Best regards, Andrew Stewart
Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <h-rev...@lists.h-net.org> > Date: May 24, 2021 at 4:59:20 PM EDT > To: h-rev...@lists.h-net.org > Cc: H-Net Staff <revh...@mail.h-net.org> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-Poland]: Cieślak on Linkiewicz, 'Lokalność i > nacionalizm: Społeczności wiejskie w Galicji Wschodniej w dwudziestoleciu > międzywojennym' > Reply-To: h-rev...@lists.h-net.org > > Olga Linkiewicz. Lokalność i nacionalizm: Społeczności > wiejskie w Galicji Wschodniej w dwudziestoleciu międzywojennym. > Krakow Universitas, 2018. 362 pp. 39.00 zl (paper), ISBN > 978-83-242-3415-8. > > Reviewed by Marta Cieślak (UA Little Rock) > Published on H-Poland (May, 2021) > Commissioned by Anna Muller > > Olga Linkiewicz's _Lokalność i nacjonalizm: Społeczności wiejskie > w Galicji Wschodniej w dwudziestoleciu międzywojennym_ (Locality and > nationalism: Rural communities in Eastern Galicia during the interwar > period) poses the question of to what extent the concept of national > identity took root in the rural communities of Poland's eastern > borderlands during the interwar period. Shortly after World War I, > William Thomas and Florian Znaniecki famously argued that "the Polish > peasant" had no sense of national consciousness, although the two > pioneer sociologists lamented that fact rather than aspired to learn > what it said about "the Polish peasant," the contemporary > countryside, or national consciousness as a fundament of one's > identity. Linkiewicz is interested in all these questions. Her book > follows not Thomas and Znaniecki but the path paved by Eugen Weber's > _Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France, > 1870-1914_ (1976) to inquire into when and how nations truly become > nations, or when and how communities gain the collective or nearly > universal sense of national consciousness. Focusing on Eastern > Galicia during the interwar period, _Lokalność i nacjonalizm_ > concludes that despite the amassed efforts of Polish and Ukrainian > nationalists, the local peasantry remained largely resistant to, > although certainly not unaffected by, the idea that they should > choose a side of the ongoing Polish-Ukrainian conflict and loyally > adopt one national consciousness. > > Linkiewicz examines three voivodships (_województwa_) of Eastern > Galicia, Lvov, Tarnopol (today Ternopil), and Stanisławów (today > Ivano-Frankivsk) particularly after 1923, when the Conference of > Ambassadors of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers decided > that Eastern Galicia would fall under the administrative control of > the Polish state. The author considers this decision to be a turning > point in the ongoing battle between Polish and Ukrainian > nationalists, who had been fighting for the souls of rural Eastern > Galicians long before 1923. But in 1923, Linkiewicz argues, all > individuals and organizations involved in the propagation of their > particular nationalist agendas had to face a new key political > actor--the Polish state. The Polish state's actual, potential, and > imagined influence was now animating the actions of both Polish and > Ukrainian nationalists, who, Linkiewicz writes, "expected from the > residents of the countryside to demonstrate a loyal (or > preferably--patriotic) attitude towards the Polish and Ukrainian > nations respectively" (p. 6). > > This expectation was a response to the lived experience of the rural > and small-town residents of Eastern Galicia, who rarely > self-identified in national terms. The region was at the time defined > by what we today simplistically refer to as cultural diversity but > what in reality was not people representing diverse cultural > characteristics (language, religion, ethnicity, etc.) living next to > each other or even together but rather people living in the world of > blurred and fluid cultural boundaries. Switching between religious > institutions, languages, or customs depending on social > circumstances, needs, and preferences was a norm rather than an > exception for a large number of rural Eastern Galicians during the > interwar period. Linkiewicz is interested in how that cultural > fluidity changed and to what extent it was replaced by more rigid > national categories, when the popularization of the idea of the > modern nation turned particularly intense. The book also responds to > the common scholarly representation of Eastern Galicia as "a > territory characterized by a strong presence of a sense of national > consciousness." This claim, Linkiewicz notes, confuses the robust > presence of particularly the Ukrainian nationalist movement in > Eastern Galicia with its actual impact on local populations. The > author concludes that while self-identified, or "conscious," > Ukrainians were more numerous in Eastern Galicia than in Polesie or > Volhynia, this does