Volkskundemuseum Wien also has established categories and classifications for its collections that continue to create distinctions and shape identities. The museums holdings (collections, library and archive) reflect hierarchies and assessments that have changed over recent decades and are still changing. They allow us to trace and grasp certain perspectives, entrenched social images and power relations, e. g., how metropolitan and Vienna-based stakeholders at Volkskundemuseum Wien positioned themselves and how they viewed rural areas, individuals (or groups) and phenomena. These were labelled with terms like ‘original’, ‘authentic’ or even ‘natural’ and ‘primitive’ and were seen as particularly worthy of collection and preservation. In doing so, ethnographers also operated within the context of their time and the related discourse and trends that are recognised as discriminatory and derogatory today.

The glossary aims to highlight these associations and relations, since terms are never merely tools for description – they influence the way we think and act. They create realities by making certain ideas appear self-evident, whilst others are obscured. We can explain how certain terms came about by looking at the time from which they originated and when they were used. This also applies to the field of ethnography, which for a long time saw itself as a ‘categorisation authority’ whose task it was to define what is familiar and what is foreign; as such, it was in demand both socially and politically, thus exerting a lasting influence.

The team at Volkskundemuseum Wien is aware of the issues surrounding its collections and holdings and constantly strives to research, present and contextualise them. In our Online Collection Plus, too, we provide background information on the items displayed to the best of our ability.

In museum work, pragmatic decisions need to be made, such as using distinctive categories for the purpose of cataloguing and ensuring that items can be found. In doing so, we aim to be as diverse and inclusive as possible – for example, we avoid using the terms ‘man’ and ‘woman’ as keywords and instead use ‘person, read as female’ or ‘person, read as male’. We do this out of respect for people who do not identify with the binary gender system or who are not covered by it. When labelling and describing objects in the museum, however, the terms ‘man’ and ‘woman’ are still used for historic and pragmatic reasons when the people depicted display external sexual characteristics or are dressed in accordance with prevailing gender stereotypes or social norms.

Just as we are constantly working to refine our selection of keywords, we will continue to expand this glossary over time.

The glossary entries are only availabe in German.