Polish Culture Research Articles

Porównanie symboliki wierzby i lilii w chińskiej i polskiej kulturze na tle teorii językowego obrazu świata

The article introduces the symbolism of the willow and the lily, which have played an important role in the lives of Chinese and Poles over many years. The research issue of this article is the question: What are the differences and similarities in terms of willow and lily symbolism in Chinese and Polish culture? The article is based on an analysis of literature. It aims to indicate the symbolism of the willow and the lily and to find the roots of their differences and similarities in Chinese and Polish cultures. The first part of the article is devoted to the theory of a linguistic worldview, which is the theoretical basis of the research. The second part of the article focuses on the most important and widespread symbolisms of the willow. The third part presents the most important connotations of the lily in both cultures. I It turns out that there are many similar symbolisms of the willow in Chinese and Polish culture, such as homesickness and vitality, etc. Nevertheless, the willow is an attribute of the noble hermit in Chinese culture, while in Polish culture it symbolizes susceptibility because of its pliancy. There are also many analogies in the associations of the lily in Polish and Chinese cultures, such as purity and holiness. Contrary to appearances, in the two civilizations the differences in lily symbolism are not readily apparent.

Syntheses in the Academic Output of Maria Bogucka

Maria Bogucka was the author of several synthetic studies, which included topics such as the history of Poland until 1864, the history of the Netherlands, the history of Polish towns and the burgher classes in the early modern era, as well as the history of Polish culture up until 1989. This article discusses these particular syntheses; and the critical assessments they gave rise to following their publication.

‘Red Evas.’ Soviet emancipation in the interwar Polish press

The article dwells on portrayals of Russian women in the interwar discourse of the Polish press. The study attempts to reinterpret them and deconstruct the gender stereotypes responsible for inaccuracies in the depictions. Analysis of the assessments offered for the phenomenon of post-1917 Soviet emancipation by the interwar Polish press (national-Catholic, leftist, and feminist publications) centres on discussions of emancipation in the labour market and Russian women taking over typically masculine roles. Among the ‘female’ topics directly related to the perception of the new Soviet culture was the ‘Soviet experiment:’ women gained access to what used to be exclusively male professions. Sadly, reports of Soviet emancipation in the selected titles often boil down to a few suggestions about changes in the Soviet woman’s life described as Bolshevik manipulations. It appears, therefore, that Polish-Russian cultural contacts were compromised by the Polish disorientating gender role models and related ideas of the Polish identity, distorted by the misogyny, nationalism, patriarchalism, and Catholic traditions of Polish culture.

HISTORY OF MUSICOLOGICAL STUDIES AT KRAKOW AND LVIV UNIVERSITIES

This work deals with the system research of the activities of the departments of musicology of the Jagiellonian and Lviv Universities in the context of the Jagiellonian tradition of Poland and Ukraine in the original refraction of principles of the European musical academic education since the time of their foundation in years 1911-1912 and till the beginning of the XXI century. Besides the educational orientation of the Jagiellonian tradition have been revealed. This tradition inextricably linked with the national-confessional polysyllabity within the teacher's and student's community. It has been established that the Neojagiellonian-Panslavic worldview of the XIX – first half of the XX century was historically significant corrective component of the existence of Krakow and Lviv Universities. "Equation on the European East" of the most prominent representatives of Polish culture and art in the twentieth century was a testimony of the influence of that worldview.

Cross cultural adaptation, reliability and validity of the Polish version of the Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool

Purpose: The aim of this study was to develop a Polish version of the Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT-PL) questionnaire and perform CAIT-PL cultural adaptation with assessment of its psychometric properties. Methods: The original CAIT was translated into the Polish language using standard guidelines. The CAIT-PL was completed on 2 occasions by 105 participants both with and without a history of ankle sprains. Psychometric evaluation of CAIT-PL included an assessment of internal consistency, test-retest reliability, standard error of measurement, convergent and construct validity. Results: The CAIT-PL was successfully translated and adapted into Polish culture with satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.83) and adequate test-retest reliability resulting in ICC2,1 = 0.89 (95% CI: 0.84–0.92). Measurement error was low (SEM = 0.76 and MDC = 2.10). Convergent validity of the CAIT-PL ranged from weak to strong using Spearman’s correlation coefficient between CAIT-PL and FAOS subscales (r = 0.39–0.67; p < 0.05). Construct validity was confirmed. Conclusion: The Polish version of the Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool is a valid and reliable questionnaire for assessment of functional ankle instability among the Polish population.

