Międzywojenna polska etnografia zaangażowana w debatę publiczną a dyskurs nacjonalistyczny
Polish Interwar Ethnography’s Engagement in Public Debate and the Issue of Nationalism

Summary/Abstract: Not always has the engaged attitude of anthropologists been associated with emancipation and anti-hegemonic activities. In the past, the scholarly authority of Polish ethnographers served to consolidate nationalist discourse even when they were critical of it. The article presents an analysis of popular texts of the two interwar ethnographers: Bożena Stelmachowska who wrote about Kashubia and Jan Stanisław Bystroń who criticized national megalomania. The common denominator of these texts is the essentializing concept of nations and ethnic groups that was well fitted to serve political purposes, as was their territorialization. Only Józef Obrębski, being ahead of his time, aptly pointed out the shortcomings of these theories. The historical lesson presented in the article can be used to foster the critical reflexivity of contemporary researchers and to deconstruct nationalist discourse.

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