Gdzie jest ten Śląsk?
The term “Śląsk” (Silesia) has been used at least since the 9th century to describe the land spread in the upper and middle Odra, which was inhabited by Slavic tribes that were dominant at least since the 7th century.
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The term “Śląsk” (Silesia) has been used at least since the 9th century to describe the land spread in the upper and middle Odra, which was inhabited by Slavic tribes that were dominant at least since the 7th century.
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How many internal borders within the “Silesian slang” (dialect, language in statu nascendi)?
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Throughout its history Hungary has always been in a vulnerable geopolitical situation which induced large groups to leave, and also to enter, the country. Both welcoming foreigners as well as forcing emigrations have traditions in Hungarian history. The article surveys this dual legacy and its lessons from István I, the first king of Hungary (1000 – 1038) to the current patterns of migrations. Most émigré Hungarians were leaving their homeland because of political or religious persecution, and unemployment. The nature of most of this emigration, however, has been closer to the Gasterbeiter patterns of the 1960s and 1970s. Those who came to Hungary were often invited as additional laborforce after major foreign invasions. The article addresses some of the crucial issues of contemporary xenophobia, racism, and anti-foreignism in Hungary as well as the push and pull factors in the European Union today.
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István Széchenyi is one of the few historical figures that every Hungarian knows something about, regardless of school qualification. Most would, however, say the overused phrase that he was “the greatest Hungarian”. Most Hungarians who visit Budapest will encounter the visible products of his activity pursued for the ascent of Hungary, for example the building of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences or the Chain Bridge. It is also common knowledge that he did not share the same opinion in several important matters regarding the future of Hungary with Lajos Kossuth, the leader of the 1848 – 1849 Revolution and the War of Independence. Even today, Hungarian academics are still divided between those who agree with Széchenyi’s reform plans that were to “proceed slowly and with care”, and those who favour Kossuth’s revolutionary, passionate and fiercely innovative proposals. However, the general public are not fully aware of their long debate concerning many important questions of their time and that they are partly still relevant today, neither do we know most of his activity as a public writer. With the exception of his most significant political writings (Hitel ‘Credit’, Világ ‘Light’, Stádium) and his Diary, people may not even be able to mention any more titles. He dedicated several writings to the ethnic question that was the second most important matter after our relationship with Austria, and in which Széchenyi held a markedly different viewpoint from Kossuth’s. In his conviction, this question was of decisive importance and it put limits on our pursuit of independence.
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Though many scholars have referenced Joan Scott as the earliest Gypsy in North America, thanks to a 1695 Henrico County Virginia court record identifying her as “an Egiptian and noe Xtian woman,” none have explored her life further. Despite this, an examination of the fornication charge against Scott suggests much about her life. Scott entered the colony twenty years before her fornication charge and while unmarried bore a child whose father the court considered a man of color. In these ways, Scott’s life appears similar to her contemporaries. Yet, in other ways Scott’s experience differed. By allowing the court to believe in her Gypsy identity and non-Christian religion she worked the court in her favor and saw her case dismissed. When historicized and contextualized, the meager details known about Joan Scott enhance our understanding of the colonial American Gypsy experience and contribute to a broader American historical narrative.
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The Roma/Gypsies are the largest, poorest and youngest ethnic group in Europe. During the past decade, the Roma from Central and Eastern Europe were of considerable public concern due to a large inflow of Roma emigrants into Western European countries. Applications for international protection submitted by the Roma from the Western Balkans became a substantial part of the asylum case-load at the EU level. More recently, however, a new wave of migrants, mostly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, has found its way to Europe. As Serbia is classified as a safe country, Serbian nationals have limited chances of being awarded refugee status. Nevertheless undeterred, the Serbian Roma/Gypsies continue to travel to and apply for asylum in Western European countries. Using data from original fieldwork conducted among Serbian Roma women, we argue that their desire to travel and possibly reside in one of the more affluent Western European countries is connected to the fact that they have extensive kinship ties in those counties. Kinship ties, in brief, explain much of current Roma migration practices.
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Canakkale city centre has been home for many different ethnicities from the past to our present day. In time, the city centre was also defined as a protected area due to its historical and cultural value. However, major infrastructure, urban renewal, and transformation projects have emerged in the agendas of both public authorities and the private sector. Similar to the rest of the world, in Turkey, Romani people are amongst the first groups to face the discriminating and excluding effects of such projects. This study aims to explore the relationship between gentrification and the violation of Romani people’s ‘right to the city’ with a focus on the Romani neighbourhood of Fevzipasa, Canakkale.