Antyczno-chrześcijańskie proweniencje staropolskiej literatury pastoralnej

This article describes the influence of the ancient and Christian tradition on the formation of the genology of the idyll. It is a species structure that has a special kind of motivation, which was manifested in the methods of its conventionalization. The author presents the stage of the entry of the idyll into Polish literature of the Renaissance starting with the first Latin-language traces of idyllic creativity by Pietro Illicino and Stanisław Koszutski. Currently, these literary works are little known, although the circumstances of their creation are very interesting. Furthermore, bucolic provenance was discussed, referring to the Italian and Greek traditions. The theme of ancient and Roman Catholic Arcadia was analysed. The systematized theoretical record includes information on the relationship of the idyll with other pastoral genres, such as eclogues, carols or pastorales. The article also interprets idylls that refer to the Christian concept of neoplatonic love, i.e. the divine Amor divinus and the wordly Amor profanus. The process of transforming a Latin idyll into a Polish-language idyll is presented in the context of cultural and literary conditions of that time. This article contains a description of important genre criteria (with the textual exemplifications) gradually adapted by the first authors of pastoral literature, such as: Jan Kochanowski, Szymon Szymonowic and the Zimorowic brothers. The opus of these poets prove the numerous transformations of idyllic criteria in specific textual realizations, showing the complicated path in the location of the idyll in the canon of literature and in Polish culture in general, with its lifespan and topicality at the same time. Key words: idyll, genology, Antiquity, Renaissance, Christianity, Jan Kochanowski, Szymon Szymonowic, Szymon Zimorowic, Józef Bartłomiej Zimorowic

From the Editors

The year 2022 marked the 800th anniversary of the establishment of the University of Padua, one that Poles have eagerly chosen as the site of their education since its founding, and one of Europe’s finest intellectual centers of the humanist era. For many years, Polish researchers have pointed out the importance of the university to our country, its culture, science and comprehensive development. The Polish elite of the 15th, 16th and early 17th centuries, including Paweł Włodkowic, Nicolaus Copernicus, Jan Kochanowski and Jan Zamoyski were educated in Padua, but these are just some of the many Polish names associated with the university. In view of the significant importance of the “Paduans” for Polish culture, we have decided to devote the theme section of this issue of Perspectives on Culture to the classical inspirations and cultural aspirations of the promoters of Polish culture in Padua, and to place it under the editorship of Prof. Dr. hab. Mirosław Lenart and Dr. Sławomir Marchel from the University of Opole. His Magnificence Father Rector of the Jesuit University Ignatianum in Cracow, Fr. Dr. Tomasz Homa SJ, AIK Professor, also included his introductory word in the issue.

Chamber Ensemble Named After Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński: 20 Years of SocioCultural Communication

The relevance of the study. Problems of socio-cultural communication in music art are of highest relevance in sociology and music studies, especially, during the war, when it is necessary to preserve all cultural assets of the country.&#x0D; The purpose of the article: to trace stages of formation and activity of honoured collective representative of Polish culture – Chamber ensemble named after Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński of social organization Zhytomyr Regional Association of the Poles of Ukraine in the beginning of the XXIst century and had been actively concertizing before the very beginning of the “great war” (February 2022).&#x0D; In order to achieve the said purpose the following methods were used:&#x0D; &#x0D; of culture studies (historical-genetic, historical-dynamic, comparative);&#x0D; of sociology of music (sociological observation);&#x0D; communicative music studies (content analysis, discourse analysis, functional-communicative);&#x0D; of theory of performing (historical-stylistic, genre, interpretation).&#x0D; &#x0D; Problem statement. Activity of the ensemble for 20 years has been covered in newspapers, magazines, sites of Zhytomyr Regional Union of the Poles of Ukraine, social networks, TV shows “Slovo polske” [The Polish Word] and “Poliaky Zhytomyrshchyny” [The Poles of Zhytomyr land]. Mostly in genre of announcements, reviews, feedback of listeners.&#x0D; History of the ensemble and professional assessment of its creative work and social activities became actual only with awareness that important cultural phenomena can exist not only in the capital, but in province as well.&#x0D; Scientific novelty. Distinctive features of the Chamber ensemble named after Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński as subject of research is duration and cultural edifying and educational nature of its functioning. Suggested research is the first attempt to trace activity of this group in the said aspect.&#x0D; Statement of basic material. The article reviews activity of the ensemble starting from its creation at the late XX and early XXI centuries until the last concert that took place before the “great war”.&#x0D; We have distinguished main spheres of its activity: performing music composers of Volyn-Zhytomyr land; revival of traditions of Catholic Church concerts; social and educational activity.&#x0D; Conclusions and directions for future research. Chamber ensemble named after Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński is a rather rare example of self-organization of the collective ideologically motivated. The research perspective could be monography about its activity.

