POLSKIE POLE WŁADZY W XX WIEKU JAKO GENERATOR ZNACZEŃ
The Polish field of power in the 20th century as a generator of meanings

A sketch of synthetic approach

Author(s): Tomasz Zarycki
Subject(s): Sociology
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: field of power; intelligentsia; homology; revolution; October 1956; March 1968
Summary/Abstract: The first aim of the chapter is to outline a broader perspective on the concept of field of power and the accompanying theoretical apparatus associated with Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology. This is followed by a general attempt to relate the concept to the Polish context. It includes considerations on the application of the concept to synthesize the structures of Polish elites in particular historical periods starting from the second half of the 19th century. In relation to this period, the possibility of introducing the concept of proto-field of power has been suggested, which refers to the organization of Polish elites within imperial political systems. Then the transformations of the field of power in subsequent periods until modern times are discussed. Particular attention is paid to the turning points in which the geometry of the field of power changed fundamentally. These included the revolutionary situations of 1919, 1945, 1956, 1968 and 1989. The chapter also indicates how the field of power can be seen as a generator of social meanings.

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