Raffaele Corso

Raffaele Corso (8 February 1885 – 29 July 1965) was an Italian ethnographer, folklorist and anthropologist. He was a major figure in the development and institutionalization of the study of Italian folklore and ethnography during the first half of the 20th century. He taught ethnography at the University of Rome and later at the University of Naples "L'Orientale", and founded and edited the journal Il Folklore Italiano.

Early life and education Corso was born in Nicotera, then in the province of Catanzaro, on 8 February 1885. His father, Diego Corso, was a physician who also pursued historical and archaeological studies. His father introduced him to archaeology and popular traditions at an early age.

He completed his early education in Nicotera and attended the classical lyceum in Vibo Valentia (then Monteleone). He subsequently moved to Naples to study law. During his university years he came into contact with Benedetto Croce and the folklorist Giuseppe Pitrè, who became an important influence on his intellectual development.

Corso regarded folklore as a branch of ethnography concerned with the traditions and cultural survivals of popular society. He emphasized the collection, classification and comparative analysis of folkloric material. His approach was influenced by the concept of cultural "survivals" associated with Edward Burnett Tylor and by the Italian tradition of demopsychology associated with Pitrè.

His involvement with Fascist cultural and racial policies has subsequently become an important part of the historiography of Italian folklore studies. The relationship between Corso's scholarly work and his political position has also been interpreted with some caution by later scholars, particularly concerning the extent to which professional and institutional considerations influenced the political alignment of Italian folklorists.

International activities Corso participated in numerous national and international ethnographic and anthropological congresses. He chaired the African Ethnography section at an international congress of anthropological and ethnographical sciences in London and was associated with the International African Institute.

He also maintained extensive contacts with Italian and foreign scholars and contributed to numerous ethnographic and folkloristic journals.

Later life and death After the Second World War, Corso's scholarly activity declined considerably. He was appointed professor emeritus after his retirement and continued to be associated with ethnographic and folkloristic scholarship.

Corso died in Naples on 29 July 1965, aged 80.

Selected works