comparison of „one’s own culture, even and especially when the other serves the constitution and understanding of one’s own“ (Friese 2007, 189).

A broad field of research

Due to the diversity of peoples, this field has divided into different subdisciplines, as it is not possible for scholars to focus on „all objects, problems, and methods of the subject“ (Fischer 2003, 18). In this regard, two major foci have emerged: Region and Culture.

In the regional subdiscipline, the focus can be on continents, subcontinents, or historically related regions, for example. The cultural subdiscipline deals with various areas such as the arts, religion, and economics. In addition, the discipline sets further emphases that relate to specific research questions and research approaches, resulting in a broad spectrum of potential subdisciplines, and these „thereby border on or [overlap] areas of other disciplines“ (Fischer 2003, 18 f.).

Literature

Broszinsky-Schwabe, Edith (2011): Intercultural Communication. Misunderstandings – understanding. Wiesbaden: Springer.

Fischer, Hans (2003): Ethnology as a Scientific Discipline. In: Fischer, Hans/ Beer, Bettina (eds.): Ethnology. Introduction and overview. Berlin: Reimer, 13-31.

Friese, Heidrun (2007): Ethnographic, ethnological, and cultural anthropological approaches. In: Straub, Jürgen/ Weidemann, Arne/ Weidenmann, Doris (Eds.): Handbuch interkulturelle Kommunikation und Kompetenz. Basic concepts – theories – fields of application. Stuttgart: Metzler, 188-200.

Reichmayr, Johannes/ Ottomayer, Klaus (2007): Ethnopsychoanalysis and depth hermeneutics. In: Straub, Jürgen/ Weidemann, Arne/ Weidenmann, Doris (Eds.): Handbuch interkulturelle Kommunikation und Kompetenz. Basic concepts – theories – fields of application. Stuttgart: Metzler, 249-260.