DOCSLIB.ORG

Cultural Backlash and Economic Insecurity in Poland and Hungary

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Cultural Backlash and Economic Insecurity in Poland and Hungary A HOUSE DIVIDED: CULTURAL BACKLASH AND ECONOMIC INSECURITY IN POLAND AND HUNGARY By HENRI DANJOLLI Under the direction of Professor Jan Kubik April 12, 2018 A senior thesis submitted to the Political Science Department of Rutgers University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts PROLOGUE The resurgence of populist sentiment across Europe and many parts of the world is concerning and deserves attention because of the powerful influence that populism has in shaping the global economy and international relations. The task of the citizen is to make an educated vote based on the options offered in each election. However, the language that is adopted by populists may sound similar to the rhetoric used by mainstream politicians, therefore it may be difficult to discern who is a populist and who is not. Politicians have often gone up to the podium and proclaimed that they have the ideas that will bend the arc of the moral universe towards justice. The question remains as to whether or not they should have the most important voice in the room when it comes to deciding what is just. Justice is a difficult topic to elucidate because on one hand it is subject to normative social influence and on the other hand, society’s conceptualization on what is just is liable to change as time passes. In other words, in order to change a society’s perception of justice, most people in that society must agree upon the amended definition. A thorough study of history reveals that change does not always come easy. This is exemplified in the Antebellum of American history and more specifically in the period between the Compromise of 1850 to the late 1850s. In the 19th century, the United States faced an existential crisis because it had just acquired new territory in the aftermath of the Mexican War through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the territory had no history of slavery at a time when slavery was the norm in the South. A divided Congress was conflicted about admitting new states, as this would alter the balance of ideologies between slave and free states in the Senate. At the start of 1850, Senator Henry Clay, also known as “the Great Compromiser”, put forward a set of proposals that he believed could ameliorate tensions between his colleagues and the rest of the country. i The complex set of legislative acts that he proposed was then sent to Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas, a Democrat, who believed that the only way to push the multi-faceted set of proposals through the legislative process was to divide it into five smaller packages. As the name implies, the Great Compromise attempted to appease the North and the South through its offerings. The North would have California admitted as a free state, slave trade prohibited in Washington D.C., and Texas would lose its boundary dispute with New Mexico. The South would have no slavery restrictions in Utah or New Mexico (both territories at the time), slaveholding would be permitted in Washington D.C., and Texas would get ten million dollars. After the Compromise was passed, many Southern Whigs broke away from the party’s main figure, Senator Henry Clay. One of the most controversial points of the Compromise was the instatement of a tougher federal fugitive slave law. This was a law that the South demanded from the Compromise, as slavery was vital to their economy. It required all escaped slaves to be returned to their masters regardless of one’s support or opposition to slavery, whether one was a Northern Freesoiler or a Southern slave owner. President Millard Fillmore supported the Compromise and sent a message to Congress with two recommendations. The first was that Texas would receive payment and in return it would stop attempting to be a part of New Mexico. The second recommendation entailed that the Wilmot Proviso be overturned. The Wilmot Proviso was a piece of legislation that mandated the United States ban slavery in the newly acquired territory following the Mexican War. In 1852, the Whig party nominated General Winfield Scott of New Jersey for the presidency and William Graham for the vice-presidency. The two Whig nominees both pledged to enforce the Compromise. In the same year, Harriet Beecher Stowe would publish Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the anti-slavery novel is attributed to have been a catalyst for ii the American Civil War. "Harriet Beecher Stowe's most famous