„Cywilizacja? Puste słowo”. Antycywilizacjonizm w polskim podróżopisarstwie międzywojennym
“Civilization? An Empty Word”: Anti-civilizationism in the Polish Interwar Travel Writing (1918–1939)

Summary/Abstract: The article discusses the criticism of civilization presented in the interwar travel literature. The author points out that the critical attitude towards European civilization is directly related to the modernist para- digm. Interwar writers-travellers express their views using existing rheto- rical figures, treating the modern city as a metonymy of civilization. There- fore, they use simple contrasts, such as culture-nature, disease-health, old age-youth, dirt-cleanliness, etc. They seek escape from civilization on the city outskirts or in places perceived as exotic. Tadeusz Dębicki and Kazimierz Nowak combine anti-civilization attitudes with anti-colonial views, unlike Ferdynand Ossendowski, who, while critical of the situation in Europe, simultaneously expresses his enthusiasm for the actions of the colonizers.

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