A discussion on democratic culture in Poland since the end of Communism

11 kwietnia, 2014

TOWARDS A NEW DEMOCRATIC CULTURE IN POLAND

On April 24-26, the Harriman Center at Columbia University will host the annual convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities - the only scholarly association devoted to the study of ethnicity and nationalism around the world.

Four leading experts on Polish culture and identity will lead a discussion on democratic culture in Poland since the end of Communism. At a time when Poland\'s strong economy and civil society make it one of the most successful post-Communist countries, there is still a strong sense of cultural division in Poland. Segments of society challenge the very legitimacy of the governing system, and political exploitation of these cultural divisions is widespread. At the same time, the so-called cultural canon (the people, events and artifacts that form the core of shared cultural identity) is moving away from the artistic and towards the historical and political, drawing the physical sites of Polish history into the political and cultural war over national identity. What are the implications of this division for democracy in Poland?

Prof. Andrzej Szpocinski, Dr. Xymena Bukowska and Dr. Barbara Markowska of the Department of Sociology at Collegium Civitas in Warsaw will be joined on the panel by Prof. Jan Kubik of the Department of Political Science at Rutgers University. Chairing will be Dr. Katarzyna Iwinska, Vice Rector of Scientific Research at Collegium Civitas.

Dr. Katarzyna Iwinska (Co-chair) is an assistant professor at the Institute of Sociology and is Vice Rector of Academic Research at Collegium Civitas. Her research focuses on civil society, civic action in the public sphere and participatory democracy.

Prof. Jan Kubik is a Professor and Chair in the Department of Political Science at Rutgers University, and a Recurring Visiting Professor of Sociology at the Centre for Social Studies at the Polish Academy of Sciences. He uses ethnographic methods to research culture and politics, the politics of protest and social movements, regime change and democratization. His latest book is Twenty Years After Communism: The Politics of Memory and Commemoration, co-edited with Michael Bernhard (forthcoming).

Prof. Andrzej Szpocinski is a Professor at the Institute of Political Sciences of the Polish Academy of Science and the Institute of Sociology at Collegium Civitas. He conducts long-term research on Polish cultural memory, cultural canons and their role in public discourse, media, education and the arts.

Dr. Xymena Bukowska is an assistant professor in the Institute of Sociology at Collegium Civitas. She researches civil society, political discourse (including hate-speech), and political culture at the national and local levels, and the problem of cultural capital, particularly in borderland communities.

Dr. Barbara Markowska is an assistant professor at the Institute of Sociology at Collegium Civitas. Her research focuses on the transformation of the public sphere, discourse analysis, the relationship between collective memory and national identity, and the political impact of critical social theory. She is an expert at the Centre for Communities and Local Policies and sits on the editorial board of the academic journal Zoon Politikon. She is currently researching the role of monasteries in Polish cultural memory.

ASN brings together researchers, analysts and practitioners from more than 50 countries to discuss issues around nationality and nationalism in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Its annual World Convention at Columbia University provides a unique opportunity to understand contemporary challenges facing these regions.

This event is co-presented by the Association for the Study of Nationalities, Columbia University\'s Harriman Institute and the Polish Cultural Institute New York.