Folklore, museums and identity politics in Spain

1931 To Present

Bibliographic Data

ID5701313
AuthorsIñaki Arrieta Urtizberea (0000-0002-3562-2884, Department of Philosophy of Values and Social Anthropology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain), Joan Seguí (Servei de Investigació Cultura Tradicional (SIECT), Museu Valencià d’Etnologia, València, Spain, corresponding author), Xavier Roigé (0000-0002-9877-6012, Universitat de Barcelona)
Year2020
Volume26
Issue4
Pages387-400
Publication date2020-04-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Heritage Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1352-7258 • E-ISSN: 1470-3610
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13527258.2019.1639070
OpenAlexW2954804108
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited24

Spain is a country with a vast folklore tradition characterized by deep regional contrasts. The role of folklore museums as a nationalizing tool of the central government and by regional governments (e.g. Catalan and Basque) to support a diversity of projects for identity construction requires renewed analysis. Examined here is the history of the Museo del Pueblo Español (MPE), a national folklore museum created during the Second Republic (1931–1939) to broadcast the wealth of folkloric tradition within the country. Currents of change in national politics during the 20th century have re-oriented the MPE depending on the contrasting perspectives of Spanish identity that prevailed at different times in the past. In Catalonia and the Basque country, where identity claims have been repeatedly asserted since the 19th century, folklore heritage and its representations were seen by nationalist political movements as useful platforms to support a message of ‘difference.’ We propose to use Tony Bennett’s concepts of the museum as an ‘exhibitionary complex’ and ‘governmental assemblages’ to further clarify the evolution of folklore museums and their role in the development of identity politics in Spain

Aesthetics · Archaeology · Art · Cultural heritage · Ethnology · Folklore · Identity politics · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Anthropology · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Cultural Identity and Heritage · Gender Studies · History · Law · Museums and Cultural Heritage

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