Publisher: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego

Deputy interpellations in Silesian Sejm 1922—1939. Legal regulation and practice

Interpelacje poselskie w Sejmie Śląskim 1922–1939. Regulacja prawna i praktyka

Author(s): Józef Ciągwa / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: Silesian Sejm; Deputy interpellations; Power tribe; Equilibrium of the tripartite authorities

Legal regulation of deputy interpellations in Silesian Sejm 1922—1939The material right of interpellation was assessed by Art. 14 of Constitution Act of July 15, 1920, which contained the organic statute of Silesian voivodeship (Dz.U.R.P. No 73, pos. 497) constituting that Silesian Sejm had the right to interpellate with the Silesian voivode andVoivodeship Council. On the other hand, the formal right to interpellate, and therefore the manner in which material right was realized, was to be specified by the act on the internal constitution of Silesian voivodeship. Nevertheless, advanced — especially in the 1930s — works on the bill did not lead to adopting the act on internal constituton. In such a situation the interpellating procedure was regulated by the standing orders of the Silesian Sejm: the interim orders (of October 13, 1922) and the permanent orders (of January 31, 1923), the standing orders of the I Silesian Sejm, the standing orders of the II Silesian Sejm of June 17, 1930, the standing orders of the Silesian Sejm of the IV term of office, adopted on March 11, 1936. As for the material right on interpellation, one has to notice some disturbing, because against the law, transformations: the appearance of the third interpellated body, namely the Council of Ministers, in the standing orders of the II Silesian Sejm, and the omission of Voivodeship Council as the interpellated body in the standing orders of March 11, 1936.The Provisions of the standing orders of the Silesian Sejm sittings, thus art. 44 of two standing orders of the sitting of the Silesian Sejm of the I term of office; art. 24 and 25 of the standing orders of the II Silesian Sejm; art. 84 of the standing orders of the Silesian Sejm of the IV term of office, allow to identify three subsequent periods of interpellation, i.e. the first period: accepting the interpellation by the marshal and submitting it to the interpelled; the second period: performing the interpellation by the interpelled body and submitting a reply to the marshal; the third period: lodging the interpellation at the orders of the day of the plenary sitting, discussion, voting for acknowledging the reply (or, alternatively, for not acknowledging the reply). Submission the interpellation to the Sejm Marshal was possible after meeting three formal requirements: obtaining the minimal required support, expressed by the number of signatures on the interpellation (7 signatures in the standing orders dated October 13, 1922 and January 31, 1923; 5 signatures in the standing orders dated June 17, 1930; 3 signatures in the standing orders dated March 11, 1936); the interpellation could not contain any expressions that would violate Sejm dignity (this condition is found only in the standing orders of the II Silesian Sejm); the interpellation required written form; it had to be formulated in the Polish language. Provisions concerning the latter requirement were specified by two Silesian acts, i.e. the act of January 16, 1923 on the official language on the territory of Silesian Voivodeship (Dz.U.Śl. No 5, pos. 34) and the act of July 16, 1937 on the official language of authorities and administration offices in Silesian voivodeship (Dz.U.Śl. No 14, pos. 32). Article 44 of the standing orders of the I Silesian Sejm specified that the interpellated body would submit an oral reply at the plenary sitting; whereas a written reply was to be submitted only when interpellants had given their assent to it in advance. It follows from the Provisions of the standing orders of the I and II Silesian Sejms that the interpellated body had to respond within the period no longer than three weeks. Moreover, the standing orders of the Silesian Sejm of the I term of office obliged the marshal to inquire when the interpellated body would submit their response to the interpellation. There were no orders of Silesian voivode as far the second period of interpellating was concerned. An extrasilesian source, as regards the second period of interpellating, was the circular of the Minister of the Interior No OL. 9673 dated November 23, 1926 on taking a stance on interpellations submitted before the closing of the session (Dz.Urz. MSW No 5, pos. 117), despite thefact that formally it did not regulate the interpellation procedure in the Silesian Sejm. Besides, it is difficult to find there any regulations specifying the procedure of performing interpellations, since the minister recommended not performing the interpellations submitted before the suspension of the session. Article 44 of the standing orders of the I Silesian Sejm obliged the marshal to lodge the interpellation at the order of the day of the plenary sitting within the period no longer than three weeks. Whereas article 25 of the standing orders of the II Silesian Sejm specified two alternative factors of lodging the interpellation by the marshal at the order of the day, i.e. in the case when interpellants would not be satisfied with the reply or when the relevant executive authority would not reply to the interpellation within 3 weeks.More detailed was the legal regulation of interpellating of the third period. In accordancewith the provisions of two standing orders of the I Silesian Sejm, the marshal lodged the interpellation at the order of the day ex officio. Only then were further actions of the third period undertaken: explanatory statement of the interpellation by the interpellant (with the support of at least 7 deputies); replying or refusing to reply by the interpellated body; opening the discussion upon request with the support of at least 13 (later10) deputies. The final action of the third period was Sejm’s taking a stance on the reply to the interpellation, being expressed in the form of two