"Rebirth of Ethnicity" New nations and new minorities in a comparative perspective. Theories, concepts, examples 3500-TABS-ODET
The aim of the seminar is to discuss the basic concepts, contexts and disputes related to the concept of "ethnicity" in sociology, especially regarding the understanding of an ethnic group, national minority and nation. As part of it, we will analyze the problems of ethnic identity and the legal status of stateless communities in Poland and other European countries, as well as in the Russian Federation. In the case of our country, we will want to focus on the Karaim, Lemko, Roma and Tatar communities (all of them officially have the status of an ethnic minority), Kashubian (whose language has been recognized as a regional language in accordance with the definition contained in the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages) and Silesian, over which recognition has been going on in a long-lasting political dispute for over two decades. The last two cases of ethnic groups mentioned are also referred to in Polish literature as "postulated minorities" due to the fact that their leaders applied several times to the Polish authorities for granting them the status of a national or ethnic minority. We are aware that the above-mentioned groups do not exhaust the list of all ethnic communities visible in Poland that do not have their own national states, but, in our opinion, they constitute the most representative part of them in Polish society.
We will also want to refer to examples from outside our country. And this is how we want to raise the issue of comparative ethnic revivals (national and regional) concerning the Buryats (on the example of the Altargana festival), the Yakuts (on the example of the collective dance - osłhaj), the Norwegian Kwens, the Eastern Roman Istrian group and the largest European minority - Roma / Gypsies.
All these communities remain diverse both in terms of demographics (their size) and the nature of their ethnicity, and the history of their relations with the majority society. Their place in state politics was similar - some of them (such as in Poland) were officially recognized as an ethnic minority or a regional language, and for one of them it remains an unrealized challenge. All of them, however, share a similar process of cultural and ethnic revival, initiated in the nineties of the last century, related to the democratic changes in the political system and wider openness to the world. This was related to their aspirations for official acceptance by the state, which was not (and still is not) about confirming their folklore distinctiveness, but about recognizing their different ethnic identities from most. Their elites and representatives no longer wanted them to be treated in state politics as ethnographic groups considered to be historical parts of the majority society, but sought to make them "ethnic interest groups".
During the course, we will pay attention to the striving of stateless communities for formal recognition by state authorities. These activities evoked an internal reflection among their members about the specificity of their ethnic identity, which was expressed in questions to what extent it is regional, ethnic, regional-ethnic, and to what extent it has become (or has already become) national. Attempts to answer these questions took the form of long-lasting and public discussions about their ethnic status, which had been going on so far. Questions related to the understanding of the concept of "nation" (cultural or political), the role of factors (subjective and objective) that make up its content, and the mechanisms of its emergence or creation (construction) appeared again. They testified to the sense of separateness of the members of those communities who were not limited to simple choices of belonging to the majority nation, they also emphasized the role of terminology and the way of explaining these phenomena, which were not only of intellectual significance, but played a political role, assessed from the perspective of ethnic aspirations of individual national groups or orientations within them. All these issues will be analyzed in the seminar using specific case studies, and theoretical literature is intended to deepen the knowledge of specific topics.
Type of course
Mode
Prerequisites (description)
Learning outcomes
K_W02 Is aware of ongoing theoretical and methodological disputes conducted in modern sociology; is reflective and critical of various positions
K_W04 Is reflective and critical of the problem of social differentiation and inequalities
K_W06 Has in-depth knowledge about cultural diversity and its transformations, cultural identity, and intercultural interaction and communication
K_W10 Has in-depth knowledge about major international and domestic sociological research pertaining to selected areas of social reality or sub-domains of sociology
K_K09 Is open to various theoretical and methodological perspectives of social research
Assessment criteria
credit with a grade
obligatory,
2nd degree
Bibliography
Abkowicz, M. (2012). Karaimskie życie społeczne w Polsce po 1945 roku, w: Machul-Telus B. (red.), Karaimi, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Sejmowe, s. 180-205.
Chazbijewicz, S. (2010). Tatarzy, w: Dudra, S., Nitschke, B. (red.). Mniejszości narodowe i etniczne w Polsce po II wojnie światowej, Kraków: NOMOS, s. 288-304.
Dolińska, K. (2010). Ślązacy, w: w: Dudra, S., Nitschke, B. (red.). Mniejszości narodowe i etniczne w Polsce po II wojnie światowej, Kraków: „NOMOS”, s. 337-355.
Dołowy – Rybińska, N. (2017), „Nikt za nas tego nie zrobi”. Praktyki językowe i kulturowe młodych aktywistów mniejszości językowych Europy, Toruń: Fundacja na Rzecz Nauki Polskiej,
Dudra, S. (2010). Łemkowie, w: Dudra, S., Nitschke, B. (red.). Mniejszości narodowe i etniczne w Polsce po II wojnie światowej, Kraków: NOMOS, s. 256-287.
Gerlich, M. G. (2010). „My prawdziwi Ślązacy”. Studium Etnologiczne, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo DiG – Uniwersytet Śląski w Katowicach.
Kabzińska, I. (2000). Między grupą etniczna a narodem, Etnografia Polska, XLIV (1-2), s. 39-61.
Nowicka, Ewa. 2011. Nasz język rozumieją aniołowie: Arumuni we współczesnym świecie. Kraków: Nomos.
Nowicka, Ewa. 2016. Korzenie ałtargany sięgają głęboko: Buriaci między Rosją ą Mongolią i Chinami. Kraków: Zakład Wydawniczy "Nomos.
Nowicka, Ewa. 2012. The politics of culture: perspectives of stateless nationalities/ethnic groups, Warszawa: WUW.
Nowicka, E. (2014). Taniec w kręgu: nowe i dawne communitas. Politeja-Pismo Wydziału Studiów Międzynarodowych i Politycznych Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, 11(31), 217-241. (jest krótsza wersja anglojęzyczna, ale tam jest tylko Syberia: Siberian circle dances), ale ta polskojęzyczna obejmuje Katalonię i Bałkany (Wlachów/Arumunów).
Obracht-Prondzyński, C. (2003). Czy w Polsce powstają nowe narody? Przypadek Kaszub i Śląska, w: Obracht-Prondzyński, C., W kręgu problematyki kaszubsko-pomorskiej. Studia i szkice, Gdańsk – Wejcherowo: Instytutu Kaszubski, s. 109-112.
Sakson, A. (2013). Mazurzy i Warmiacy, w: Dudra, S., Nitschke, B. (red.). Stowarzyszenia mniejszości narodowych, etnicznych i postulowanych w Polsce po II wojnie światowej, Kraków: NOMOS, s. 368-386.
Warmińska, K. (2013). Tatarzy polscy – tożsamość kolektywna w kontekście regulacji ustawowych, Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego w Krakowie, 903(3), s. 55-65.
Additional information
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