not mean that "the peasantry _en masse_ supported > Ukrainian independence aspirations and consciously shared the ideas > propagated by the [Ukrainian] national movement" (p. 9). > > _Lokalność i nacjonalizm _is divided into three parts, with each > focusing on one larger aspect of rural life targeted by the efforts > of contemporary nationalists. Part 1, "Locality," investigates how > the peasantry of Eastern Galicia self-identified but also how rural > Eastern Galicians understood identities of individuals around them. > The complex world of fluid cultural categories that the villages of > Eastern Galicia constituted was affected by factors that Linkiewicz > reminds us were not unique to the interwar period or to Eastern > Galicia. Just like in other historical eras and places, identity in > rural Eastern Galicia was a dynamic concept shaped only partially by > the almost binary opposition of cultural fluidity and rigid > nationalism. Other factors had an equally important or even more > consequential impact on defining rural identities. Those included > settlement patterns, transcultural diffusion, and acculturation, but > also the contemporary communist movement as well as rural and urban > popular culture. > > A significant section of part 1 is devoted to the examination of the > fluidity of religious identities among the two largest denominations > in the area, Roman Catholics and Greek Catholics. Linkiewicz's > research suggests, at least to some extent, that it would be > inaccurate to talk about two separate religious groups, even if > census takers required individuals to determine one's religion and > most formally claimed one or the other. In reality, rural Catholics > in Eastern Galicia often made religion-related choices based as much > on family decisions as on simple practicalities (for example, which > house of worship was closer) or appeal factors (for example, the > perceived attractiveness of the Eastern rite). That, however, did not > mean that religious boundaries in general were endlessly porous. > Roman and Greek Catholics intermarried, mixed and matched customs, > and participated in events and services organized in both Roman and > Greek Catholic houses of worship. But in addition to recognizing > their Jewish fellow villagers as different and separate, a phenomenon > so obvious that Linkiewicz only mentions it, both Roman and Greek > Catholics lived lives that also separated them from their neighbors, > who belonged to the Eastern Orthodox Church. "A line of division," > Linkiewicz writes of Roman and Greek Catholics on the one hand and > Eastern Orthodox villagers on the other, was "clear and socially > significant" (p. 59). Simultaneously, choices around religion could > serve as a badge of national identity, also in the eyes of those who > themselves did not self-identify in national terms. One of the > characteristics of those individuals whom rural communities perceived > as ascribing to national identities was in fact refusal to cross > religious boundaries. Local residents conflated national categories > with rigid religious identities, as if the two were symptomatic of > each other. Drawing from comments made by local residents in > ethnographic interviews, Linkiewicz concludes, "_The real Pole_ did > not go to the Eastern Orthodox church and _the_ _hardcore Ukrainian_ > did not appear at the [Catholic] church" (p. 76). > > Part 2, "School," focuses on what the author considers to be the > institution that triggered "the most fundamental changes in the > social situation of communities and in the residents' attitudes," > despite the widespread unwillingness of rural parents to send their > children to school (p. 10). Although parental attitudes toward public > universal education changed between the first and the second interwar > decade, several factors contributed to consistently low enrollment > and attendance rates, including labor demands, financial difficulties > experienced by rural families, and the parents' belief that school > introduced a system of values that directly competed with the > authority of the family. None of that changed the fact that schools > were the centers of nationalist propaganda, particularly after the > 1926 May Coup, when "patriotic, religious, and national values > education" dominated the curriculum (p. 145). At the center of > nationalist tensions in schools was the requirement, introduced by a > 1924 bill known commonly as _Lex Grabski_, to select the language of > instruction via a cyclical plebiscite. Nearly all segments of rural > population, regardless of their age and personal experience with > education, were affected by tensions and conflicts that _Lex Grabski > _produced. Linkiewicz argues that for many rural residents, it was > precisely the plebiscite, or the externally imposed requirement to > declare one language, that made national or ethnic