Research topic: How They See Us. Case Study of Poles and Silesians
Description: Recently, in scholarly literature, we can observe a growing interest in nationalism in Poland. There is a growing literature on authoritarian neoliberalism and populism, which in many cases also take interest in nationalism (Lendvai-Bainton&Szelewa 2020). Also, there is an interests in anti-immigration discourse, which is present, if not predominant in certain periods of time, in Poland (Polynczuk-Alenius 2019). Furthermore, there is a growing number of literature on the history of nationalism and narration on ethnic relations in Poland (Pasieka 2016; Tomasiewicz 2019; Grott 2014). At the same time, we see a rise of literature on ethnoregionalism in Upper Silesia. From questions about Silesian identity and collective memory (Kijonka 2016; Jaskułowski&Majewski 2017), politics in the region and beyond (Trosiak 2016; Solska 2019) to comparative studies (Muś 2019), scholars more frequently study the ethnic identity of Silesians and ethnoregionalist movement in Upper Silesia. These two trends and interactions between them are hardly a coincidence. In contemporary Europe, we are witnessing the growing role of nationalism, regionalism and ethnic identity, which resurfaced for example in Spain (Catalonia), Great Britain (Scotland and Great Britain as a whole), Hungary and many other states. The situation in Poland should be seen in context of those trends, but also from particular point of view. This particular characteristics of Polish nationalism will be studied in depth. The study was designed to analyse the points, where both Polish nationalism and Silesian ethnoregionalism meet, namely: stereotypes about Silesians present in Polish society. In order to do so, the way Silesians are seen by politicians, press and the society as a whole will be analysed. The aim of the study is to research the stereotypes by which the Silesian ethnic group is portrayed in Polish state-wide press and to analyse whether those stereotypes are shared by the wider population
Keywords: nationalism; ethnic identity; Silesians; Poles; stereotypes
Team: Tomasz Jakubowski, Justyna Kijonka, Anna Muś, Paweł Sarna, Wiktor Widera
Contact: anna.mus@us.edu.pl