Acting Alone Together: Reconfiguration of the Pro-Migrant and Refugee Activists’ Arena in Poland

The sphere of grassroots and civil activism became highly politicized before the 2015 elections. The introduction of the new policies has resulted in higher levels of mobilizations, both supporting and resisting the new policies of the PiS government. For instance, Poland has switched from a country with the highest acceptance rate for refugees in the EU to the one with the lowest rate within around a year sparking a number of anti-migrant and anti-refugee mobilizations and at the same time fueled the growth of initiatives opposing the trend. The narrative about masses of refugees in Poland and at its borders threatening various aspects of Polish culture, civilization, and identity started to keep heat in the bed and have provoked numerous intended and unintended consequences, political and social, so as further campaigns against LGBT community. In this paper I reflect on the development of the anti-fascist and anti-racist movements in Poland in the face of structural changes that are a result of the political shift initiated in 2015.

МОВНИЙ ПОРТРЕТ ПОЛЯКА В РОМАНІ «ВОГНЕМ І МЕЧЕМ» ГЕНРИКА СЕНКЕВИЧА

The article analyses the linguistic portrait of a Pole in Henryk Sienkiewicz’ novel “With Fire and Sword”. The usage of rycerz, żołnierze, kniaź, as well as substantive word combinations rycerski honor i sumienie, wielka sława rycerska, honoru i wszystkich cnót rycerskich are determined, which expand the fiction-image paradigm of the simulated linguistic portrait. It was found that the productive means of creating a linguistic portrait of the characters include the names twarz, oblicze, oczy, wzrok. The actualization of such words testifies to the method of modeling an internal portrait of a person through the signs of external behavior and specific actions, which is indicative of the writer's linguistic thinking. The tone of figurative and metaphorical artistic portrayal of a person's inner world is typical of prose writer's individual style which leads to the activation of text structures with functionally loaded lexemes of soul and heart. The Pole’s linguistic portrait is modeled by the sayings, which are filled with the characteristics of decency and good manners, introduced among the people under the influence of Polish culture of that time. The conclusion that the concepts of chivalry and defending the homeland are central for understanding the philosophy of the Pole's linguistic portrait is made.

Dancing Polish Romanticism: Bronisława Niżyńska’s Chopin Concerto and the Balet Polski

This article analyses Bronisława Niżyńska’s leadership of the Balet Polski Reprezentacyjny’s (Polish Ballet Representative’s) inaugural 1937-1938 season as a study of the Second Polish Republic’s assertion of national identity. I analyse the ballet, Chopin Concerto, as a choreographic representation of Polish culture for the company’s international debut at the 1937 Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne in Paris, as well as how audiences in London and Paris perceived the choreographic representations of Poland. I preface the Balet Polski’s debut with analysis of the cultural geo-hierarchy that pervaded Europe’s post-imperial system in the interwar years. To do so, I foreground Europe’s cultural cartography with Larry Wolff’s conception of Europe as a continent divided between East and West, while also incorporating Pascale Casanova’s literary mapping of centre and periphery. Concurrently, I adopt choreographic analysis of Chopin Concerto to question canon and cultural hierarchies. The research framework delineates the difficulty Poland, as a new nation in the post-imperial system, faced in asserting its cultural presence.

Męczennica polskości i jej admiratorzy. Krytyka tradycyjnego modelu patriotyzmu w Matce Makrynie Jacka Dehnela

A Martyr of Polishness and Her Admirers: A Criticism of the Traditional Model of Patriotism in Matka Makryna by Jacek Dehnel The article is a case study of Jacek Dehnel’s novel Matka Makryna as an instrument for criticising the traditional model of patriotism. The object of analysis is the self-creation of the main character – a Russian officer’s widow who introduces herself as Mother Macrina, a superior of Basilian nuns in Minsk, oppressed by the Russians. Over time, she becomes “a martyr of Polishness,” a symbol of the suffering of Poles caused by the invader. Jacek Dehnel presents the supposed Macrina not only as a talented fabricator, but also as a personification of an antimodern, xenophobic image of Polishness. Closely linked to this image is the way of understanding patriotism based on an obsession with independence which continues to be cultivated in the present day. It is this traditional model of patriotism that is the main object of criticism in Dehnel’s novel. As a result, Mother Macrina gains a clear connection with contemporary Polish culture that is unique among other novelised biographies.

