POLISH ETHNOLOGY IN 1945-1956 AND ITS RESPONSE TO INTRODUCING SOVIET PATTERNS TO POLISH SCIENCE

• Authors: Jasiewicz Z.
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

The Polish state which emerged after the World War II became dependent on the Soviet Union. One of the effects of that new political order was that Soviet patterns and models were introduced into Polish academic research, including ethnology. In the article the author is presenting: (1)The general situation in the country, in academic life, especially in ethnology; (2) Models imposed upon Polish ethnology by the Soviet academic institutions. Mechanisms of their introducing and adaptation; (3) The consequence of the introduction of the Soviet patterns. The study is based on different source material: scientific publications, both Polish and Russian, conversations with Polish ethnologists, but also on the author's own memories from his university years. The Soviet models and patterns introduced into Polish ethnology concerned: (1)the name of the discipline, its main subject, assumptions and research methods, (2) the structure of academic life and higher education system, (3) the attitude to and relationships with the western ethnology and anthropology, (4)the function of ethnology. The author stated that in the history of Polish ethnology the attempt at subordinating it to politics and isolating from the world social sciences had never gone as far as in the years 1945-1956.Nevertheless Polish scientific institutions were developing and some important research projects were initiated then. The number of ethnographers educated within that period was greater than it had been before. In academic work, imposing the Marxist-Leninist approach resulted in the escape from theoretical deliberation and studies on culture as a whole. Polish ethnographers found a safe niche in studies of folk culture and folklore instead. Such were the circumstances which had long-lasting effect on the development of Polish ethnology in the subsequent years.

Keywords

EN

POLISH ETHNOLOGY

Discipline

• ETHNOLOGY: ETHNOLOGY

• Publisher: Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Etnografia Polska
• Year: 2004
• Volume: 48
• Issue: 1-2
• Pages: 5-15
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Jasiewicz Z.

• Z. Jasiewicz, Instytut Etnologii i Antropologii Kulturowej, Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza, ul. Sw. Marcina 78, 61-809 Poznan, Poland.

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

04PLAAAA0008209