alternative resolutions: the resolution on acknowledging the reply of the interpellated body or a resolution on not acknowledging the reply of the interpellated body. On the grounds of the standing orders of the II Silesian Sejm, lodging the interpellation at the order of the day by the marshal could take place exclusively on interpellants’ demand. Besides, the debate on the interpellation and the reply to it could take place on the basis of the resolution of the entire Sejm, and not with the support of 13 or 10 deputies. What is more, passing the resolutions that evaluated the interpelled body’s reply by Sejm was of a facultative character. Pursuant to art. 84 paragraph 4 of the standing orders of the IV Silesian Sejm, the marshal lodged the interpellation at the order of the day of plenary sitting in three cases: on interpellants’ demand; if the voivode notified the marshal that he intended to give an oral reply; when the period of 3 months had passed since the interpellation was submitted. Moreover, the debate (discussion) followed on the basis of the resolution issued by Sejm. An important restriction on the effectiveness of interpellating was provided by act 84 paragraph 6 of the latter standing orders, constituting that in the debate, apart from the representative of the Government, also one of interpellants and one of the deputies whose stance is different from the one expressed by the interpellants were allowed to take the floor. The comparison of the rules regulating the interpellation procedure in four standing ordersof the Silesian Sejm demonstrates that with the passing of time legal provisions restricted theeffectiveness of interpellating by means of the following: limiting the admissibility of the debate on the reply to the interpellation; the participation in the discussion of a deputy whose standpoint was different from the one of interpellants; excluding the possibility of expressing the opinion on the reply by Sejm, in the form of a resolution on acknowledging the reply of the interpellated or, alternatively, on not acknowledging the reply of the interpellated. Interpellation practice in Silesian Sejm 1922—1939The problem of conformity of practicing with legal regulation of interpellating Art. 44 of two standing orders of the I Silesian Sejm obliged the marshal to pose a question to the interpelled body about time when the interpelled body would submit their reply to the interpellation. The review of 90 interpellations of Silesian Sejm of I term of office demonstrates that not even once did the marshal pose such a question. The same article specified that the written form of the reply was permissible only if the interpellants agreed to it in advance. In practice, the interpellated body provided their reply almost exclusively in the written form, despite the fact that the interpellants agreed to the written form only in three cases. With the exception of three cases, whereby — clearly by mistake — the marshal accepted the interpellation despite the lack of one signature, in the remaining cases the minimal required support was adhered to. So was the case in the Silesian Sejm of I, II, and III terms of office. The standing orders of first three Sejms specified that a deadline for replying to the interpellation should not exceed 3 weeks. In the replies that were found, the addressee of the interpellation usually exceeded, sometimes considerably, the deadline specified in the standing orders. There were merely few replies submitted within the deadline. The contents of several interpellations were beyond the scope of the competences of the voivode and the Voivodeship Council. These were interpellations concerning special (non-consolidated) administration, i.e. judicial, military, or railroad administration, as well as interpellations that fell within the competences of the voivode of Cracow, or even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Silesian voivodes replied to these interpellations as well, acting as intermediaries, sending the interpellations themselves to appropriate authorities and offering on their behalf adequate explanation to the interpellants.The first action of the third period of interpellating was lodging the interpellation by themarshal at the order of the day of the plenary sitting, and the final action was formulating anopinion — a positive or negative one — by Sejm about the reply submitted by the interpelledbody.Pursuant to the provisions of two standing orders of the I Silesian Sejm, the marshal lodged the interpellation at the order of the day ex officio. In practice, marshal Konstanty Wolny lodged at the order of the day of I Silesian Sejm merely 5 interpellations, two of which were lodged on interpellants’ request. In the final period of interpellating, 3 replies were acknowledged by Sejm, and 2 replies were not acknowledged. In III Silesian Sejm, the marshal lodged 4 interpellations at the order of the day. The voivode’s reply to one of them was acknowledged by Sejm, one reply was not acknowledged. In the case of the remaining two replies, the motions were not voted on. In practice — as a matter of fact against the law — the marshal of Silesian Sejm did not lodge interpellations at the order of the day when interpellants accepted the reply. In such situations, probably after consulting the interpellants, the marshal terminated the proceedings of the second period, endorsing on the interpellation and on the reply ad acta. Due to the lack of sources, the question concerning the relationship between the statute law and the law realized in interpellating practice of IV Silesian Sejm must be left unanswered.Interpellating activity of parliamentary clubs (deputies) of Silesian SejmIn four Silesian Sejms there have been 141 interpellations altogether. The authors of 136 interpellations were parliamentary clubs, of 2 — Sejm committees, and in IV Silesian Sejm — in the absence of parliamentary clubs — deputies signed on the interpellations. The frequency of interpellating exhibited high variability: in I Silesian Sejm — 90 interpellationsper 187 plenary sittings; in II Silesian Sejm — 15 interpellations per 10 sittings; in