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An independent Gypsy and policy project inspired unexpected controversy from both the Research Centre and State. Committed to ethnographic long-term fieldwork, the anthropologist eventually succeeded in living on Gypsy sites. She was guided by key individuals- here recalled, celebrated and contextualized. These Associates were all literate in a then largely non-literate culture. As intermediaries, they could point to specific challenges across the cultural divide. The future author, wherever possible, hoped to reciprocate their gifts of knowledge and know-how. Select readings of early “Gypsiologists” and pioneering anthropologists proved insightful. Countering populist stereotypes in the dominant majority society, all the Gypsies encountered in fieldwork were protectors of that young woman. This was in contrast to a few maverick outsiders, invariably from other disciplines, who seemingly resented a female intruder on “their” territory and specialism.EDITORS' NOTE: This is a revised version of the paper following a minor editorial redaction dated 20/06/2017.
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The main subject of this historical study is Czechoslovak reactions to the Polish crisis of the early 1980s. The author primarily looks at the position of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, the activities of the security apparatus, the position of the Polish minority, Polish stereotypes and the opposition movement’s view of the Polish crisis. Representatives of the Communist Party feared the spreading of the Polish „infection“, the worsening of the financial situation and the repeated system crises seen at the end of the 1960s. For that reason, they engaged in long-term criticism of the leadership of the Polish United Workers’ Party and backed the violent halting of the Solidarity „carnival“. In December 1980, on the basis of orders from Warsaw Pact leadership, selected units of the Czechoslovak People’s Army were put on battle alert for several days. Gradually, tourist travel between the two states was limited, although it was fully renewed in 1981. Within the framework of various operations (the biggest was named „North“ and took place in the years 1981–1984), the security apparatus attempted to restrict unofficial contacts, particularly between opposition and religious activists. They also closely monitored members of the Polish minority. As part of the operation „Circle“ the State Security implemented a slew of preventative measures and created plans to suppress any strikes held at industrial plants. The official Czechoslovak media launched an extensive propaganda campaign criticising the activities of Solidarity and reinforcing „anti-Polish“ stereotypes among the domestic society. Developments in Poland gave encouragement to the fragmented Czechoslovak opposition movement and religious activists. Charter 77 monitored the situation in the neighbouring state with interest and its spokespersons expressed support for Solidarity in a number of documents.
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The aim of this paper is to based on archival materials kept in the Croatian State Archives (materials of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Croatia (CK SKH) and Matica hrvatska) and extensive literature and memoirs of participants of the given period, partially explain complex national relations in socialist Yugoslavia, as well as the standpoint of leadership of CK SKH and Croatian intelligentsia, within and outside of Matica hrvatska, in the 1960s and early 1970s of the 20th century in relation to the formation of a new Muslim nation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the position of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Yugoslavia.
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This article examines how the contributions of feminist moral philosophy and the ethic of care can advance an understanding of precarious work through an empirical analysis of migrant and minority ethnic workers’ experiences in private older-age care. This article analyses care workers’ bodily and emotional labour and provides insights into processes of work intensification. The ‘epistemic privilege’ of migrant and minority ethnic care workers’ voices reveals furthermore the vulnerabilities that characterize patterns of social reproduction that rely on an unequal distribution of care responsibilities within society. The findings presented rely on doctoral research, which drew upon 81 interviews with migrant and minority ethnic care workers in London, Paris, and Madrid.
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The aim of this article is to present the life of the Bosniak community in the Republic of Kosovo, the Bosniaks in the region of Prizren in particular, through the available records and through the first-hand insight into the present situation on the ground. Thus we intend to offer in one document a number of the analysis, carried out earlier that are dealing with this topic with the view of the identity and political and social life of Kosovo Bosniaks also reflecting upon their education and the language issues. The method used in this research is the analysis of the available records concerning the problems of this population as well as through the interviews and personal insight into the situation on the ground.
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The main aim of this article is to show how changes in the political and legal system taking place in Poland in recent decades have contributed to the presence of national and ethnic minorities in the public space of the country, as well as how the different minorities could or were able to use the favourable formal and legal transformations. The huge disparity in various manifestations of this public presence (bilingual names of places, offices, schools, the use of an auxiliary language, social and political activity, education, historical heritage) between nationalities is caused by many diverse reasons. Certainly, the favorable factors include the relatively large size and territorial concentration, but the activity shown by activists and local communities, as well as the internal integration of communities may also be considered decisive factors. It is owing to these circumstances, that some of the so-called historical used legal changes to become permanent parts of the public space in Poland.
