POLSKIE MIGRACJE DO AFRYKI. STAN BADAŃ I PERSPEKTYWY METODOLOGICZNE
POLISH MIGRATIONS TO AFRICA: THE STATE OF RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

Summary/Abstract: The article presents the state of research on the emigration of Poles and on the Polish diaspora (Polonia), indicating a new methodological approach to Polish migration to Africa – a topic that has not been exhaustively researched. The author strives to present migration processes from Poland to the African continent. Also, the 19th and 20th-century formation of Polish and Polonia groups are presented. Due to the fact that Polish and Polonia communities emerged and vanished, different research tools and methodology should be applied in contrast to other continents. As regards the postulated research paradigms in relation to Polish emigration to Africa, the following should be considered: research on Polish migration to Central Africa, characterization of the potential of Polish specialists and academic-technical staff dispatched to Africa in the era of the Polish People’s Republic, specification of the role of Polonia communities in Africa who came from the West, migration of Poles to Africa after 1989, and writing a comprehensive monograph on the history of Polish diaspora in Africa. Research like this will enable further methodological studies on the social structure of Polonia, relations between those Poles and local communities, the use of Polish in new areas of settlement, the economic status of the diaspora, or presentation of processes of adaptation, acculturation and assimilation.

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