IIISilesian Sejm — 33 interpellations per 49 sittings; in IV Silesian Sejm — 3 interpellations per32 sittings. In the period of three Silesian Sejms the PPS club (Polish Socialist Party), referred to as KPS (Club Socialist Deputies) in III Silesian Sejm, submitted the most, i.e. 41, interpellations, which constituted 29,7% of all (138) interpellations that were submitted to the marshal in the period between October 10th, 1922 and March 26th, 1935. In the second place, with 26 interpellations (18,8%), was ChD (Christian Democracy). Such a result, gained almost exclusively until the May Coup, when Christian Democracy formed a part of ruling coalition, contradicts the thesis that interpellations, as a means of controlling administration,serve opposition more than factions in power. The interpellating practice proves the truthfulness of this thesis in the period ranging from the May Coup up to the last sitting of IIISilesian Sejm, when opposition factions submitted 50 interpellations, while the sanation clubNChZP (National Christian Labour’s Unity) — only 2 interpellations. Twenty-one interpellations (15,2%) were submitted by NPR (National Workers’ Party). Two workers’ parties (PPS and NPR) altogether lodged 62 interpellations, i.e. 44,9% of all interpellations(136) submitted by parliamentary clubs in Silesian Sejms of three terms of office. The Club of Deputies’ Group of Christian Democracy and National Workers’ Party, formed after the election failure of NPR in II (three deputies) and III (2 deputies) Silesian Sejm, submitted20 interpellations (2 in II and 18 in the III Silesian Sejm), which constituted 14,5% of allinterpellations, submitted in the Silesian Sejm during three terms of office. KN (German Club) interpellated individually 14 times (10,1%), joint interpellations were altogether 14 (10,1%), i.e. 8 interpellations in I and 6 interpellations in III Silesian Sejm. The authors of 3 interpellations of the IV Silesian Sejm were deputy Józef Płonka (NChZP— National Christian Work Union), deputy Paweł Kubik (ZZP — Polish Trade Association), andnon-partisan deputy form Zaolzie, Rudolf Paszek. Therefore, formed in the year 1928, the sanation club NChZP, with merely 3 interpellations (2 in II and 1 in the IV Silesian Sejm) occupied the last place, exhibiting a very insignificant activity as far as interpellating was concerned. The analysis of the content of interpellations submitted by parliamentary clubs(Sejm committees, deputies) in Silesian Sejm The content of interpellations allows to distinguish the following thematic groups: interpellations on social affairs, political issues, sociopolitical affairs, educational problems, public security matters, communication issues, construction issues, and police affairs. Moreover, there can be identified other matters, which encompass a wide range of issues that go beyond the uppermentioned categorization. Interpellations on social affairs were dominated by two parliamentary clubs of workers’ parties, i.e. KPPS (Club Polish Socialist Party), later KPS (Club Socialist Deputies), with 15 interpellations per 41 interpellations in total) and KNPR (Club of National Workers’ Party) with 11 interpellations (per 21 interpellations in total). Altogether, both clubs of workers’ parties interpellated 26 times per 62 interpellations submitted by them. KChD (Club of Christian Democracy) interpellated on social affairs 7 times (per total 26 interpellations that they submitted). Of 3 interpellations submitted to the marshal by sanation party KNChZP (Club of National Christian Labours limity), 3 interpellations concerned social issues (2 in II Silesian Sejm, 1 in IV Silesian Sejm). Into the class of interpellations on social affairs, one also has to include 3 interpellations submitted by KZPChDiNPR (The Club of Deputies’ Group of Christian Democracy and National Workers’ Party). Moreover, there were 3 interpellations submitted by KN and 3 joint interpellations. In total, in four Silesian Sejms there were 45 interpellations concerning social affairs (per 141 interpellations altogether), which constituted 31,9% of all interpellations.A significant percentage of such interpellations in relation to their total number faithfullyreflected social problems of Silesia: increasing unemployment, lockouts, workers’ dismissals,irregular payment of benefits, the lack of insurance against unemployment, mass job dismissalnotes, celebrating holidays (i.e. working not on all days of the week), suspending by fraternities the payment of pensions and other dues, etc. Interpellations concerning political affairs were 31. In this thematic group, in majority (13) were joint interpellations (interpartisan). Nine interpellations on political issues were tabled by KZPChDiNPR; 4 interpellations — by KPPS; 2 — by KChD; 1 interpellation was submitted by each of the following clubs: KNPR, KN, and also NChZP deputies. A small group, merely 8, of interpellations on sociopolitical affairs (5,7%) was constituted by 6 interpellations by KNPR, 1 interpellation by KChD, and 1 interpellation by KPPS. The contents of these interpellations demonstrates a close relationship between political affairs and social issues. The examples of such a relationship may be interpellations on implementing on the Silesian voivodeship — without the consent of Silesian Sejm- the spirits monopoly law, or interpellations on inadequate distribution of tobacco warehouses, in which incorrect application of law could deprive many people of their work. As far other thematic groups are concerned, there must be identified the following numbers of interpellations submitted by parliamentary clubs:— on schools affairs: 12 interpellations (5 by KChD; 1 by KNPR, 3 by KN, 3 by KZPChDil-NPR);— on public security issues: 3 interpellations (1 by KChD; 2 by KN);— on communication issues: 3 interpellations (2 by KChD; 1 by KN);— on construction affairs: 3 interpellations (1 by KChD; 1 by KPPS; 1 by KZPChDiNPR);— on police affairs: 3 interpellations by KPPS;— on other affairs: 32 interpellations (7 by KChD; 2 by KNPR; 3 by KN; 12 by KPPS; 4 byKZPChDiNPR; 3 joint; 1 by non-partisan deputy Rudolf Paszek).