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At the beginning of the twenty-first century, it was a huge surprise for many Poles that over 173 thousand people declared in the National Census that their nationality was Silesian, not recognised by Polish legislation and not present in the collective consciousness. This article has the following goals: analysis of the geographic-political and geopolitical conditions of the shaping of Silesian identity; explanation of the reasons that made one of many regional groups living in Poland – the Silesians – unable to find their place within a larger nation; identification of the components of a sense of group identity of Silesians and definition of the institutional forms of its expression; definition of the character and social reach of the discussion concerning the transformations of ethnic structure in Poland exemplified by the emancipation ambitions of Silesians; answering the question: is Silesian nationality against Polish nationality or does it enrich it? The sense of Silesian national autonomy was shaped as a result of territorial, political and economic references to historical “big homelands” and the “small homeland” of Silesia and its history, marked by changing national affiliation and the resulting cultural influences of three main nations - Poles, Germans and Czechs. These three cultures most often overlapped their influences in the eastern part of the province, i.e. in Upper Silesia. While the western area (Lower Silesia) found itself quite quickly under the political and administrative influence of Bohemia and Germany, Upper Silesia remained under Polish rule for longer. But the memory of this multi-generational and multinational legacy that formed the unique circumstances of the region based on the potential of coal and other resources allowed for maintaining the emotional, cultural and, above all, genealogical relationship with the community shaped by the coexistence of Poles that have been here for centuries and immigrating Germans. In the context of national aspirations of Silesians, we should realise that a nation is not a permanent structure. Nations form and die. Besides, the survival of “Silesian nation” is not sure. Therefore, the fear of all those tightly clutching the permanence of the structure of Polish nation seems ungrounded and stems from the lack of awareness of historical processes that various kinds of communities, including national communities undergo. As the results of the latest census have shown, Silesians feel different from Poles, Germans and Czechs, while also feeling Silesian and Polish at the same time.
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One of the main problems brought by the increasing refugee and immigration problems in the world and Turkey in recent years is the widespread migration workforce working in informal sectors. Especially in Turkey, the agriculture sector is gaining a new character where cheap labor from various regions and countries such as Southeast, Georgia and Syria is increasingly important, instead of producing based on family labor. This situation brings about a great transformation in the labor characteristics of tea and hazelnut farming in the Black Sea as it is in other parts of Turkey. While the cheap migrant labor is increasing in production the agricultural areas of the Black Sea are becoming places where different countries and ethnic belongings like Kurds, Georgians and Syrians come together. In this study,the interactions between labor and ethnic contact, encounter and dissociation processes of this workforce were discussed. It has been found that perceptions, discourses and practices related to the processes of ethnicity as well as class positions shape the disadvantages that the migrant workforce is exposed to.
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This paper will be an attempt to explain changes in ethnic votes by focusing at local political activities of political parties and relating them to theories of ethnic solidarity. It will try to demonstrate how perceived discrimination and intergroup polarization affect the ability of the AKP to form permanent channels of communication among citizens of Kurdish origin, making their incorporation in the political network of the party more difficult. Within this respect, the study will mainly analyze whether AKP’s local organization characteristics and activities changes across districts that are different in terms of the discrimination the Kurdish citizens faces. To test the hypothesis, field research has been effectuated in major neighborhoods of Beyoğlu and Sancaktepe which diverges in terms of perceived discrimination indicators among residents of Kurdish origin.
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Modern nation-states have increasingly encountered with the ethnic identity problems from the 1990’s on, when the Cold War ended. Minority issues, which were conventionally regarded as internal affairs of nation-states, then became an important issue for international organizations, too. In this discourse, the demand that minorities should be educated in their mother languages entered official documents emphatically. Concerning Turkey, the demand for mother language education for the Kurds has been expressed by the separatist political milieu, the EU, and some academicians claiming to search for solutions in accordance with liberal values. Turkish is not a foreign language to the individuals belonging to Kurdish ethnicity. There has not been any autonomous Kurdish administration, too, that may be a source for reference to their ethnic minority status. Thus, it is viewed here that the demands for education in Kurdish mother language are not consistent with the social reality.
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Article is analyzing impact of ninth parliamentary elections in Montenegro, held in October 2012. In its focus is impact of changes of electoral law which were dominantly treating issues of gender and minority representation. Article is also analyzing impact of the new comeback of Mr Đukanović, ex and new prime minister.
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This article evaluates the effects of regional and non-regional countries on Kurdish movement against its opposition to the central government. It argues that the conditions that lead Kurdish movement emerged, its success in articulating its political demands, and its enforcement on central government to accept and recognise them are to a great extend dependent on the external dynamics. Thus, the article focuses on how the external dynamics reconstructs Kurdish identity, ascends the level of political demands of Kurds, and leads to integration and dispersion of its opposition to the central government. In this context, the scope of the research covers the period between the onset of the British influence in Iraq in 1917, and one of the most important breaking points of the Kurdish movement in 1975.
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For almost 30 years, Turkey has been passing through a vicious circle of violence and the war led between the Turkish army and the Kurdish separatist militants in the Southeast of the country could not reach to an end. One of the reasons of this violent circle is the assimilation and oppression policies that Turkish state has applied over the Kurds since the foundation of the Turkish Republic, and the second one is the gravitation of the Kurdish political movement to violence as a result of those oppressive and assimilative politics. In the construction of the Kurdish identity, the Turkish identity has played a major role since the Kurdish identity has been shaped by the construction of the Turkish one within the nationstate project of the Turkish state. It is possible to affirm that the policies which resulted from this shaping and the long-term repercussions of these are important factors to explain the escalating violence that Turkey has been facing especially after the Coup of 1980.
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