introduction took place on or around Thanksgiving Day, 1862, when she was introduced to President Abraham Lincoln, who allegedly greeted her with these memorable words, ‘So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war!” (Weinstein 2004:1). The same year also saw the rise of the Native American Party, which was commonly known as the “Know-Nothing” Party. It was a secret organization that did not reveal its ideologies to non-members. When questioned about their beliefs their members would reply with the eponymous phrase, “I know nothing”. The main candidates in the presidential election of 1852 consisted of Franklin Pierce for the Democratic Party and General Winfield Scott for the Whig Party. Both faced criticism for being anti-Catholic and against slavery even though both candidates sought unequivocal enforcement of the Compromise of 1852. With the election of Franklin Pierce and growing intraparty division on the topic of slavery, the Whig Party would go into decline. The Native American party also received very few votes. Many former Whigs in the North and the South eventually joined the Know- Nothing Party. The election of 1852 introduced cultural tensions surrounding the evolving opinions on the issue of slavery as well as anti-Catholic and nativist sentiment from the inflow of immigrants, such as the Irish Catholics who arrived to escape the Great Famine of the early ‘50s. “From 1845 to 1854, some 2,900,000 immigrants landed in the United States, more than had come in the seven previous decades combined” (Anbinder 2005:3). Many immigrants settled in Massachusetts, which may be attributed to the fact that it was on the eastern coast of the US and it bordered the Atlantic Ocean. Further growing pains would proliferate throughout the country. A guerrilla war known as “Bleeding Kansas” was another cultural conflict in 1854 in which settlers who favored slavery and those who were against it fought in an attempt to iii establish “popular sovereignty”. The Know-Nothing Party may have used this cultural strife to frame an “us” versus “them” narrative that would have been in line with their party’s ideology. The Know-Nothings greatest rise to prominence had been in Massachusetts and especially in the Gubernatorial election of 1854. Native American Party candidate Henry J. Gardner would go on to become the Governor of Massachusetts from 1854 to 1857. During this time, he would pass a fair amount of legislation in accordance with the anti-immigrant sentiment of his party. The Native American Party’s influence in Massachusetts was astounding – “after the election of 1854, the governor, all state officers, the entire state senate, and all but three state representatives were Know-Nothings” (Commonwealth Museum, 2018). They pledged to purify the political arena by ending any influence that Irish Catholics and other immigrants could have had on state legislation. How did the Know-Nothings come to have such an overwhelming amount of power in Massachusetts more so than any other state? The literature proposes many speculations that revolve around the fear of cultural changes and economic insecurity. “One possible reason was culture; people did not want to be exposed to other cultures” (Commonwealth Museum, 2018). Scholars have noted that Protestants feared that Irish Catholics were being sent by the Pope to take over the United States. “Another reason was economic; immigrants were desperate for money and willing to work for less than Americans. This second reason would also explain why most of the people opposed to immigration were working class; they were afraid of the competition” (Commonwealth Museum, 2018). Governor Gardner expressed arguably the most explicit declaration of his nativist and authoritarian sentiment in the Governor’s Address of 1855. He said that he would focus his efforts to keep Massachusetts pure from the danger posed by immigrants by passing legislation iv designed to disenfranchise those illiterate in English. In the Address, he states his worries that “during the present decade… nearly four millions of aliens will probably be poured in upon us… nearly ⅘ of the beggary, two-thirds of the pauperism, and more than ⅗ of the crimes spring from our foreign populations” (Gardner 1857). In his campaign rhetoric and inaugural address, the governor also introduced the language that today would certainly be recognized as populist. He proposed “Americanizing America”, reading the Protestant King James Bible in public schools for uniformity, and sending socioeconomically disadvantaged immigrants back to Liverpool. Much like the current leading right-wing populist