Russia in the foreign policy of Poland between 1992 and 2015

Rosja w polityce zagranicznej Polski w latach 1992–2015

Author(s): Mieczysław Stolarczyk / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: the foreign policy; safety; Polish-Russian relations; Foreign policy of Poland; Foreign policy of Russia

The main research aim of this monograph is to distinguish main stages in the foreign policy of Poland towards Russia between 1992 and 2015 and outline their specifics. The author attempted at a synthesis of major manifestations of Polish-Russian cooperation and most sticking points in the intergovernmental (international) relations during that period. An important objective was to show the sources and examples of a divergence of interests, and point to the goals, which were based on these premises, established by the foreign policy-makers in Poland and Russia and pursued in mutual relations and international affairs.Between 1992 and 2015, in Poland’s foreign policy towards the East and national security policy, the relations with Russia and the Ukraine were of utmost importance. On the economic level, considering the volume of mutual trade turnover, Poland’s main partner in the East was the Russian Federation, whereas on the political level, the Ukraine was seen as a strategic partner. Along with the Ukraine, Russia played a key role in Poland’s security policy in the discussed period. It should be emphasized that Polish-Russian and Polish-Ukrainian relations were very closely linked, and so was Poland’s policy towards Russia and the Ukraine. In Poland’s foreign policy towards Russia, or in broader terms, in Polish-Russian relations between 1992 and 2015, seven stages can be distinguished; each having their own characteristic. Despite some new specifics in each particular stage, they all shared an element of continuity. The constant theme was a great divergence of interests between Poland and Russia, particularly with regard to the European security system, and the role of NATO in shaping this security, as well as further stages of the alliance’s enlargement, especially by countries of the post-Soviet area; energy security and Poland’s strive for diversification of fuels supplies faced with Russia’s actions aimed at the diversification of routes of sending its gas and crude oil to Western Europe bypassing the Ukraine and Poland; a historic dispute, in which a thorough, satisfying for the Poles, explanation of the Katyn Forest massacre was particularly high on the agenda among other issues; opposing visions of building anorder in Eastern Europe, and first and foremost, in the Ukraine. With the passing of time, especially after Poland’s NATO and the EU accession, the future of Eastern European countries, particularly the Ukraine and Belarus, has become a fundamental issue in Polish-Russian relations. Both Russia and Poland treated Eastern European countries as a sort of a safety buffer. However, the two countries had entirely different visions of how this buffer ought to be shaped. The political leadership in Poland saw the strenghtening of national security in the strenghtening of the Ukrainian buffer through the Ukraine’s membership in NATO and the EU, whereas for the political leadership in Russia, the strenghtening of national security through Ukrainian buffer meant preserving its outside NATO status, or incorporating it in the the security system built under the aegis of Russia on the area of CIS.A characteristic of the Polish-Russian relations in that period was a great imbalance to Poland’s disadvantage, resulting from the differences in broadly understood physical potential of the two countries and, consequently, their international roles (Poland being a medium-size country situated in Central Europe and Russia being a superpower in Central Eurasia). The capacities of Poland to shape the situation in Eastern Europe on its own were incomparably lower than Russia’s. Therefore, Poland was trying to make use of European and Euro-Atlantic multirateral structures, mainly through the Eastern Dimension realized by the EU and NATO, to have as much influence as possible, on the desired developments in Eastern Europe. The eastern policy under successive RP governments was characterized by their overrating, frequently, of their own capacities, lack of objectivity in assessment of the situation across our eastern border, and application of double standards, particularly in the policy towards Russia.Polish-Russian political relations throughout the post-Cold War period were critical, and improvements were relatively short-lasting. Not only Russia, but also Poland is to blame for such a state of events. The Polish side, due to historical reasons and imbalance of potential, expected Russia to take more initiative in coming to an agreement with Poland. However, it has to be admitted that in many activities undertaken by Poland with regard to European security, in particular Eastern European subregion, the interests of Russia were completly disregarded, although they did not have to be accepted fully. An example of this was Polish diplomacy in the second half of 2013 intended not to allow Russia to be included in the negotiations on the EU association agreement with the Ukraine about issues that had economic implications for Russia’s interests. In their policy towards Russia, foreign policy-makers in Poland, forgot, all too often, or, were unwilling to remember, about the principle that in order to meet the security needs of one’s own country, one should also consider the security needs of other countries, the neighbouring ones in the first place. Analyzing the policies under succesive III RP governments on European security and relations with the post-Soviet countries, it is hard to share the view prevailing in our country that Poland did its best to develop partnership and good neighbourly relations with Russia. Among politicians, publicists and the Polish society, there was a large group of people who took a stance, though it was not always formally articulated, that Poland has a right, or even a duty to remain hostile towards Russia. On the other hand, Russia should not act unfavourably towards Poland, regardless of Poland’s anti-Russian policy, although, obviously, it was declared otherwise.One of the few stages showing a distinct improvement in Poland’s policy towards Russia and a mutual willingness to normalize our political relations, was the one between 2008 and 2010, when an unsuccesful attempt was made at pragmatizing foreign policy towards Russia. Since the end of 2007, this new foreign policy, gradually encompassing other areas, led to a greater or lesser modification of the policy to date towards Russia, the Ukraine, Belarus and Georgia by basing it on the so-called positive realism. These new trends increased cooperation between Poland and Russia and, eventually, a considerable progress was achieved in normalizing our relations. Between 2008 and 2010, Polish policy towards the East not only changed in practice, it was also a conceptual change. The crash of the presidential plane at Smoleńsk (April 10th, 2010), in which 96 peple were killed, including President of RP Lech Kaczyński and His Spouse, was a major, if not primary reason why the normalization process (2008–2010) was seriously hampered to the point of a standstill between 2011 and 2013. The Smoleńsk air disaster, and conflicting stands over its causes in particular, exacerbateddivisions in the Polish society and strenghtened reluctance, if not hostility, towards Russia.A large part of the Polish political class and society did not accept a version of an inadvertent air disaster (plane crash), whose causes, like not following correct procedures, lay on both Poles and Russians. The surveys conducted during the years following the Smoleńsk air disaster showed that over 30% of the Polish society were convinced that it had been an attempt on the life of the Polish delegation en route to a commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Katyn Forrest massacre, and that the Russian government and secret services had been involved. After the Smoleńsk air disaster, foreign policy towards Russia and Polish-Russian relations became a ground for political struggle in our country. For many politicians and conservatist right-wing journalists, a demonstrated degree of anti-Russian sentiment became the main criterion of patriotism. In a large part of the Polish society, a belief was strenghtened that actions should be taken to weaken and isolate Russia, and to minimize, rather than increase cooperation between the two countries. This meant that internal conditions within our country, which could possibly motivate the foreign policy-makers to stop viewing Russia as the main threat and encourage a breakthrough in thinking about that issue, deteriorated markedly. Consequently, Polish-Russian relations between2011 and 2013 remained in a state of deadlock. In the foreign policy of Poland between 1992 and 2015, Russia played the leading role. This, however, stemmed from Russia being perceived by the policy-makers as the main threat to our national security, not a recognized partner in pursuing this security. Throughout that period, in all successive stages of Polish security policy, Russia was regarded as the main threat. Each political leadership in Poland, especially since the mid 1990s, treated Russia in this way, and these were not merelyanti-Russian