The concept of Volkskultur (popular culture) is undergoing inflationary use right now: Not only does it turn up at the Älplerfest or at multiethnic cultural festivals, but it is also present in politics, on the culture and arts pages of journals, and in theatre and music. Though at first sight this concept looks self-explanatory and self-evident, on inspection its apparent clarity gets diffused by the variety of forms, functions and meanings of its applications. In fact, closer consideration reveals the portmanteau character of Volkskultur: on the surface it is understood by everybody, but it is really a multi-layered, ambiguous and even contradictory term. So, important questions arise with special regard to science and cultural politics: How is the concept defined? What are the relations and surroundings in which it is used? Which activities are included, which are excluded? Our research project examines the conceptual construction of Volkskultur and its concrete cultural practice, with special emphasis on the traditional music scene in Central Switzerland.

In the first part of our research (evaluation of terms), we will primarily apply the methods of qualitative text analysis und discourse analysis. Written documents are going to be analysed according to the current standards of the Cultural Studies and connected to the developed research questions. Conversations with experts from both the Cultural Studies and the area of cultural policy are planned to provide supplementary views on the foregoing analysis of texts and contribute to the clarification of conceptual contents.

The second part of our research (Volkskultur as applied cultural practice) will set the focus on the empirical methods of fieldwork. Data will be gained in extensive fieldwork by applying the anthropological methods and procedures of examination and interpretation (see: Grounded Theory). An important element of field research will also be the semi-structured interview (besides other methods, e.g. participant observation). The conception and realisation of these interviews will correspond to the guidelines we set up in our qualitative data research. According to certain criteria, persons will be questioned on the different aspects of the traditional music scene in Central Switzerland. Their statements, opinions and interpretations should be putting Volkskultur as a concrete practice into relief.

From combining these two parts we aim for a synthesis, which will contain the results of our research in both their correspondences and contradictions. A critical approach will consist essentially in comparing the relationships between the everyday practice of Volkskultur and the theoretical terms of definition. Therefore, possible uses of the concept of Volkskultur in academic work are going to be discussed in terms of cultural practice.