O varsavianach jako semioforach
On “Varsavianses” as Semiophores

Summary/Abstract: The author focuses on the semantic extension of the word “varsaviana” (which is based on colloquial experience already recorded in linguistic dictionaries). This tendency can have certain consequences for historical-cultural studies. The idea to “operationalize” this change is the noticeable parallel between the term “varsaviana” and the category of “semiophores” that is “visible things endowed with meanings” ([by] Krzysztof Pomian). Out of numerous similarities, the most important is the one connected with the creation of collections (the term “semiofor” turned out to be useful in the interpretation of the phenomenon of collecting). The collection mechanism that governs the world of the varsavianses is shown on the example of one of the varsavianses – the Warsaw photography. It can be recognized on several levels: the taking of pictures, their publication and exhibition as well as their interpretation. On the one hand, we can observe an attempt at closing historical reality, on the other hand its permanent incompleteness. Both aspects are visible even in interpretations which provide a very consistent vision of historical reality.

• Details
• Contents