in the Netherlands, Geert Wilders, Gardner permits immigrants to remain in the country but with one stipulation. He reasoned that immigrants must have lived in America for a minimum of twenty-one years before they could vote since the voting age was twenty-one years old. Based on this argument alone, one may argue that this strict constructionist mode of governance had revealed the authoritarian tendencies most likely strongly embedded in Governor Gardner’s beliefs. Although much of the antagonism toward immigrants seemed contained in the eastern portion of the US, the sentiment was felt nationally. The Know-Nothings ran Millard Fillmore as a candidate in the 1956 Presidential Election and they came in last behind President James Buchanan and Republican candidate John C.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Funkcjonowanie Kowieńskich Sejmików Gospodarskich Po Reformach Sejmu Niemego
    Kwartalnik Historyczny Rocznik CXXVII, 2020, 4 PL ISSN 0023-5903 MONIKA JUSUPOVIĆ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7117-2104 Instytut Historii Polskiej Akademii Nauk FUNKCJONOWANIE KOWIEŃSKICH SEJMIKÓW GOSPODARSKICH PO REFORMACH SEJMU NIEMEGO Abstrakt: Sejmiki gospodarskie wykształ- Abstract: Economic dietines (sejmiki) ciły się w związku z przejmowaniem przez developed as the nobility took over matters szlachtę spraw związanych z lokalnymi related to the local taxes and defence. The podatkami i obronnością. Reformy uchwa- reforms passed by the Silent Sejm severely lone przez Sejm Niemy poważnie ograniczyły limited their competences, and thus their ich kompetencje, a tym samym znaczenie. importance. Nevertheless, at their sessions Niemniej nadal okazjonalnie uchwalano na local taxes were occasionally enacted for the nich podatki na potrzeby powiatowe, wybie- needs of the district, local offi cials, envoys to rano lokalnych funkcjonariuszy i posłów do the king, and other dignitaries were elected, króla i innych dostojników. Zajmowano się and economic matters were dealt with. The też sprawami gospodarczymi powiatu. Sytu- situation changed during the Great Sejm, acja zmieniła się podczas Sejmu Wielkiego, which reformed the local administration by który zreformował administrację lokalną, establishing new self-government bodies powołując nowe organy samorządowe, a sej- and giving electoral and advisory capacities mikom gospodarskim nadając uprawnienia to economic sejmiki. wyborcze i doradcze. S ł o w a klu czow e: sejmiki, samorząd, Keywords: dietines (sejmiki), self-govern- Litwa, szlachta. ment, Lithuania, nobility. Badacze historii parlamentaryzmu Rzeczypospolitej skupiają się w swych studiach zazwyczaj na sejmikach poselskich i deputackich, natomiast zgromadzeniom gospodarskim poświęcają mniej uwagi. Tymczasem w okresie szczytowego rozwoju sejmiki gospodarskie były głównym polem działania samorządu szlacheckiego.
    [Show full text]
  • Hungary Since 1989
    C:/ITOOLS/WMS/CUP/578174/WORKINGFOLDER/RME/9780521888103C10.3D 204 [204–232] 10.10.2009 6:02PM 10 Hungary since 1989 ANDRÁS BOZÓKI AND ESZTER SIMON Located in East-Central Europe, Hungary has often found itself at a crossroads of political influences of greater powers as well as of different cultures. Although Hungary enjoyed independence for centuries in its early history, the experience of foreign domination over the last five centuries is one of the defining features of Hungarian public consciousness. Most notably, Hungary was under the control of the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, the Habsburgs in the eighteenth, nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century, and the Soviet Union from 1945 until the regime change in 1989. Therefore, Hungarians had to master the techniques of survival under foreign domination.1 They learned how to operate informally, under and within formal, rigid rules, which represented the interests of the dominant foreign power. Nonetheless, during its twentieth-century history, Hungary made some genuine albeit short-lived attempts to achieve democracy. First, there was the brief liberal-democratic government of Count Mihály Károlyi in late 1918. A second attempt was made during the semi-democratic coalition government between 1945 and 1947. Finally, Hungary operated as a democracy for twelve remarkable days during the anti-totalitarian revolution of October 1956. The Hungarian revolution was internally successful but was crushed by the inter- vention of the Soviet Red Army. These shining moments of recent Hungarian history cannot hide the fact that throughout the twentieth century Hungary enjoyed democracy for one decade only, the 1990s.
