Over a long period, Swedish ethnology was linked to museums whose focus was on history and culture. This was particularly true of the Nordic Museum which, from 1918 until today, has presided over the academic teaching of ethnology in Stockholm. Starting from the interest in social questions which, from the 1950s onwards and under the influence of Sigurd Erixon, was a feature of ethnology, the article proposes a brief outline of the development of ethnology, both as an academic discipline and as a centre of ethnological documentation in museums. The changes in Swedish society, by way of a series of social and political movements, are reflected in the various directions taken by ethnological inquiry. The 1970s witnessed a divergence between the museums and the university discipline. Today, on the contrary, there is evidence that these paths are again converging.