Life writing competitions. Memoir-writing practices in Poland in the 20th century. Part 3: Memoirs of Emigrants

elective courses
general courses

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The seminar will be devoted to the phenomenon of Polish memoir competitions in the 20th century (especially in the interwar period). This phenomenon, both when it comes to its quality and quantity, is impressive not only in the scope of Poland, but also on an international scale. Memoir-writing competitions have greatly contributed to increase of our knowledge about social processes in 20th century Poland, but also to a change of paradigm of thinking about them (a shift from statistical approach to qualitative research). The seminar will have 3 parts in consecutive semesters, but each part will be a separate entity at the same time. The following parts are: I. Memoirs of peasants. II. Memoirs of workers and the unemployed. III. Memoirs of emigrants. In the second semester of the academic year 2023/2024, we will discuss the memoirs of emigrants.

description:

The scientific goal of the seminar is a comprehensive description of Polish memoir-writing competitions in the XX century (especially in the interwar period 1918-1939) on the basis of materials from these competitions. This phenomenon, both when it comes to its quality and quantity, is impressive not only in the scope of Poland, but also on an international scale. Moreover, its significance surpasses one scientific discipline or even research area. Memoir-writing competitions have greatly contributed to increase of our knowledge about social processes in 20th century Poland, but also to a change of paradigm of thinking about them (a shift from statistical approach to qualitative research). On the other hand, they influenced the development of social sciences, as well as Polish and worldwide humanities.

During the interwar period, more than 20 memoir-writing competitions were held in Poland, including one big competition for memoirs of emigrants organized by the Institute of Social Economy in 1936. The object of our interest in the second semester of the 2023/2024 academic year will be primarily this major competition and the materials from this competitions published in 4 volumes:

- Competition for Memoir of the Emigrant (Konkurs na pamiętnik emigranta) (1936), Institute for Social Economy (Instytut Gospodarstwa Społecznego): 212 memoirs; publications: "Pamiętniki emigrantów. Ameryka Południowa" [Memoirs of Emigrants. South America] (1939); "Pamiętniki emigrantów. Francja" [Memoirs of Emigrants. France] (1939); "Pamiętniki emigrantów. Kanada" [Memoirs of Emigrants. Canada] (1971); "Pamiętniki emigrantów. Stany Zjednoczone" [Memoirs of Emigrants. United States of America], vol. I-II, (1977).

In addition to these publications, we may also be looking at other emigrant memoirs and letters, published in volumes: William Isaac Thomas, Florian Znaniecki, 'The Polish Peasant in Europe and America. Monograph of an Immigrant Group' (1918-1920) / 'Chłop polski w Europie i Ameryce' (1976); 'Listy emigrantów z Brazylii i Stanów Zjednoiczonych" (Letters of emigrants from Brazil and the United States 1890-1891) (2012); 'Listy emigrantów z Argentyny 1913-1939' (Lettres of emigrants from Argentina) (2018); Władysław Berkan, 'Życiorys własny' (My own life written by myself) (1924); Jakub Wojciechowski, 'Życiorys własny robotnika' (A Worker’s Life History Written by Himself) (1930).

The memoir-writing competitions were addressed primarily to social groups of low literacy levels. People who attempted to write memoirs or started to write diaries as an entry for competitions were often “the first readers”, “the first writers” – persons, who were first in their families to complete elementary school and possessed the ability to write and read. Among the memoir writers there were also illiterate people, who would dictate their experiences. Writing, reading, and books were present in the consciousness of many “popular memoir writers”. From this point of view, a major part of the project will constitute the presentation and description of specific literary practices of memoir writers, as well as their reading practices.