    [Show full text]
  • {PDF} a Concise History of Poland Ebook Free Download
    A CONCISE HISTORY OF POLAND PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Jerzy Lukowski,Hubert Zawadzki | 408 pages | 31 Jul 2006 | CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS | 9780521618571 | English | Cambridge, United Kingdom A Concise History of Poland PDF Book On one hand, there's no doubt about the fact that it is a concise book which presents events throughout the country's history in an accessible manner. Showing May 23, Afina rated it it was amazing. Doesn't hold a candle to Norman Davies' 'God's Playground', though that's not to say this isn't a good concise survey of Polish history which is fascinating. Jagiellonian Poland I ended up feeling a bit ambivalent about this presumption. Jerzy Lukowski , Hubert Zawadzki. Error rating book. There are fascinating facts that one does not come across in any of the other histories which add to the general background and it is written in a eminently readable fashion. Lindsay Freed rated it liked it Nov 12, Poland to 1. You have added ' ' to the following students:. Herodotus: Histories Book V. Learn More About the App Got it! Want to Read saving…. Jun 29, Wendy Jackson rated it liked it. Piast Poland? Susie rated it really liked it Jun 27, Published November 12th by Cambridge University Press first published Escape the Present with These 24 Historical Romances. A Concise History of Poland. Lukowski is a very familiar name amongst students of Polish History - his account of the Partitions is a classic and the partnership with Zawadzki This is beyond a doubt the best history of Poland I have read so far and I run a website on Polish History.
    [Show full text]
  • The Political Context of Eu Accession in Hungary
    European Programme November 2002 THE POLITICAL CONTEXT OF EU ACCESSION IN HUNGARY Agnes Batory Introduction For the second time since the adoption of the Maastricht Treaty – seen by many as a watershed in the history of European integration – the European Union (EU) is set to expand. Unlike in 1995, when the group joining the Union consisted of wealthy, established liberal democracies, ten of the current applicants are post-communist countries which recently completed, or are still in various stages of completing, democratic transitions and large-scale economic reconstruction. It is envisaged that the candidates furthest ahead will become members in time for their citizens to participate in the next elections to the European Parliament due in June 2004. The challenge the absorption of the central and east European countries represents for the Union has triggered a need for internal institutional reform and new thinking among the policy-makers of the existing member states. However, despite the imminence of the ‘changeover’ to a considerably larger and more heterogeneous Union, the domestic profiles of the accession countries have remained relatively little known from the west European perspective. In particular, the implications of enlargement in terms of the attitudes and preferences of the new (or soon to be) players are still, to a great extent, unclear. How will they view their rights and obligations as EU members? How committed will they be to the implementation of the acquis communautaire? In what way will they fill formal rules with practical content? BRIEFING PAPER 2 THE POLITICAL CONTEXT OF EU ACCESSION IN HUNGARY Naturally, the answers to these questions can only government under the premiership of Miklós Németh be tentative at this stage.
    [Show full text]
  • Darius Staliūnas HISTORIOGRAPHY of the LITHUANIAN NATIONAL
    Darius Staliūnas HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE LITHUANIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT CHANGING PARADIGMS The beginning of Lithuanian national historiography and the topic of ‘National Revival’ The Lithuanian historical narrative was formed during the nineteenth century as a component part of a newly developing Lithuanian national discourse. One of the most important and most difficult tasks facing the construction of a modern Lithuanian identity was how to separate it from the Polish identity (as well as from its Russian counterpart, even though Russianness was not regarded as being so parlous for the ‘purification’ of national identity). It therefore comes as no surprise that Lithuanians construed their concept of history as an alternative to the Polish construction (and to a lesser degree to the Russian version). Most nineteenth-century Polish political movements, including schools of history, did not regard the Lithuanians as having any independent political future and so it is not surprising that they were inclined first and foremost to stress the benefits of Polish culture and civilisation in Lithuania’s past. The Lithuanians had no other option than using their authentic ethnic culture as a counterweight to Polish civilisation. Conceiving Lithuanian identity as primarily ethno-cultural values, a concept of Lithuanian history was construed accordingly. The history of Lithuania was considered to be Darius Staliūnas, ‘Historiography of the Lithuanian national movement. Changing paradigms’, in: Studies on National Movements, 1 (2013) pp. 160-182. http://snm.nise.eu Studies on National Movements, 1 (2013) | ARTICLES the history of (ethnic) Lithuanians. Topics connected with ‘national revival’ have clearly dominated in texts devoted to nineteenth-century history.
