Between Cooperation and Competition: Relationship of Czech Indian Hobbyists with Academical Environment
Abstract
Czech hobbyists strive to emulate North American Indians mainly through creating replicas of garments and objects of 19th century native American reality and then using these objects at living history campgrounds settings. To achieve this hobbyists also emulate academic work when approaching their subject of interest.
They study anthropological literature, translate and publish expert articles, cooperate with museums, organize lectures and workshops. Academic approach is considered authentic among Indian hobbyists on both individual and collective level and serves as a source of subcultural capital.
Hobbyists emulate work of anthropologists, historians, museologists and curators. Relationships between the community of hobbyists and professional scholars can be describe in following binary oppositions: friendship - hostility, respect - disdain, cooperation - competition.
Analysis of these relationships can help us understand the Indian hobbyist phenomenon in more detail.