declarations, but a guiding principle of the foreign policy. Behind it, was a conviction that Russian imperialism was timeless and Russia would never accept the sovereignty of Poland. It was an obvious reference to the classical Polish geopolitical thought about Russia posing main threats to our national security. During the crisis and conflict in eastern Ukraine, between 2014 and 2015, the foreign policymakers in Poland revived the stance of a military threat on the part of Russia. For the first time since the end of the Cold War, such loud voices were heard about a possible military attack on Poland. Unlike the earlier periods, when there was an informal presumption that Russia was a threat to the security of Poland, in 2014, for the first time, in III RP’s security policy, Russia was formallypointed to as a direct military threat. It was articulated in official state documents, including Strategia Bezpieczeństwa Narodowego Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej from November, 2014, and in addresses delivered by the Polish government officials (for instance in exposé of Foreign Minister R. Sikorski and his follower G. Schetyna).The crisis and conflict in south-eastern Ukraine did not substantially change Poland’s policytowards Russia. What did change between 2014 and 2015, however, was that much more emphasis than ever was placed on Russia being a threat to our national security, and there being a serious risk of a Russian direct invasion of Poland. During 2014 and 2015, the process of politicizing fear (policy of fear) of Russia was at its height. For Poland, a major outcome of the Ukrainian conflict and crisis was decreased national security and growing fears, among them the fear of Russian invasion, which does not mean that such a threat was real. During the years 2014 and 2015, Polish-Russian political relations at the highest level came almost to the point of being frozen. Important direct implications of the Ukrainian conflict forPoland’s security were, apart from a growing fear of Russia, increased desires towards strengthening its own defense capability, strenghtening NATO cohesion, increased involvement of NATO in our sub-region’s security and closer bilateral Polish-American cooperation regarding military security. Resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine as quickly as possible was in the interests of Poland. However, Polish diplomacy did not engage much in the conflict deescalation. They were very skeptical about the successive agreements aimed at ending the military operations negotiated within the frames of the so-called Normandy format (Mińsk I and Mińsk II). It seems that, considering the geopolitical situation in the Ukraine and divisions of the Ukrainian society, this country should remain a buffer state. Alternatively, coming out of this role should occur gradually, through a simultaneous Europeization of the Ukraine and Russia. Poland should not be interested in the „revolutionary” speeding up of the processes occuring in the Ukrainian society. Responsible politicians willing to serve the best interests of their nation should be aware of the limitations in pursuing even the most support worthy goals. The policy of every country, the foreign policy of Poland and the Ukraine included, should be founded on a realistic assessment of one’s own capabilities so that aspirations would not outgrow the real possibilities of their attainment. Poland, aspiring to the role of the EU main expert in Russian and the post-Soviet area affairs, through insisting in the EU on the earliest possible Ukraine association with the EU, contributed in a way to the situation when the Ukraine had to choose between the EU and Russia. Polish politicians did not anticpate the negative outcomes of such acceleration for the Ukraine itself (including theloss of Crimea and strong separatist tendencies in the East of the Ukraine), as well as for Russian-Ukrainian relations and the security of Poland. Therefore, the firm support and involvement of the Polish political class in the so-called democratic revolution in the Ukraine during 2013 and 2014, can hardly be regarded as a succcess. Polish policy towards the East ended in yet another failure, which was shown as confirmation when Poland was not included in the talks aimed at resolving the Ukrainian crisis, which were held by officials from the Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France since the middle of 2014.The Ukrainian crisis and conflict was a turning point in Polish security policy and Polish-Russian relations. The Polish government officially began to treat Russia as the largest threat to the national and international security. A considerable part of the political elites in Poland did not see the threat in excessive dependence of Polish economy on Russian energy resources or other economic threats, but in a direct military attack. Generally speaking, it is unknown to what extent the Ukrainian crisis and conflict will, in the long run, have an impact on changes in Polish policy towards the East, particularly towards Russia and the Ukraine. It exposed the ineffectiveness of our foreign policy to date towards the East. In this context, a question arises: What will be mid- and long-term implications of the Ukrainian conflict forthe modification or a radical alteration to Polish foreign policy towards the East? Another fundamental question pertains to Polish-Russian relations: What policy should Poland pursue towards Russia now and in the future? Will the foreign policy and security policy be directed,like in 2014 and 2015, at instransigence and confrontation, or will the normalization tendency prevail as regards Russia, and will the relations with the Ukraine be redefined? However, at the end of 2015, nothing implied that the foreign and security policy-makers intended to transform in any way the policy towards Russia and the Ukraine to date. It does not mean that changes will not be implemented in the years to come. It will be closely connected with the impact of the Ukrainian conflict on the modification of the policy of Germany and the entire European Union as well as the policy of the United States on the post-Soviet area.The crisis and conflict in eastern Ukraine strenghtened the legitimacy of argumentation thatthe main player in the post-Soviet area is Russia. None of the serious problems in this area can be resolved without the participation of Russia, and all the more, against Russia, which obviously, does not mean that the proponents of this stance overrate the capabilities of Russia in terms of shaping the closer and farther international environment. On this account, Polish policy will be hardly effective if at least some of Russia’s interests in the post-Soviet area, especially in Eastern Europe, are taken into consideration, as was proven to date. Bearing in mind long-term consquences, the strategic conceptions of the Polish policy towards the East, should opt for the closest possible ties of Russia with political and economic structures of the EU and Euro-Atlantic structures (Europeization of Russia). This, in turn, should result in the evolution of the economic-political system of Russia into liberal democracy.The Ukrainian crisis and conflict classified the effectiveness of the Polish conception aimed atoccidentalizing the Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova without simultaneously occidentalizing Russia. As was indicated by the proponents of this conception, its implementation assumed an inevitable cost such as a political conflict with Russia. The crisis and conflict in the Ukraine between 2014 and 2015 should be a good reason to change this stance. The biggest price for its implementation was paid by the Ukraininas themselves. Therefore, in the context of these experiences, Poland should support such conceptions and actions in the Ukraine which attempt at Ukraine’s integration with the West not in opposition to Russia, but together with Russia, which does not imply that this process has to be fully synchronized. The direction of actions in this matter is of key importance. Despite the many contentious issues in Polish-Russian relations and different historical memory of Poles and Russians, in the long-term interests of Poland’s security, lies implementing a cooperative and integrating, not a confrontational conception. For the normalization of Polish-Russian relations, it is essential that the successive governemnets of Poland and Russia should have a political will to a less confrontational approach towards disputable issues and resolve emerging problems in a compromising way, which is one of the „scarcest commodities” in the Polish-Russian relations. A compromise should not be treated as a failure, as is often believed, also by the Poles. It also requires changes in mutual perception. A true normalization of mutual relations between Poland and Russia will not be possible if the majority of political elites, media and society in both countries will see the other not even as a difficult partner of rival, but an enemy. The divergence of interests does not have to lead to hostility. The governing groups inPoland and Russia face a challenge in improving Polish-Russian relations. They can either attempt to broaden the area of common interests or to highlight the discrepancies and divergence of interests, and thus strenghten social attitudes prone to either cooperation or confrontation.