    [Show full text]
  • Explaining Irredentism: the Case of Hungary and Its Transborder Minorities in Romania and Slovakia
    Explaining irredentism: the case of Hungary and its transborder minorities in Romania and Slovakia by Julianna Christa Elisabeth Fuzesi A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of PhD in Government London School of Economics and Political Science University of London 2006 1 UMI Number: U615886 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U615886 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 DECLARATION I hereby declare that the work presented in this thesis is entirely my own. Signature Date ....... 2 UNIVERSITY OF LONDON Abstract of Thesis Author (full names) ..Julianna Christa Elisabeth Fiizesi...................................................................... Title of thesis ..Explaining irredentism: the case of Hungary and its transborder minorities in Romania and Slovakia............................................................................................................................. ....................................................................................... Degree..PhD in Government............... This thesis seeks to explain irredentism by identifying the set of variables that determine its occurrence. To do so it provides the necessary definition and comparative analytical framework, both lacking so far, and thus establishes irredentism as a field of study in its own right. The thesis develops a multi-variate explanatory model that is generalisable yet succinct.
    [Show full text]
  • The Public Library Service Provision to the Polish Community Living in Sheffield
    The Public Library Service Provision to the Polish Community Living in Sheffield A study submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Librarianship at THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD by Anna Listwon September 2007 ABSTRACT This dissertation intends to examine the public library service provision to the Polish community in Sheffield. Its main aim is to establish the library needs of the newly arrived Polish people and examine their opinion of the service provision. It also considers the needs and views of the established elderly Polish community on the library services and the opinions of library personnel with regard to their services and awareness of the newly arrived Polish people. The topics covered in the interviews and questionnaire were based on the subjects found in the literature relative to the subject, which has so far made sparse references to the Polish communities living in Great Britain. This study is qualitative and therefore the following methods were implemented: in-depth interviews with librarians and elderly Poles, and questionnaires with open-ended questions distributed to the young Poles in order to develop thorough understanding of the issues in question. The data gathered indicated that the Polish collection and Polish materials are of great significance to the Polish community. The Poles would like to be involved in the selection process and have more Polish books in their collection. The librarians had little knowledge of the scope of the demand for Polish books but were open to gaining more knowledge of the newly arrived Polish people. As a result of this research it is concluded that materials in the Polish language and having books in Polish by Polish authors are essential for the Polish community.
    [Show full text]
  • Polish) Lesson Plan (English) the Crisis, Reform, and Collapse of the Nobles’ Republic (Revision Class)
    The Crisis, Reform, and Collapse of the Nobles’ Republic (revision class) The Crisis, Reform, and Collapse of the Nobles’ Republic (revision class) Lesson Plan (Polish) Lesson Plan (English) The Crisis, Reform, and Collapse of the Nobles’ Republic (revision class) 3rd May 1791 Constuon Source: Jan Matejko, Konstytucja 3 Maja 1791 roku, 1891, oil on canvas, domena publiczna. Link to the Lesson You will learn to describe the most important historical events of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; to list the crises that struck Poland in the eighteenth century and what attempts at reform were undertaken; to explain the historical significance of the collapse of the Polish‐Lithuanian Commonwealth. Nagranie dostępne na portalu epodreczniki.pl Nagranie abstraktu By the eighteenth century, the Polish‐Lithuanian political system became anachronistic. The state was becoming ever weaker. It did not pursue an active foreign policy; it was more of an object than a subject on the international stage. Due to the presence of the liberum veto, the nobility obstructed attempts at reform with ease. One deputy’s vote against a project was enough to dismiss the entire Sejm. The representatives of the nobility oftentimes accepted bribes from foreign powers that wished to keep Poland‐Lithuania weak. Russia had ever more say in the affairs of the country. When Stanisław II Augustus was elected King, some of the patriotically inclined nobles rebelled against his rule and created the Bar Confederation The part of the military that remained loyal to the King suppressed the rebellion with the aid of Russian forces. Capitalizing upon the opportunity, Russia, Austria, and Prussia conducted the First Partition of Poland in 1772.
