The article attempts to summarize the key, in the author’s opinion, threads of the contemporary border-science debate. The point of reference are: Polish literary-centricism, which assigns the main role to literature in shaping the national world-view canon, and the interwar borderland debate, defined by the then geopolitical situation and orientalizing tendencies. Contemporary reflection on Borderlands Studies is mainly focused on developing a more realistic picture of the role of the Borderlands in Polish history.
The article presents Viktor Pielevin’s of the Little Finger of Budda as a case of radical revealing cultural of roots of great historical narrations. That radicalism just, in combination with the proficiency at using language of the popular culture, seems to open the new communications prospect before the historical thinking. Prospect including forms, from one side, formed of the discourse (literary, historical, Community) along with his standards and institutions and — from the other side — recipient willing to the defiance of traditional modes of the reading, disposed if not suspiciously, it at least critically (nonconformist), but first of all orientated to the reception desk of the written story in credible for oneself tongue.
The article deals with the specific location of the Kingdom of Poland/the Vistu-la Land in the structure of the Russian Empire. The conceptual basis for the consideration is postcolonial studies. In the post-colonial perspective, the aforementioned specificity is largely due to the fact that the attempt to unify the Polish province with the rest of the empire, which took place after sup-pressing the anti-Russian national uprising of Poles in 1863-1864, followed the accelerated modernization of the empire. Modernization, which encountered the strength of the Polish resistance and which had to face the phenomenon of Polish civilizational and cultural diversity, contributed greatly to the develop-ment of Russian nationalism. The most popular ideas about Russian colonia-lism focus on the issues related to Russian nationalism and the identity discourse shaping it. The author of the article encourages a broader view and suggests taking into account both the civilizational perspective (the empire as being subject to the influence of the modernization processes) and a more cultural one (the empire as a creation subjected to the influence of the peri-pheral Other). Eventually, the Polish-Russian confrontation will be the result of various processes and phenomena, and not only the consequence of a stere-otypically depicted Russian possessiveness.
Neopaganism is usually perceived as a marginal phenomenon in terms of the scale of social impact. It not only affects the attractiveness of its practices, but also the question of the load-bearing capacity of the world-outlooks exhibited in it. The article attempts to show neopaganism in a broader historical and cultural perspective, taking into account such general issues as cultural identity or memory culture. The author asks the question whether neo-paganism, with its marginality and utopianism, can be considered as a phenomenon inherent in postcolonial (post-dependence) problems. He believes that in the case of countries such as Poland, neopagan constructivism can be treated as a sensible attempt to broaden the base of symbolic references for reflection about its own location on the center-periphery axis.
PL
Neopoganizm postrzegany jest zwykle jako zjawisko marginalne pod względem skali społecznegooddziaływania. Rzutuje to nie tylko na atrakcyjność jego praktyk, ale również na kwestię nośnościeksponowanych w nim treści światopoglądowych. W artykule podjęta została próba ukazanianeopoganizmu w szerszej perspektywie historyczno-kulturowej, uwzględniającej tak ogólnezagadnienia jak tożsamość kulturowa czy kultura pamięci. Autor stawia przy tym pytanie, czyneopoganizm, z jego marginalnością i utopijnością, można uznać za zjawisko wpisujące się w problematykę postkolonialną (postzależnościową). Uważa, że w przypadku takich krajów jak Polska neopogański konstruktywizm może być traktowany jako sensowna próba poszerzenia bazy symbolicznych odniesień dla refleksji nad własnym usytuowaniem na osi centrum – peryferie.
The article addresses the problem of the applicability of sarmatism, its ideology, sensitivity, lifestyle, etc., to the contemporary Polish identity discourse. The reference for the considerations is mainly the works of Jan Sowa and Ewa Thompson. The main idea of the article is that the treatment of sarmatism either as an autonomous project (Thompson) or as a recoverable identity (neosarmatism) is impossible and pointless. Any (re)interpretation of sarmatism should take into account the specific purposefulness that can be realized in a specific field (artistic culture, academic discourse, etc.).