Mikołaj Rej i jego epoka po japońsku. Rozważania na marginesie książki ミコワイ・レイ氏の鏡と 動物園 [Zwierciadło i Zwierzyniec pana Mikołaja Reja

MIKOLAJ REJ AND HIS EPOCH (POLISH RENAISSANCE) IN JAPANESE: SEVERAL THOUGHTS CONCERNING THE BOOK ミコワイ・レイ氏の鏡と動物園. ZWIERCIADŁO I ZWIERZYNIEC PANA MIKOŁAJA REJA The article opens with remarks on Mikołaj Rej as outlined in Czesław Miłosz’s The History of Polish Literature, along with some observations on Rej’s language that became the material basis for the first grammatical description of the Polish language by Piotr Statorius-Stojeński in 1568. The next part of the article includes an outline of Professor Sekiguchi Tokimasa’s academic profile. Professor Sekiguchi is one of Japan’s foremost authorities in Polish Studies, as well as prolific writer and translator whose output includes translations of Rej’s literary legacy enclosed in the volume in question. The text also gives a detailed analysis of the original Japanese work, including its presentation of Mikołaj Rej as an author, but also commented fragments of his works: Speculum, Bestiary, Figliki (Facetiae), and The Image of a Good Man’s Life. The concluding part comments on Rej’s epoch which is commonly labeled “The Golden Age of Polish Culture”.

Émigrés on an émigré: Poetic portraits of Chopin

This article is devoted to analysis of the mechanisms behind the creation of the cultural image of Fryderyk Chopin in selected verse by twentieth-century Polish poets in exile, such as Kazimierz Wierzyński, Jan Lechoń, Stanisław Baliński and Czesław Miłosz. Verse (and excerpts from autobiographic texts) by those poets helps to forge and renew the ‘Chopin legend’ in various ways, through references to the most important moments in the composer’s biography and selected features of his music. From analysis of this verse, we learn that these poets looked at Chopin and his music primarily through the prism of the role assigned to them by history – similar to the role in which Chopin had tried to find his bearings a hundred years earlier on his departure from Poland. The attitude adopted by émigré writers towards Chopin and his music, representing one of the most important symbols in Polish culture, is not unequivocal. Its distinct affirmation is accompanied by reflection on the conditions and limitations of émigré mythology. The poems discussed show the significant currency in émigré circles especially of that aspect of the Chopin legend which refers to the image of a distant and enslaved homeland. That currency distinguishes the émigrés from their peers back home, who wished to see a different symbolism in Chopin and his music, especially one that was free from conventionalised patriotic references. This last observation may also be referred to the analysed poem by Miłosz, which from the proposed comparative perspective comes across as the reverse of the other works discussed in the article. An interesting perspective could no doubt be opened up by comparative studies of a broader scope, showing how this theme functioned and was functionalised in the output of foreign writers, within the constellation of other cultural, social and historical relations.

The poet of the piano in poetry: Chopin and Russian writers Miatlev, Fet, Severianin, Pasternak and Akhmatova

The popular designation ‘poet of the piano’ becomes more meaningful when we understand that poets consistently turn to Chopin’s life and music for literary inspiration. Chopin’s short life – filled with nostalgia, melancholy and pain – exemplifies the Romantic notion of the suffering artist and provides fertile ground for poetry. The power of Chopin’s music – and especially the emotion it evokes – is a constant theme in the large, cross-cultural literary output on Chopin. This article samples several poetic texts by both famous and lesser-known Russian writers: Ivan Miatlev (1796–1844), Afanasii Fet (1820–92), Igor’ Severianin (1887–1941), Boris Pasternak (1890–1960) and Anna Akhmatova (1889–1966). In the poems by Miatlev, Fet and Severianin, Chopin’s music becomes emblematic of passionate love, the most frequently encountered trope. In the poems by Pasternak and Akhmatova, that music takes on a tragic dimension. Pasternak’s poem features a musical genre that Chopin pioneered, and the allusions in the poem reflect the fate of the Polish nation in the nineteenth century. The epigraph and diction in Akhmatova’s poem convey trauma and personal suffering – with which Chopin was only too familiar. Although Russia imposed oppressive policies, it was also an admirer of Polish culture, with Russians publishing complete Chopin editions and producing paintings and poems featuring Chopin and his music. When analysing these poems, it becomes clear that the tendency to characterise the relationship between Poland and Russia as one of animosity does not explain the whole picture.