    [Show full text]
  • Global Energy Company Company SCALE TECHNOLOGY RESPONSIBILITY
    Global Energy Global Energy Company Company SCALE TECHNOLOGY RESPONSIBILITY Rosneft is the Russian oil Rosneft is the champion Rosneft is the biggest taxpayer Annual report 2013 industry champion and the of qualitative modernization in the Russian Federation. world’s biggest public oil and innovative change in the Active participation in the Annual report 2013 and gas company by proved Russian oil and gas industry. social life of the regions hydrocarbon reserves Proprietary solutions to of operations. and production. improve oil and synthetic Creating optimal conditions Unique portfolio of upstream liquid fuel production for professional development assets. performance. and high standards of social Leading positions for oshore Establishing R&D centers security and healthcare for development. in a partnership with global the employees. Growing role in the Asia- leaders in technology Unprecedented program Pacific markets. development and application. for land remediation. ROSNEFT Scale Technology Annual report online: www.rosneft.ru Responsibility www.rosneft.com/attach/0/58/80/a_report_2013_eng.pdf OUR RECORD ACHIEVEMENTS 551 RUB BLN RECORD NET INCOME +51% Page 136 4,694 RUB BLN RECORD REVENUES +52% Page 136 85 4 ,873 RUB BLN KBOED RECORD DIVIDENDS RECORD HYDROCARBONS PAID IN 2013 PRODUCTION +80.3%* Page 124 Page 28 90.1 42.1 MLN TONS* BCM** RECORD OIL GAS PRODUCTION, REFINING VOLUMES RUSSIA’s third largesT References to Rosneft Oil Company, Rosneft, or GAS PRODUCER the Company are to either Rosneft Oil Company or Rosneft Oil Company, its subsidiaries and affil- +46% iates, as the context may require. References to * TNK-BP assets accounted for from the date TNK-BP, TNK-BP company are to TNK-BP Group.
    [Show full text]
  • 16Th-19Th Century)
    Jacek Kulbaka DOi: 10.14746/bhw.2018.38.2 Maria Grzegorzewska University From the history of disabilities (16th-19th century) Abstract: The article presents various circumstances (social, legal, philosophical and scientific) connected with the care, upbringing and education of people with disabilities from the early modern era to the beginning of the 20th century. Particular attention was to the history of people with disa- bilities in the Polish lands. The author tried to recall the activity of leading educational activists, ped- agogues and scientists – animators of special education in Poland, Europe and the world. The text also contains information related to the activities of educational and upbringing institutions (institu- tional, organisational, methodological and other aspects). Keywords: Disability, history of disability, blind, mentally handicapped, morally neglected, deaf, education, care, education of people with disabilities The negative perception of disabilities over the centuries has led to the social exclu- sion of thousands of people: deaf, blind, mentally disabled, those with chronic illnesses and otherwise disabled – to follow in the footsteps of typology that was still widespread mid-20th century. We can find confirmation of this state of things in written and non-writ- ten sources, as well as in contemporary Polish studies from the border of pedagogy and psychology of ethnography, cultural studies, archaeology and others1. 1 Cf. SAHAJ, T., “Problem niepełnosprawności w starożytnej kulturze greckiej: rozważania filozoficzno- społeczne”, [in:] Roczniki Naukowe AWF w Poznaniu, bk. 52, 2003, p. 127–141.; NASIEROWSKI, T., HER- czyńska, G., MYSZKA, D.M., Zagłada chorych psychicznie: pamięć i historia, Warsaw 2012 /Martyrdom of the mentally disabled in 1939–1945/; KRAUZE, a., “Niepełnosprawność: inny w paradygmacie humanistyc- znym”, [in:] Niepełnosprawność, no.