Face threats in interpreting: A pragmatic study of plenary debates in the European Parliament

Zagrożenia twarzy w tłumaczeniu ustnym: pragmatyczne studium debat plenarnych w Parlamencie Europejskim

Author(s): Magdalena Bartłomiejczyk / Language(s): English

Keywords: Simultaneous translation; Strategies of the interpreter; rudeness; face, European parliament

This monograph focuses on pragmatic aspects of simultaneous interpreting, and istherefore intended both for translation scholars and for linguists interested in interlingual transfer of pragmatic meaning. Efforts have been made to avoid dense, strictly scientific language and the use of unexplained specialist terminology in the hope that the book might also appeal to practicing interpreters and interpreter trainees, although it should be noted that its character is descriptive rather than prescriptive. The main problem under discussion is how simultaneous interpreters handle face-threatening acts and impoliteness directed by politicians at their opponents, and the authentic material under analysis comes from plenary debates of the European Parliament, which are routinely interpreted into all the official languages of the European Union. Chapters 1–4 are meant to set the scene. Chapter 1 presents the European Union as a multilingual institution, with a special focus on its translation and interpreting services. Chapter 2 zooms in on the latter, considering such features of plenary debates of the European Parliament that have direct consequences for interpreting, and also including an overview of existing research on interpreting for the needs of various EU bodies. Chapter 3 provides the pragmatic background to the study, shedding light especially on the crucial notions of “face,” “facework,” “face-threatening acts” and “impoliteness,” while Chapter 4 reviews existing research on facework performed by interpreters in various settings and interpreting modes.The author’s empirical contribution is presented in Chapter 5, which scrutinizes Polish interpretations of British Eurosceptics’ plenary speeches, in particular ones that fiercely attack and possibly offend the speakers’ political opponents. Five speeches undergo detailed discourse analysis covering all identifiable aspects of facework as performed by the original speaker and the interpreter, whereas a considerably larger corpus of source texts and the corresponding interpretations is analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively in terms of personal reference and impoliteness. The interpretations are searched, first and foremost, for signs of interpreting strategies at play during transfer of face-threatening input. Many of these strategies result in mitigation of the originally intended impoliteness. Chapter 6 develops this topic, endeavouring to find multifarious explanations of the pronounced trend towards mitigation by the interpreter within the wide framework of modern translation studies. Both this chapter and the final conclusions devote much attention to avenues for future research that would offer some possibilities of triangulating and complementing the results of thepresent study.

Design in the Context of Aesthetics. Its Origins, Transformations and Connotations

Dizajn w kontekście estetyki. Jego początki, przeobrażenia i konotacje

Author(s): Alicja Głutkowska-Polniak / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: design; aesthetic; contemporaneity; culture; art; lifestyle