categories the > tangible aspect of their daily experience. The fact that the issue of > the language choice was also attached to an institution seen as the > competition and opposition to the traditional family-based world > order only added fuel to the fire. Linkiewicz concludes that "for > many communities, the plebiscite became the key moment constituting a > clear step towards a new order of the differentiation of the social > reality, including the creation of the structure of divisions based > on ethnic factors" (p. 186). > > Part 3, "Politics," examines the impact of local and national > politics on the life of the countryside. The author sheds light on > how nationalism was promoted and propagated through the actions of > Polish state institutions as well as Ukrainian national > organizations. Linkiewicz notes the obvious presence of national > symbols at all patriotic festivities, although after 1926, the Józef > Piłsudski regime not only popularized the cult of Piłsudski himself > but also propagated the myth of harmony between Poles and Ukrainians. > Not surprisingly, formal state events and festivals became the > breeding ground of national conflict. Poles were promoting a certain > vision of national order, while Ukrainian nationalists used such > events as an opportunity to counter-manifest the Polish vision of the > (Polish) nation. In addition, the recurrent Polish claim of "the > civilizational superiority" over Ukrainians produced the expected > resistance among Ukrainian nationalists (p. 265). As part 3 focuses > specifically on the political life of Eastern Galician villages, it > also highlights the most obvious examples of the promotion of > national symbols, narratives, and identities. That, however, does not > mean that the peasanty were eager consumers of such nationalist > propaganda. Most initiatives to propagate nationalist agendas, > Linkiewicz argues, were schematic and full of patriotic pathos hardly > tailored to the rural audience. The patriotic message appealed to the > local intelligentsia and, to some extent, the younger generation but > it did not sweep the countryside of Eastern Galicia. One of the most > fascinating conclusions emerging from part 3 is that the members of > what Linkiewicz calls "mixed communities" saw the borderlands as a > place of conflict, tensions, and confrontations not only between > competing nationalist and political agendas but also between the > local peasantry, the Polish state, and the local agents of various > Polish and Ukrainian national organizations (p. 299). This narrative > undermines what Linkiewicz notes is the interwar image of Poland's > eastern borderlands as an idyllic place free of conflict that > dominates particularly in memoirs and autobiographies created by > Polish authors. > > Linkiewicz, who is an ethnographer by training, uses an impressive > array of sources to produce a rich interdisciplinary work in the > spirit of the interdisciplinary field of nationalism studies. In > addition to traditional archival documents and published sources, she > draws from ethnographic interviews that she and her students > conducted in the late 1990s and early 2000s with individuals born > before the outbreak of World War II on the territories under > investigation. The combination of institutional archival collections, > press, statistical data, published documents, and interviews produces > a narrative that succeeds in creating a distinction between the > ongoing attempts to nationalize the rural populations of Eastern > Galicia and the actual response of those populations to the > nationalization efforts without avoiding some complicated spaces in > between. _Lokalność i nacjonalizm_ illuminates both the power and > the futility of nationalism at the borderlands of interwar Poland. > Was national identity the primary mode of identification in the > countryside of Eastern Galicia before World War II? Far from it. It > was community ties, group norms, and values derived from popular > religion and common cosmology that formed the foundation of how rural > residents of Eastern Galicia explained natural, social, and political > phenomena and how they framed their own identities. But were the > efforts of nationalists--whether Polish or Ukrainian--in the area > completely futile? Absolutely not. The intensified activism of > nationalists during the interwar period constantly sharpened > divisions and undermined the fluidity of identities and practices > rooted in the customs and reality of the borderlands. > > Another key contribution of Linkiewicz's important book is that it > implicitly dismisses a difference between patriotism and nationalism. > Throughout the book, Linkiewicz subtly yet consistently resists the > traditional distinction between "good" patriotism and "bad" > nationalism. Neither does she provide any explicit assessment of > nationalism. Instead, she