It will be equally important to analyze the content of the memoirs. We will analyze to what extent their content was shaped by the competitions’ requirements, in which it was explicitly suggested to write about certain topics or to pay attention to particular subjects. Our interests lay in the questions: what was the memoir-writing practice for their authors – was it a form of complaint, accusation or grievance about one’s fate, or was it perhaps a form of auto-analytical work, which allowed the authors to become (at least partially) aware of their own social condition? Did it help writers to see themselves as political subject? This is further connected with the issue of emancipatory character of practices and genres and other questions that we will attempt to answer to: assuming that certain genres are associated with class hierarchy, does it mean that the usage of “sophisticated” – that is, made by literary culture – genres, by lower classes has an emancipatory character? To what extent is subversion a bottom-up answer to every form oppression? These issues are connected with the very nature of writing and writing practices, in which the tension between oppression and emancipation has always been present. It will be also important to examine how known memoir-writing practices and genres were used, changed and shaped by their authors for their literary needs. In other words, it will be crucial to examine the influence of oral traditions and practices and attempts to mimicry “the oral” in “the written”.

This is connected with another crucial issue which will be examined during the seminar: the significance of memoir-writing competitions and their materials from the point of view of Polish social history in the 20th century. In the last few years, interest in social history enjoys a revival. In Polish research more and more attention is being devoted to marginalized in mainstream narratives groups: peasants, workers, the unemployed, or economic migrants. Their participation in different social processes – modernization or changes in Polish social consciousness – becomes an object of research as well. We are certain that many gaps still exist in this area and our project will contribute to reclaiming social aspects of Polish history which, especially in reference to the 20th century, has been overshadowed by political aspects. In the context of social history memoir materials can be read as one factor of the interwar process of the emancipation of peasants or workers. It can be observed that these phenomena reflect both the process of democratization of Polish writing, but also its saturation with historical experiences (The First World War, the economic crisis of the 1920s and 30s.), as seen from history from below perspective.

Analysing the emigrants' memoirs, we will of course also ask about the emigration experience itself, including issues such as work, living conditions, family and social ties, contact with the country, daily life in exile, religious life, cultural life, etc.

Primary sources:

"Pamiętniki emigrantów. Francja", wstęp Ludwik Krzywicki, Instytut Gospodarstwa Społecznego, Warszawa 1939;

"Pamiętniki emigrantów. Ameryka Południowa", wstęp Ludwik Krzywicki, Instytut Gospodarstwa Społecznego, Warszawa 1939;

"Pamiętniki emigrantów. Kanada", Książka i Wiedza, Warszawa 1971;

"Pamiętniki emigrantów. Stany Zjednoczone", t. 1-2, Książka i Wiedza, Warszawa 1977;

Berkan Władysław, "Życiorys własny", przedmowa Florian Znaniecki, Materiały Instytutu Socjologicznego w Poznaniu, tom 1, Fiszer i Majewski, Poznań 1924, s. XIX;

"Listy z Brazylii i Stanów Zjednoczonych 1890-1891", do druku podali i wstępem opatrzyli witold Kula, Nina Assorodobraj-Kula, Marcin Kula, MHPRL, Warszawa 2012;

"Polonaises auc champs. Lettres de femmes immigrees dans les campagnes francaises (1930-1935)", ed. Sylvie Aprile, Maryla Laurent, Janine Ponty, avec une preparation documentaire de Elżbieta Łątka et Monika Salmon-Siama, Le Rocher de Calliope/Numilog, Paris 2015;

Thomas William Isaac , Florian Znaniecki, "The Polish Peasant in Europe and America. Monograph of an Immigrant Group", vol. 1-5, Richard G. Badger, The Gorham Press, Boston 1918-1920; wyd. pol. William Isaac Thomas, Florian Znaniecki, "Chłop polski w Europie i Ameryce", uwagi wstępne Józef Chałasiński, Jan Szczepański, t. 1-5, Ludowa Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza, Warszawa 1976;

"To szczęście, co my go szukamy, jest nikczemne... Listy emigrantów z Argentyny 1913-1939", wstęp, wybór i oprac. Katarzyna Porada, MHPRL, Warszawa 2018;

Wojciechowski Jakub, "Życiorys własny robotnika", red. Władysław Markiewicz i Józef Chałasiński, Ludowa Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza, Warszawa 1985 [1930].

Secondary sources:

A Bibliography of Polish Memoirs Selected Books from 1924 to 1978. Memoirs Contributed to Competitions, prepared by Society of Friends of Memoirs, Warsaw, “Sisyphus Studies”, vol II: The Polish Memoir Sociology. Origins – Dilemmas – Hopes (1982): 203-213.