The term “design”, commonly used today, however ambiguous and multidimensional, cannot be denied cognitive usefulness. Generally understood, design refersto contemporaneity, revealing the dependencies between production, consumption and culture. As a distinguished type of activities and practices, realizing the values of social aesthetic awareness, it is vibrant in today’s world.This book aims at showing the category of design in a broad cultural context, with a focus on the evolution of this notion in the 20th century. An analysis of this phenomenon, rich in multifarious connotations, begins in Europe at the approach of the 20th century, when this discipline, in a way, emerged from the sphere of artistic activity (Bauhaus, De Stijl), and ends in contemporary times. The road leads through issues strictly connected with the development of technology and aesthetics, but exclusively within the aspect of human life and functioning. In fact, design has always been connected with man as a subject (author and recipient) and anobject that the latter has in use. As such, it carries in itself a great wealth of diverse ideologies and socio-cultural values, which it reflects in connection with human life. In this sense, design is also a reflection of a way of this life, particularly in the times of aesthetization of reality.Design, as a close connection between art, technology and life eludes all definitions; it cannot be be unambiguously boiled down to any specific esthetic theories either. Referring to Peter Bürger, it can be assumed that design is art which became so immersed in life practice, that, having lost distance to the latter, it ceased to function stricte as art and became a new area of quest and experiments. Therefore, aesthetics implicite, as seen by Władysław Tatarkiewicz, tranferred into the sphere of design: drawing from the designers’ practices, contained in items/objects/utilitarian products, in critical thought and tastes and fads of a given period, seems to be the most optimal form of an aesthetic analysis of this phenomenon. Such an analysis is a priority of this work, whereas the chronological aspect helps connect design to the (aesthetic) functioning of man starting from from modernist beginnings of the 20th century throughout postwar changes and postmodernist aesthetic relaxing.

The migration of old age pensioners in Poland – factors, directions, consequences

Migracje emerytów w Polsce – czynniki, kierunki, konsekwencje

Author(s): Sławomir Pytel / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: migration; old age pensioners; migration of old age pensioners; Poland

Migrations of senior citizens are an important aspect of the social and economic development of local communities. Especially in the era of ageing populations and increasing life span, they are a challenge for local governments. The social capital constituted by senior citizens is very valuable and should be supported and strengthened. In the places where the pensioners migrate to, new types of services offered specifically to the elderly may be developed. The main aim of the study was to identify the patterns of the migration of the old age pensioners in Poland with regard to the stage of life they are in. It has been assumed that there are certain differences in this respect between old age pensioners within different age ranges. It has been found that they issue from different health status of the senior citizens and the benefits the destination offers. The research findings allowed showing the real scale of the retirees migration at the municipal level, which is around 30,000 annually as to internal migration, and about 2 thousand (migration turnover) as to international migration. The migrations are dominated by females, who migrate about three times more often than males, whereas the main directions of the migrations are municipalities, and they are twice more numerous than to rural communities.Since the phenomenon is a multidimensional process, the paper looks at migration concepts with regard to spatial, motivational, cost and benefit approach, and discusses the dynamic model of the senior citizens migration consisting of three cycles: industrial, post-industrial and informational. In each of the cycles the factors that have influenced migration were indicated, as well as the directions in which migration occurred, and the benefits and costs borne by the migrating pensioners.What should be indicated among the migration factors in the industrial period, are health and familial and financial factors. They played a major role in making a decision about migration by the pensioner. The dominant destination was the city or town, because it is associated with easier life. Unfortunately, during the industrial period, the migrating pensioners lost more than they gained, in terms of housing, economic and social aspects. The most frequently, the migrants were elderly, poorly educated pensioners, who moved within short distances.In the post-industrial period, familial and financial factors were the dominant aspects, whereas health was ofthe secondary (far lesser) importance. The main destination of the migration was the city or town. The costs were outweighed by the benefits, and the most important of the latter were housing and social benefits. The most frequently migrating pensioners were younger, well-educated senior citizens, who moved within short distances.In the information period, health and environmental factors play the most important role among the migrationfactors, while the main directions are: to the city or town and abroad. The benefits (the most important of whichare housing and social benefits) outweigh the costs. The most frequently, the migrants are younger, very well-educated pensioners, who migrate at long distances. In the case of industrial society, pushing out forces play a pivotal role, whereas in the case of post-industrial and informational societies, the forces of attraction are crucial.The conducted survey of migration studies in chronological terms, subdivided into study periods, indicates that the monograph is innovative, and that there is no similar study of such a research scope in the literature on thesubject. The paper shows the regional background of the migration of old age pensioners in other countries. The migration of elderly people in the Mediterranean, North America and selected Asian countries was discussed in detail, therefore it was possible to determine prospects of the migration of old age pensioners in Poland. It has been found that there is a significant impact of tourism on the migration of senior citizens.In the monograph, on the basis of questionnaire surveys, the factors that influenced the pensioner’s decision about migration have been determined. The causes of migration have been further distinguished due to gender, education, age and family status.The main reasons for the migration of the old age pensioners comprise:• building or purchasing a house or a flat,• improving the standard and quality of life,• stopping work and going into retirement,• deterioration of health, the need for treatment and care,• desire to improve the climatic and environmental conditions,• accompanying the family when they move to a different place of living,• intention to reduce the living area and decrease relevant fees,• high tourist and social attractiveness of the destination,• need to take care of grandchildren,• loneliness and longing for the family.The phenomenon of the migration of Polish senior citizens was characterized in terms of their material situation, housing situation and family situation. The study comprises the description of the direction and volume of the migration of the old age pensioners. The scale of the phenomenon occurring between 1990 and 2013 was determined with regard to both national and international migration. The occurrence of migration cycles in five-year periods was shown and a summative analysis of the cycles was carried out. In three time periods (2000, 2006, 2013), a meticulous analysis was performed individually for gender, within five-year intervals, as to influx to and outflow from municipalities of up to 5, 10, 20, 20–100 thousand inhabitants and more than 100 and 200 thousand inhabitants. In the aforesaid time periods, the municipalities where the highest number of pensioners migrated into were indicated, both in absolute values and per 1000 inhabitants. A spatial distribution of the influx of the pensioners was presented. In addition, the influx of the retired people with regard to different age groups was presented cartographically: up to 70 years of age, 70–79, and 80 years of age and above.The volume of the migration influx of the retired people to municipalities in Poland was determined, and thus itproved to be systematically increasing from 1990 until 1998 when it reached the highest level (1025 pensioners). After 1998, it dropped to about 800 immigrants in 2001, and has remained at this level until today. The typology of the migration of the pensioners was developed in three aspects:• spatial classification of the migrants’ age (k-means clustering),• typology of the causes of the migration (cluster analysis method),• typology of the migration directions (character table method).Distinguished types have been presented graphically. On the basis of the proposals of actions of numerous local authorities, recommendations have been made for the other ones. They were presented in 10 groups concerning the following issues: social activity, volunteering, actions preventing loneliness, health promotion, the Silver Economy, transport and infrastructure, meals, housing, senior citizens-friendly places, information for senior citizens. The study of the senior citizens migration counters the myth persisting in Polish society that “you cannot shift an old tree without it dying” – the monograph unequivocally confirms that the migration of Polish pensioners amounts to several tens of thousands each year during the period considered. Such a scale of migration may indeed cause the emergence of retirement towns in the nearest future (so far, senior citizens settlements are growing up in our cities or towns).The migration of old age pensioners plays an important role in the social and economic development of cities and villages. It brings about transfer of income to these places, development of the infrastructure necessary for the retirees, and creation of new jobs associated with the assistance to the elderly people. On the other hand, it may become a burden on municipal social services because of an increasing demand for care services, and it also may reduce the investment of enterprises looking for new employees. Whether the migration of the retirees will facilitate the development or will become a hindrance to our cities and villages, will depend on social policy, especially in terms of developing the social potential of active, creative, experienced and professional senior citizens.

