autoproletaryzacja w prozie Polaków migrujących do Niemiec, Irlandii i Wielkiej Brytanii
Self-Proletarianization in Prose by Poles Migrating to Germany, Ireland and the UK
Author(s): Dirk UffelmanSubject(s): Social Sciences, Language and Literature Studies, Economy, Literary Texts, Fiction, Studies of Literature, Sociology, Polish Literature, Social psychology and group interaction, Sociology of the arts, business, education, Economic development, Migration Studies, Socio-Economic Research, Identity of Collectives
Published by: Instytut Badań Literackich Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Keywords: self-proletarianization; migrant prose; low-paid work; contradictory social mobility; apotropaic appropriation
Summary/Abstract: This article investigates prose by Polish migrant writers by scrutinizing depictions of low-paid work, not only in the fictional texts but also in biographical sketches about the authors in blurbs and anthologies. Uffelmann adduces sociological studies on the ‘contradictory social mobility’ of Polish work migrants to show that devices of social self-degradation in migrant literature allude to the no-less-contradictory social situation faced by many migrant workers. His methodological approach is rooted in postcolonial theories, especially those that focus on paradoxical appropriations of identity. The main focus of the article is on ‘self-proletarianization’ and its function as an apotropaic twist: writers who ‘proletarianize’ either their protagonist(s) or themselves aim to achieve paradoxical recognition as artists.
Journal: Teksty Drugie
- Issue Year: 2016
- Issue No: 3
- Page Range: 229-250
- Page Count: 22
- Language: Polish
- Content File-PDF