Cross-cultural adaptation of the Contextual Body Image Questionnaire for Athletes for young physically active Polish adults.

Individuals who are not professional and competitive athletes but who engage in regular (even daily) physical activity may experience a different body image in the context of physical activity compared with that in everyday life. The Contextual Body Image Questionnaire for Athletes (CBIQA) has been developed to assess aspects of body image within these two dimensions, but has not yet been validated in the Polish population. This study aimed to conduct a cross-cultural adaptation of the CBIQA for physically active Polish adults. The study sample comprised 90 young Polish adults (49 women and 41 men). All respondents regularly participated in recreational sports. The average age of the sample was 21.4 years. All participants engaged in physical activity at least 3 times per week. The average training experience was 8.6 years. A 3-phase study was conducted: 1) translation of the CBIQA for use in a Polish sample, 2) pretesting and cognitive debriefing, and 3) evaluation of the test-retest reliability. The test-retest interval was 7 days. Interclass correlation coefficients were calculated. The 1-week test- retest results (ICC) ranged from 0.83-0.94 in the daily life subscales and from 0.86-0.95 in the athletic subscales among all participants. The reliability of the CBIQA was high. The alpha value for the internal consistency of the translated and adapted instrument was 0.91. After the translation and cognitive interview, 3 sentences were reworded to adapt the instrument to Polish culture. The CBIQA exhibited a high tes-retest reliability and good validity for assessing daily and physical activity-related body image in a Polish population.

Jesuit Konstantinas Širvydas (Konstanty Szyrwid) and the Origins of Lithuanian Linguistics and Homiletics

Abstract Konstantinas Širvydas (Sirvydas, Szyrwid; c.1580–1631), a Jesuit of great merit to Lithuanian and Polish culture, little known outside his homeland, undertook and accomplished various important tasks that the Jesuits of the Lithuanian province set themselves from the very beginning of the establishment of the Vilnius Academy. Among them was the publication of the first Polish–Latin–Lithuanian dictionary (1620) and the first compilation of original sermons in Lithuanian and Polish: Punkty kazań/ Punktai sakymų (Points for sermons) (1629, 1644). The former served the purpose of teaching Lithuanian grammar and language, the latter laid down guidelines for Lithuanian priests on how to deliver sermons. He was also one of the first Jesuit lecturers in Scripture, a dedicated course initiated by theology professors at the Vilnius Academy. Some of his lectures were made available by his student, Adam Pęski (1592–1629) in a little-known notebook. This article analyzes Pęski’s notebook as an important insight into the origins of teaching Scripture at Jesuit universities.

Cudzoziemiec w polskim świecie. Kreacja podręcznikowego bohatera w kontekście kształcenia świadomości interkulturowej¬ – na przykładzie serii Start

The article analyses the image of a foreigner, a recurring protagonist in Start, which is a series of contemporary textbooks for teaching Polish as a foreign language for levels A0-A2. The analysis aims to reveal the extent to which his native cultural background, reflected in the social behaviour, habits, preferences and interests, expressed views and emotions, self-awareness of identity, values and reaction to the encounter with Polish culture, is taken into account in the way he is shown, and to what degree this character has been culturally “Polonized”. The authors conclude that the resource presents a rather ethnocentric point of view and, as such, might undermine the teachers’ efforts to develop intercultural awareness among students.

Queer Transgressions in Twentieth-Century Polish Fiction: Gender, Nation, Politics

Queer Transgressions in Twentieth-Century Polish Fiction: Gender, Nation, Politics

The Polish Wild West: Forced Migration and Cultural Appropriation in the Polish-German Borderlands, 1945–1948 [Polski dziki zachód. Przymusowe migracje i kulturowe oswajanie Nadodrza 1945–48

The Polish Wild West: Forced Migration and Cultural Appropriation in the Polish-German Borderlands, 1945–1948 [Polski dziki zachód. Przymusowe migracje i kulturowe oswajanie Nadodrza 1945–48