Adamski Władysław, Memoir-based Sociology: between Intuition and Quantification, “Sisyphus Studies”, vol II: The Polish Memoir Sociology. Origins – Dilemmas – Hopes (1982): 97-116.

Antropologia praktyk językowych, ed. Grzegorz Godlewski, Agnieszka Karpowicz, Marta Rakoczy, Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Warsaw 2016.

Bertaux Daniel, Le récit de vie, Armand Colin, Paris 2005.

Chałasiński Józef, Drogi awansu społecznego robotnika, Polski Instytut Socjologiczny, Poznań 1931 [1979].

Chałasiński Józef, The Life Records of the Young Generation of Polish Peasants as a Manifestation of Contemporary Culture, in: Biography and Society. The Life History Approach in the Social Sciences, ed. Daniel Bertaux, Sage Publications Inc, Beverly Hills/London 1981: 119-132.

Chałasiński Józef, Autobiographies as Data for Sociological Analyses, “Sisyphus Studies”, vol II: The Polish Memoir Sociology. Origins – Dilemmas – Hopes (1982): 33-49.

Chałasiński Józef, Młode pokolenie chłopów, vol. 1-4, Ludowa Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza, Warsaw 1984 [1938].

Chałasiński Józef, Pamiętnikarstwo jako świadectwo przeobrażeń narodu polskiego [Memorism as a Testimony of Metamorphosis of the Polish Nation], in: Pamiętniki Polaków 1918-1978. Antologia pamiętnikarstwa polskiego [The Memoirs of Poles 1918-1978. Anthology of Polish Memorism], vol. I., ed. Bronisław Gołębiowski, Mieczysław Grad, Franciszek Jakubczak, Ludowa Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza, Warsaw 1982: 9-29.

Chałasiński Józef, Życiorys jako materiał socjologiczny [Life History as Sociological Material], introduction to: Jakub Wojciechowski. Życiorys własny robotnika [A Worker’s Life History Written by Himself], ed. Władysław Markiewicz and Józef Chałasiński, Ludowa Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza, Warsaw 1985 [1930] : 19-22.

Dąbrowska Maria, Dokument i literatura. O „Pamiętnikach chłopów”, in: eadem, Pisma rozproszone, vol. 2, Wsydawnictwo Literackie, Kraków 1964: 139-161.

Giza Anna, Życie jako opowieść. Analiza materiałów autobiograficznych w perspektywie socjologii wiedzy, Wrocław 1991.

Gluza Zbigniew, Archiwa społeczne [Social Archives], „Karta”, no 36 (2002): 140-142.

Jahoda Marie, Paul F. Lazarsfeld, Hans Zeisel, Bezrobotni Marienthalu, przeł. Robert Marszałek, red. naukowa Antoni Sułek, Oficyna Naukowa, Warsaw 2007.

Jakubczak Franciszek, Konkursy pamiętnikarskie w Polsce 1921-1966 [Competitions for Memoirs in Poland 1921-1966], Warsaw 1966.

Jakubczak Franciszek, Theoretical Basis of the Autobiographical Documents Method, “Sisyphus Studies”, vol II: The Polish Memoir Sociology. Origins – Dilemmas – Hopes (1982): 117-132.

Jakubczak Franciszek, Zasoby pamiętników. Zasady i zakres ich użytkowania, “Ruch Prawniczy, Ekonomiczny i Socjologiczny”, vol LI, 1989, z. 2: 259-268.

Kłoskowska Antonina, Types of Personal Documents, “Sisyphus Studies”, vol II: The Polish Memoir Sociology. Origins – Dilemmas – Hopes (1982): 71-74.

Kosiński Krzysztof, « Pamiętnikarstwo konkursowe jako źródło historyczne » (Les mémoires des concours comme source historique), Polska 1944/45-1989. Studia i materiały, 6, 2003, p. 134. 21.

Kubera Jacek, Not only The Polish Peasant. Znaniecki’s Poznań School of Sociology as a sociological and a research issue, “Przegląd Socjologiczny”, vol. 68, no 4 (2019).

