TRATEGIE ADAPTACYJNE PRZEDSTAWICIELI MŁODEGO POKOLENIA MNIEJSZOŚCI LITEWSKIEJ W POLSCE PO MIGRACJI EDUKACYJNEJ NA LITWĘ
Adaptation Strategies of the Young Generation of the Lithuanian Minority in Poland After Educational Migration to Lithuania

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the article is to explore the adaptation strategies adopted by the young generation of the lithuanian minority in Poland after educational migration to lithuania. The analysis is based on 55 in-depth interviews with biographical elements, conducted between 2012–2014 among representatives of the researched group. in the first part of the text i explain the specificity of this type of mobility and challenges related to it. Then, I distinguish two strategies of adaptation – ‘minority group-oriented’ and ‘foreign homeland-oriented’. The attitude towards the community of origin (the minority group in Sejny region) and towards the host community (lithuanian society) are the criteria to identify them. The first strategy aims to recreate the well-known social world in the new circumstances and to strengthen its borders. Maintaining relationships mostly within the own group and remaining active in the local lithuanian community in Sejny region are its key elements. The second strategy is focused on immersing in a new socio-cultural reality, while maintaining ties with the community of origin. Expanding networks of interaction and changing ways of participation in the community of origin are its main pillars. I also discuss the circumstances which favor the adoption of a speci c strategy, such as time of migration, stage of the individual’s biography, and place of origin. Moreover, i indicate the transnational potential of both strategies and as a consequence, the opportunity to perceive the lithuanian minority in Poland from a different perspective – not as a strongly territorialized group, but as a trans-border community.

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