La «Pologne Populaire»: genèse et signification de la notion. Une page de l’histoire de la formation d’une modernité périphérique
The concept of “People’s Poland”: its genesis and meaning. A page in the history of the formation of a peripheral modernity

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the paper is to consider the concept of “People’s Poland,” which was coined and developed by representatives of the so-called Great Emigration, small emigration and (to a certain degree) in the Polish territories (1830s–1870s). Basing on the methodological categories of conceptual history, in our work we formulate three theses. Firstly, we consider “People’s Poland” as a historiosophical category which creates an asymmetrical pair of counter-concepts with “Noble Poland.” Secondly, we note that “People’s Poland” was also used as a label for an existing people’s class, and in this sense it served to create a new political subject. And thirdly, we point out that the concept of “People’s Poland” supported the formation of a common identity by the Polish Leftists of that time. In general, this article likewise can be treated as a contribution to the studies on the semantic continuity of the Polish Left and on the genealogy of the language of Stalinism in the 20th century.

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