Paper short abstract:

From the 18th century, the Alps became the site of romantic fascination. More than two centuries later, this paper traces the persistence of competing and ambiguous romantic visions on the Alps in a Swiss touristic resort, between tourism, nature conservation and nativism.

Paper long abstract:

From the end of the 18th century, the Alps became the site of romantic fascination for the Sublime. These mountain ridges, their incontrollable wilderness and purity as well as their simple but honest inhabitants were erected as powerful symbols, revealing the afflictions of a modern, alienating world of increasing industrialization. More than two centuries later, this paper traces the persistence and ambiguity of competing romantic visions on the Alps in a touristic resort in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Based on 18 months of fieldwork conducted in the Alpine village, I show how Romanticism has shaped the valley’s relationship to the world, between past, present and future. Romantic sensibilities have contributed to the development of a flourishing, global and capitalist economy of tourism in the Alps. At the same time, Romanticism has also shaped (trans-)national understandings of nature and natural heritage, inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list, in the Swiss legislation or mobilized by environmental NGOs. Romantic sensibilities of belonging and pluralism also have historically structured exclusionary politics of nativism in the German-speaking Alps, celebrating and giving priority to the "authentic", native inhabitants over others. Based on the everyday experiences of various village dwellers, I show how these visions cannot be seen as mere contradictions: examining the Alpine village life reveals the ambiguous nature of Romanticism itself, as both a tool for critique and a catalyzer of modernity and capitalism.