    [Show full text]
  • Treasures of Culinary Heritage” in Upper Silesia As Described in the Most Recent Cookbooks
    Teresa Smolińska Chair of Culture and Folklore Studies Faculty of Philology University of Opole Researchers of Culture Confronted with the “Treasures of Culinary Heritage” in Upper Silesia as Described in the Most Recent Cookbooks Abstract: Considering that in the last few years culinary matters have become a fashionable topic, the author is making a preliminary attempt at assessing many myths and authoritative opinions related to it. With respect to this aim, she has reviewed utilitarian literature, to which culinary handbooks certainly belong (“Con� cerning the studies of comestibles in culture”). In this context, she has singled out cookery books pertaining to only one region, Upper Silesia. This region has a complicated history, being an ethnic borderland, where after the 2nd World War, the local population of Silesians ��ac���������������������uired new neighbours����������������������� repatriates from the ����ast� ern Borderlands annexed by the Soviet Union, settlers from central and southern Poland, as well as former emigrants coming back from the West (“‘The treasures of culinary heritage’ in cookery books from Upper Silesia”). The author discusses several Silesian cookery books which focus only on the specificity of traditional Silesian cuisine, the Silesians’ curious conservatism and attachment to their regional tastes and culinary customs, their preference for some products and dislike of other ones. From the well�provided shelf of Silesian cookery books, she has singled out two recently published, unusual culinary handbooks by the Rev. Father Prof. Andrzej Hanich (Opolszczyzna w wielu smakach. Skarby dziedzictwa kulinarnego. 2200 wypróbowanych i polecanych przepisów na przysmaki kuchni domowej, Opole 2012; Smaki polskie i opolskie. Skarby dziedzictwa kulinarnego.
    [Show full text]
  • Slomczynski Continuity Do PDF:Slom1czpop.Qxd.Qxd
    CHAPTER 21. ROBERT M. KUNOVICH RELIGION AND STATE: AN EXAMINATION OF ATTITUDES TOWARD THE CATHOLIC CHURCH The separation of church and state is a contentious issue at the forefront of national politics in many countries, including Poland. Poland provides an interesting case for examining attitudes toward the separation of church and state because of the Catholic Church’s prominent role in the preservation of the Polish nation through many difficult periods, such as partition, as well as its more recent involvement in national politics over issues including abortion and religious education. Many have argued that the Catholic Church has over- stepped its bounds to further its own ideology in the face of eroding popular support. Despite this, there are still many individuals who favor an expanded role for the Polish Catholic Church. In this chapter, I examine people’s beliefs about the influence of the Catholic Church on politics. Recent scholarship on religious nationalism provides the framework for the chapter. My goal is to identify individual characteristics associated with a desire for the greater influ- ence of the Catholic Church on political decisions of the Polish state. Theoretical Background Polish national identity is intimately linked with Roman Catholicism. Byrnes (1996) attributes this linkage to, among other factors, the role of the Catholic Church in protecting Polish national identity over the past 200 years amid partition, occupation, and domination (see also Eberts 1998; Juergensmeyer 1994: 135–137; Schanda 2003). Some Polish nationalists even “idealize 376 ROBERT M. KUNOVICH Poland as the Christ among nations, crucified and buried” (Modras 1996: 170; see also Byrnes 1996).
    [Show full text]