National Cultures at Grass-root Level
Antonina Kloskowska, Head of the Research Unit
of Culture and Politics of the Polish Academy of Sciences
The major dilemma this volume addresses is the function
of national identity in a modern society, for despite
the trend towards globalization, the world continues
to be riddled with national conflict.
Kloskowska begins by looking at the controversy between
two competing concepts of the origin of the nation -
political and ethnic. She examines the central issues
of the argument, and in particular, the characteristics
and effects of ethnic differences on personal identity
and the appropriation of national culture. Her theories
are based upon autobiographies by individuals belonging
to various national minorities in Poland and other areas
where ethnic borders are blurred. The group studied
included mostly young intellectuals: Ukrainians, Belarussians
and Silesian-Germans. She examines the national attitudes
of the various countries the ethnic minorities have
been forced to live with. In her conclusion, Kloskowska
takes the view that national cultures are either 'open'
or 'closed' and stresses the importance of participating
in more than one cultural medium.
National Cultures at the Grass-Root Level is
rich in information on contemporary theories of the
nation, on its origin, character and future, and offers
a deep insight into the complex and often ambiguous
reality of national attitudes.
"the book addresses important questions and provides
much-needed empirical materials." American Journal
of Sociology
Contents
Foreword. PART I: Theory, History and Anthropology
of a Nation Chapter 1: Controversies around the
concept of nation Chapter 2: Historical perspective
Chapter 3: 'Patria'- fatherland PART II: The
Culturalistic Sociological Perspective Chapter 4:
Complexity and diversity of national symbolic communities
Chapter 5: National stereotypes and the concept
of national identity Chapter 6: Personal identity
as related to national identification and to the appropriation
of national culture Chapter 7: Empirical materials
PART III: National Conversions Chapter 8: National
conversion as a borderland phenomenon Chapter 9:
Polish conversion of A.V.Winkler Chapter 10:
German conversions PART IV: National Minorities
Chapter 11: Variants of Ukrainity Chapter 12:
Problem of Belarus nationality Chapter 13: Silesian
national dilemmas Chapter 14: Old and young generation
Chapter 15: Open and closed national attitudes
in borderland situation PART V: Centre of National
Culture Chapter 16: Portrait of the wartime generation
Chapter 17: Young Poles in the period of democratic
breakthrough Chapter 18: Young Poles facing others
PART VI: Epilogue on Emigration Chapter 19: Scales
of Polishness Chapter 20: Negation of Polishness
Chapter 21: Polish identification Conclusions.
Bibliography. Index
2000
480 pages
ISBN 978-963-9116-83-2 cloth $54.95 / €46.95 / £40.00
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