PL
Artykuł podejmuje zagadnienie aplikowalności sarmatyzmu, jego ideologii, wrażliwości i obyczajowości etc., do współczesnego polskiego dyskursu tożsamościowego. Odniesieniem dla podjętych rozważań są głównie prace Ewy Thompson i Jana Sowy. Naczelna idea artykułu wyraża się w przekonaniu, że traktowanie sarmatyzmu jako projektu autonomicznego (Thompson) bądź jako formy tożsamości, którą da się zrestytuować (neosarmatyzm), jawi się jako bezcelowe. Każda (re)interpretacja sarmatyzmu powinna być obliczona na realizację w ramach określonej celowości (kultura artystyczna, dyskurs akademicki etc.).
The article presents the work of Victor Pelevin, one of the most famous contemporary Russian writers, in the context of changes in literary communication. The writer uses postmodern techniques and strategies (intertextuality, decanonization, heterogeneity) and traditional cultural motifs and themes (Russian and foreign) to compensate literature for the loss of its metaphysical attributes and authority of high art.
The prose of Victor Pelevin, one of the best-known contemporary Russian writers, is usually associated with postmodernism. Some interpreters believe, however, that the proper context for the discussion of Pelevin is not postmodernism, but the traditional Russian cultural categories. For the author of this article the more fruitful way is to search for a variety of traditional and modern sources of cultural inspiration (intertextuality), which helped to establish the new forms of communication between writer and reader in the works of Pelevin.
A characteristic feature of Polish-Russian mutual perception is binarity, manifesting itself in various discursive spaces, from colloquial stereotypes, through popular literature, to sophisticated forms of meta-historical discourse. Asian-Europeanness, Latin-Byzantism/Orthodoxy, collectivism-individualism, and authenticity-falsehood, are just some of the oppositions that organise the social imagination of Poles and Russians in the sphere of their mutual assessments and opinions. The article draws attention to the partial manifestations of such oppositions (literary discourse, postcolonial studies, etc.) in order to show their hidden, dialectical dimension. To achieve this goal, the author refers to the category of ratio and emotum, which refers to a specific current of the European philosophical tradition. Both of these binary categories are the foundation for creating an image of the Other. They also fit into self-defining strategies important for understanding Polish and Russian identity.
The article proposes a look at contemporary neopoganism as a phenomenon that can be described in the context of postcolonial studies. However, analyzing neopaganism through the prism of the classic postcolonial terms seems to be insufficient to the author. Therefore, he proposes to supplement it with the concept of nostalgia. He also disagrees with the view that neopaganism is the part of the postmodern trend of contemporary culture.
The article is an attempt at presenting the works of Jerzy Pilch in the context of a literature-centric tradition according to which a writer enjoys a privileged position in a culture. This allows him/her to speak about the world and him/herself from the viewpoint of a finder of truth, a depositor of universal values. In the culturally altered reality of the last few decades, a writer affected by the literature-centric tradition needs to look for various forms of compensating for lost status. A case in point is Jerzy Pilch, whose most elaborate style, combined with mythologizing his own biography, are a tool for “coping” with the generally lower standards of culture. The inconsistencies and incoherence of the writer’s auto-creation, their spectral nature, reminiscent ofDerrida’s philosophy, reveal the genuine dimension of the struggle with modernity faced by Pilch the traditionalist.
The article is devoted to the problem of Polish postcoloniality in terms of Rafał Ziemkiewicz, one of the most influential Polish writers and journalists of the middle generation. Ziemkiewicz believes that the social structure and mentality of contemporary Poles have been entirely determined by the Second World War and communism. The society, which appeared as a result, is something completely new in history. What unites this society with the past is only a heritage of feudal and colonial dependency. Ziemkiewicz believes that the opportunity to overcome this heritage gives reference to the tradition of organic work and national democracy. He resigns from the characteristic of the Polish intelligentsia overview of reality through the prism of ideology. He is much closer to the tradition of the Anglo-Saxon conservatism and re-publicanism, based on the ideals of freedom, respect for tradition and compromise. The author of the article tries to show the thought of Ziemkiewicz free from stereotypical images and aimed at helping Polish identity to eliminate the colonial mentality.