presents her evidence in a systematic > manner to demonstrate that national categories, although always > introduced ostensibly to create order, produced messy conflicts. That > was because in Eastern Galicia during the interwar period, like in > other places and across historical eras, they were introduced into > the world whose fluidity and blurred cultural boundaries, although > seemingly chaotic and elusive, made perfect sense and stemmed from > centuries of practice. This is not to sentimentalize the world before > the victory of rigid national categories. In fact, Linkiewicz makes > it clear that it was a world of conflict and tensions too, even if > not necessarily of national or ethnic nature. > > One weakness of this important book is the author's reliance on > national and ethnic categories to describe the world that perhaps > escapes such description. While Linkiewicz proves repeatedly that > rural and small-town Eastern Galicia during the interwar period > cannot be described in national or ethnic categories, she also > repeatedly uses them in her analysis. On the one hand, we learn that > Greek Catholics and Roman Catholics freely mixed and matched elements > of both denominations, that villagers of various religious > backgrounds applied the tenets of popular staunchly non-national > cosmology to explain the world around them, and that individuals > constantly shifted between languages depending on social > circumstances. On the other hand, Linkiewicz writes that "Ukrainians, > Poles, Jews, more rarely Germans and polonized Armenians" inhabited > Eastern Galicia, as if it was, in fact, easy to categorize the local > populations using these national/ethnic categories (p. 7). Perhaps > this demonstrates less Linkiewicz's inconsistencies and more the > limitations of her sources as well as our widespread inability to > describe an experience that does not fit into our national mindsets. > Thus this is not to criticize Linkiewicz but rather to ask whether we > even have a precise language to describe the world before _nation_ > became the fundamental unit of human organization, even if we still > struggle to define what _nation_ really is. > > Linkiewicz herself alludes to this issue, when she notes some > misunderstandings in the scholarship that attempted to classify > Eastern Galicians in national terms, when a sense of national > consciousness was simply absent among the local populations. And yet > she also occasionally falls into the same trap. Perhaps the most > obvious example of this issue is the author's recurrent > interchangeable use of _Rusyn_ (ruski/Rusin) and _Ukrainian_ (for > example, pp. 35, 45, 47, 280). This gets even more complicated when > Linkiewicz discusses how local residents used these terms in their > own recollections of the past. In these conversations, Linkiewicz > notes, _Rusyn_ and _Ukrainian_, both as nouns and adjectives, are > often used interchangeably and in any context. However, if an > interlocutor describes a demonstration of nationalism and the general > radicalization of national attitudes, they always choose the term > _Ukrainian_. It gets even more complicated when the author claims > that blurred boundaries between _Polish_ and _Rusyn_ was part of the > daily life in rural Eastern Galicia, perhaps most clearly illustrated > by the use of both languages and shifting freely between the two > depending on circumstances. At the same time, Linkiewicz points out > that ethnographic studies suggest that divisions between what was > _Polish_ and what was _Rusyn_ were more visible than ethnographic > interviews would suggest. Again, the limitations of sources > (ethnographic studies versus ethnographic interviews) and the > confines of our language are palpable. Are we even able to describe a > world in which nationality and ethnicity are not the foundational > blocks of our identities? The fact that Linkiewicz's book forces us > to think of this question is sufficient evidence that it is necessary > reading for anyone interested in how we ended up in a place where we > struggle to conceptualize either our world or the world of the past > without constantly tripping over the inevitability of _nation_ and > _national identities_. > > Citation: Marta Cieślak. Review of Linkiewicz, Olga, _Lokalność > i nacionalizm: Społeczności wiejskie w Galicji Wschodniej w > dwudziestoleciu międzywojennym_. H-Poland, H-Net Reviews. May, 2021. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=54154 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#8731): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/8731 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/83063092/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: marxmail+ow...@groups.io Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [arch...@mail-archive.com] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
