Sram od zaostalosti: simbolička konstrukcija Europe u poljskom tisku
The Shame of Backwardness: Symbolic Construction of Europe in Polish Press

Summary/Abstract: In this essay the author attempts to outline the cultural mechanisms involved in the construction of Europe in Polish press. The main part of the text is devoted to the period between 1998 and 2002 when the accession negotiations between Poland and the EU were in progress. This part is supplemented by observations on how discursive representations of Europe in Poland have changed after the accession to the EU in May 2004. The references to shame in press texts devoted to Europe and European integration were frequent. Thus this category has been placed at the centre of the analysis and theorized in sociological, psychological and semiotic terms. The essay focuses on the texts, which express the attitudes towards Europe in terms of shame of Polish cultural practices, politics and social realities (Trybuna, Polityka). The main argument is that these discursive strategies are aimed at shortening the symbolic distance separating Poland from Europe. They contribute to the redefinition of boundaries between Poland and Europe by means of incorporating European components into the definition of Polishness and simultaneous exclusion of "backward Polish" components. At the same time, the shaming strategies are engaged in the bottom-up processes of symbolic creation of the common European space. In this case the mass communication messages are not only informing or constructing public opinion. Importantly, they play a ritual function.

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