PL
Artykuł poświęcony jest zagadnieniu polskiej postkolonialności w ujęciu Rafała Ziemkiewicza, jednego z najbardziej wpływowych polskich pisarzy i publicystów średniego pokolenia. Ziemkiewicz uważa, że struktura społeczna i mentalność współczesnych Polaków, zostały w całości określone przez zmiany, jakie spowodowała II Wojna Światowa i komunizm. Społeczeństwo, jakie się wskutek tych zmian wyłoniło jest tworem historycznie zupełnie nowym. Tym, co łączy je z przeszłością jest jedynie dziedzictwo folwarku pańszczyźnianego i zależności kolonialnej od mocarstw ościennych. Szansę w przezwyciężeniu tego dziedzictwa upatruje Ziemkiewicz w budowie społeczeństwa obywatelskiego, nawiązującego do tradycji pracy organicznej i narodowej demokracji. Ziemkiewicz rezygnuje z charakterystycznego dla polskiej inteligencji oglądu rzeczywistości przez pryzmat ideologii. Znacznie bliższa jest mu tradycja anglosaskiego konserwatyzmu i republikanizmu, oparta na wolności, poszanowaniu tradycji i kompromisie. Autor artykułu próbuje pokazać myśl Ziemkiewicza wolną od stereotypowych zniekształceń, a jednocześnie ukierunkowaną na uwalnianie polskiej tożsamości od brzemienia mentalności kolonialnej.
The article focuses on Adolf Nowaczyński, a writer, playwright, journalist, and political thinker from Galicia during the Young Poland and Interwar periods, within the context of selected themes from Polish postcolonial studies. Nowaczyński’s Galician experience shaped his perception of Polish provincialism contrasted with Western civilizational centers. This biographical-ideological standpoint became the starting point for a broader vision of Polish history and national character. Nowaczyński’s thought, aligning with contemporary (post)colonial frameworks (notably the role of center-periphery divisions), distinguishes itself with a pragmatic, anti-essentialist approach to national history and a quest to overcome inherited dependencies through actions aimed at achieving specific social and political goals (such as advocating for an active maritime policy).
PL
Artykuł dotyczy Adolfa Nowaczyńskiego, pochodzącego z Galicji pisarza, dramaturga, publicysty i myśliciela politycznego okresu Młodej Polski i Dwudziestolecia, w kontekście wybranych wątków polskich studiów postkolonialnych. Doświadczenie galicyjskie Nowaczyńskiego ukształtowało jego stosunek do polskiej prowincjonalności przeciwstawianej przezeń zachodnim centrom cywilizacyjnym. Ów biograficzno-ideowy punkt wyjścia stał się zaczynem szerszej wizji polskiej historii i polskiego charakteru narodowego. Myślenie Nowaczyńskiego, wpisujące się we współczesne matryce (post)kolonialne (vide rola podziałów centro-peryferyjnych), wyróżnia zarazem pragmatyczny, antyesencjalistyczny stosunek do narodowej przeszłości oraz poszukiwanie sposobów przezwyciężenia odziedziczonych po niej zależności poprzez działania ukierunkowane na realizację konkretnych celów społecznych i politycznych (vide postulat aktywnej polityki morskiej).
This article attempts to critically analyze the postcolonial aspects of the concept of the Other/Alien from the Polish point of view in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war. In the (sub)consciousness of Polish elites, (geo)political discourse acts as a link between ‘postcolonial aspects’ and the war context. The author considers as postcolonial aspects those features of the Polish public debate that go hand in hand with resentment thinking. Although the inherent descriptive parameter of resentment consciousness is considered to be the binary category of Other/Alien, in the case of the Polish self-perception system it is more appropriate to speak of a trinary relational system (Poland - West - East). The entanglement of the Polish habitus in a trinary relation is not conducive to the process of status positioning in the world.
RU
Статья представляет собой попытку критического анализа постколониальных аспектов польской точки зрения на Другого/Чужого в контексте русскукраинской войны. В (под)сознании польских элит (гео)политический дискурс служит связующим звеном между «постколониальными аспектами» и военным контекстом. Постколониальными аспектами автор признает те черты польской общественной дискуссии, которые соответствуют ресентиментному мышлению. Хотя бинарная категория «Другой/Чужой» считается неотъемлемым описательным параметром осознания ресентимента, в случае польской системы самовосприятия целесообразнее говорить о тринарной реляционной системе (Польша - Запад - Восток). Запутанность польского габитуса в тринарной зависимости не способствует процессу статусного позиционирования в мире.
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