Kuciel-Frydryszak Joanna. Chłopki. Opowieść o naszych babkach, Marginesy, Warszawa 2023;

Lebow Katherine, Autobiography as Complaint: Polish Social Memoir Between the Two World Wars, “Laboratorium. Russian Review of Social Research”, vol. 6, no 3 (2014): 13-26.

Lebow Katherine, Conscience of the Skin: Interwar Polish Autobiography and Social Rights, “Humanity: An International Journal of Human Rights, Humanitarianism, and Development” 2012, no 3 (3): 297–319.

Markiewicz-Lagneau Janina, La formation d’une pensée socjologique. La société polonaise de l’entre-deux-guerres, Éditions de la Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, Paris 1982.

Metoda biograficzna [J. Leoński], in: Encyklopedia Socjologii, vol. 2, Oficyna Naukowa, Warsaw 1999.

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Metoda biograficzna w socjologii [Biographical method in sociology], ed. Jan Włodarek, Marek Ziółkowski, PWN, Warsaw 1990.

Metoda biograficzna w socjologii. Antologia tekstów [Biographical method in sociology. Anthology of the texts], ed. Kaja Kazimierska, Nomos, Kraków 2012.

Milliou-Lajoinie M.-M., Reconstruire son identité par le récit de vie, avant propos de Ph. Lejeune, Paris 1999.

Pół wieku pamiętnikarstwa [Half a Century of Memorism], Ludowa Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza, Warsaw 1971.

Rodak Paweł, La méthode biographique et la tradition des concours autobiographiques en Pologne, « La Faute à Rousseau », no 55 (octobre 2010) : 36-38.

Rodak Paweł, Past, Present, and Future of Autobiography Competitions and Archives in Poland, in: Life Writing Matters in Europe, ed. Marijke Huisman, Anneke Ribberink, Monica Soeting, Alfred Hornung, , Universitätsverlag Winter, Heidelberg 2012: 75-88.

Rodak Paweł, Poland's Autobiographical Twentieth Century, in: Being Poland. A New History of Polish Literature and Culture since 1918, ed. by Tamara Trojanowska, Joanna Niżyńska, Przemysław Czapliński with the assistance of Agnieszka Polakowska, University of Toronto Press, Toronto 2018: 627-641.

Sulima Roch, Dokument i literatura, Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, Warsaw 1980.

Sulima Roch, Między oralnością a piśmiennością. Strategia kolekcjonera a ludowa kultura rękopisu (XIX–XX wiek), „Mazowieckie Studia Humanistyczne” 1997, no 1.

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Szczepański Jan, Metoda biograficzna [Biographical method], in: idem, Odmiany czasu teraźniejszego, [Changes of the Present Times], Książka i Wiedza, Warszawa 1973: 615-649.

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Znaniecki, Florian, The Importance of Memoirs for Sociological Studies, “Sisyphus Studies”, vol II: The Polish Memoir Sociology. Origins – Dilemmas – Hopes (1982): 9-15.

Życie codzienne (w) archiwum, red. Marta Zwodna-Stephan, Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM, Poznań 2019.

Knowledge: the graduate has gained knowledge and understanding of:

• chosen methodologies of cultural studies, epistemic strategies and methods of research on an advanced level;

• chosen aspects of Polish culture connected to the graduate’s research.

Skills: the graduate is able to:

• interpret selected material taking into account its historical, social and political context;

• determine the relation between the medium of cultural practices and messages to their content and function;

Social competences: the graduate is able to:

• critically assess their knowledge and received content;

• adapt a respectful and methodologically curious approach to diverse cultural phenomena and use their knowledge to solve problems and seek out expert opinions;

• care for cultural heritage and display an understanding of its importance for social life; actively work to preserve cultural heritage.

The final mark consists of: class preparation and activity (as the most important component of the mark) and class attendance (2 absences allowed; more than 5 absences - no credit for the class). In order to increase the final mark, it is also possible to prepare a short speach for one of the the seminars or to write a short optional paper after the end of the semester.