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The Hidden Frontier: Ecology and Ethnicity in an Alpine Valley
This award-winning classic in the study of ethnicity, identity, and nation-building has a new introduction (on which Eric Wolf collaborated near the end of his life) that shows the continuing validity of the book’s innovative approach to ethnography, ecology, culture, and politics. The authors investigated two Alpine villages―the German-speaking community of St. Felix and Romance-speaking Tret―only a mile apart in the same mountain valley.
- GenresAnthropology
372 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 1974
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 15, 2022
Ottimo libro, pur essendo stato in parte smentito da Piero Paolo Viazzo in "Comunità alpine".
April 7, 2026
Why does the same natural environment give rise to two opposite cultures? The answers provided by John Cole and Eric Wolf is politics, a subtle combination between local and general interactions. The Hidden Frontier is a classical work of anthropology and a recommended reading in the study of ethnic groups and nationalism, both of which remain important in contemporary international relations. This book is good for the reader interested in identity-related conflicts.
In The Hidden Frontier, John Cole and Eric Wolf compared two neighboring communities of South Tyrol, a mountainous place of Northern Italy. The village of St. Felix was inhabited by Germanophone people, while Tret, by speakers of a Romansh dialect, and they were useful units of analysis because nationalistic confrontations in the region have increased, in modern era, with the rise of nation-states. The two researchers have employed a complex theoretical framework, that inspired both of their fieldworks, in the 1960s. The results were interesting.
Two traditional interpretations were contradicted by the facts on the ground, according to The Hidden Frontier. Natural environment (ecological factors in general) and lineage institutions were unable to explain the cultures and the conflicts of St. Felix and Tret. For example, in theory, the family inheritance rules were different in theory, yet the practice was very different. Political factors like the unification of Italy and German nationalism better explain why the community of Tret was more open to urban integration, while ST. Felix remain loyal to local autonomy.
An interesting confirmation by The Hidden Frontier: ethnicity isn`t a natural or eternal factor. John Cole and Eric Wolf relied on traditional political history to understand the constitution of the two neighboring communities. The researchers argued that ethnicity is a political phenomenon, the product of outside pressures and local reactions. Tyrolian nationalism remain a factor in the Germanophonic St. Felix, while the Romansh of Tret were closer to Italian identity, but only when interacting with the other group, not with the outside.
Therefore, ethnicity is also contextual. Of course, each group also utilized traditional stereotype, even if the day-to-day practice contradicted them, and the interactions were frequent. The Hidden Frontier raises several questions, one is that anthropological research may disappoint its outside supporters, if the answers are framed in the traditional mold of political history. Nevertheless, the idea that ethnicity is malleable, and that groups are always interacting is a useful gain for the study of nationalism, showing that change is a major component of its understanding.
In The Hidden Frontier, John Cole and Eric Wolf compared two neighboring communities of South Tyrol, a mountainous place of Northern Italy. The village of St. Felix was inhabited by Germanophone people, while Tret, by speakers of a Romansh dialect, and they were useful units of analysis because nationalistic confrontations in the region have increased, in modern era, with the rise of nation-states. The two researchers have employed a complex theoretical framework, that inspired both of their fieldworks, in the 1960s. The results were interesting.
Two traditional interpretations were contradicted by the facts on the ground, according to The Hidden Frontier. Natural environment (ecological factors in general) and lineage institutions were unable to explain the cultures and the conflicts of St. Felix and Tret. For example, in theory, the family inheritance rules were different in theory, yet the practice was very different. Political factors like the unification of Italy and German nationalism better explain why the community of Tret was more open to urban integration, while ST. Felix remain loyal to local autonomy.
An interesting confirmation by The Hidden Frontier: ethnicity isn`t a natural or eternal factor. John Cole and Eric Wolf relied on traditional political history to understand the constitution of the two neighboring communities. The researchers argued that ethnicity is a political phenomenon, the product of outside pressures and local reactions. Tyrolian nationalism remain a factor in the Germanophonic St. Felix, while the Romansh of Tret were closer to Italian identity, but only when interacting with the other group, not with the outside.
Therefore, ethnicity is also contextual. Of course, each group also utilized traditional stereotype, even if the day-to-day practice contradicted them, and the interactions were frequent. The Hidden Frontier raises several questions, one is that anthropological research may disappoint its outside supporters, if the answers are framed in the traditional mold of political history. Nevertheless, the idea that ethnicity is malleable, and that groups are always interacting is a useful gain for the study of nationalism, showing that change is a major component of its understanding.
June 19, 2022
Case studies are always a delight but this one tends to prolong itself to ridiculous levels: chapters of the size of one page should go to the appendix section.
Aside from that, good anthropological and historical study.
Aside from that, good anthropological and historical study.
September 14, 2013
Really dry and difficult to work through, but one of the major sources for this book was a relative of mine. It was nice to read up on my direct ancestry!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews