Article Abstract:
The research of the Grimm Brothers influenced the studies and intentions of William J. Thoms, who coined the term 'folklore' with the hope that similar research to the Grimms might be taken up in England. However, the German relationship to the study of people's traditions and culture differs from that which Thoms envisioned. The German term Volkskunde is used during the 19th century to refer to social and political mores of a people, rather than their cultural heritage. The term has also come to imply a national unity, which was exploited during the Nazi era.
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Article Abstract:
The term folklore was coined by researcher William J. Thoms in 1846, and announced in a letter to editors of The Athenaeum journal. Thoms used Anglo-Saxon words with a Germanic construction to attempt to capture the way the subjects of his research was rooted in the social communities of ordinary life. Thoms described the value of collecting, categorizing, and study of antiquities as being of good service to the people of the British Isles.
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Article Abstract:
William Thoms' coinage of the term folklore was intended to place the study of documents and cultural relics from the past within a discourse within treasured national archives. The activity of the folklore society was aimed at placing the study of folklore within the university disciplines, but many new scientific disciplines, such as evolution or Darwinism, would create a hostile atmosphere for folklorists in the late nineteenth century.
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