Teacher in the School Environment: A Reflection on Pierre Bourdieu’s Theories and Teacher Narratives

Nauczyciel w „polu” szkolnym – w świetle teorii Pierre'a Bourdieu i nauczycielskich narracji

Author(s): Małgorzata Zalewska-Bujak / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: teacher; school' Pierre Bourdieu

The monograph constitutes an attempt at providing a teacher’s perspective on their work environment. Due to my interest in identifying how – and where – teachers see themselves within the school environment, I decided to provide them with an opportunity to speak for themselves and, through personal interviews, study the everyday challenges of their profession. The possibility to access first‑hand accounts of the professional experiences of teachers has allowed me to gain deeper insight into their work environment. Moreover, it has allowed me to look as if through their eyes at both the people and situations they encounter, and their own initiatives, as well as the standards according to which they operate. In addition, it has enabled me to recognise the meanings which they assign to everyday occurrences, processes and structures of their professional life.On the other hand, Pierre Bourdieu’s theories shed a different light on the study of the teacher’s place in the school life. Those theories, in turn, serve as the methodological basis forthe analysis of the teachers’ experiences. The application of that theoretical framework, however, differs from its use in quantitative research projects and does not consist in empirical verification of the assumed theoretical model. Instead, chosen concepts derived from Bourdieu’s conceptual apparatus allowed me to describe and interpret the meanings which teachers assign to their experiences in the school environment.In the opening part of the book, I present the macrosocial conditions regarding the teachingprofession, including both the national tendencies to politicise the school environment, aswell as the global trends manifesting in – often covert – attempts at construing it as a sphereof neoliberal influence. Further, I introduce the theoretical background utilised in order to interpret the results of the study, and elaborate on selected Polish research studies on the nature of pedagogy, using Bourdieu’s theories.Moreover, the monograph includes an overview of my own methodological perspectiveon my research concerning teachers in the school environment. This includes: a discussionregarding the subject of the study and my interpretative stance; an outline of aims and selected problem areas; an overview of data gathering, including interview procedures; a characteristic of the research subjects; and, finally, an overview of the applied strategies for working with the empirical research material and the use of analytical tools.In the following parts of the book, I analyse and interpret my research results, which includes:1) a description of the habitus revealed by the teachers, showing the way in which theyinform the teacher’s perception and everyday professional functioning; 2) a reading of the school as a place of reproduction and symbolic violation, resulting from the factual inequality among the students maintained under the guise of official and formal equality, as well as revealing certain mechanisms of reproduction functioning in the school environment, which – according to Bourdieu – result in the capital following the capital, allowing the social structure to remain unchallenged; 3) a discussion of the symbolic violence of the school environment (owing to the description of sources cited by the teachers and the forms of symbolic violation which emerge in the school environment); 4) a description of the teachers’ strategies of surviving in the school environment – since it appears that the subjects engaged in play make efforts designed to maintain the subjects’ positions within the environment, using strategies which, in their understanding, will enable them to retain their status. The subjects engage in those actions according to their habitus, which allow them to find their place within the school structures and enable them to utilise generally acknowledged practices and procedures in the process of developing strategies.

A six-year-old at a school desk – lowering the compulsory school age in Polish education system

Sześciolatek w szkolnej ławce – obniżenie obowiązkowego wieku szkolnego w polskim systemie edukacyjnym

Author(s): Agata Rzymełka-Frąckiewicz / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: school desk; compulsory school age; Polish education system

“Many representatives of economic and social sciences, including pedagogues and sociologists, share the view that it is the acquired education, the knowledge and professional competence that determine our place in the hierarchical structure of social relations today. Broadly understood education has a decisive effect on the achieved social position, the social prestige of individuals, social groups and also entire societies (states). Schools are an important part of the process of becoming a social being, […] they significantly influence the life chances of its members”. In highly developed countries, education constitutes the most important factor of professional and material success. According to Tadeusz Pilch, “[…] today it is neither birth nor even, in a sense, possession that determine the social position of man. Today, the most common truth has become the most common rule: as one’s educationis, so their fate is”.Formerly illiteracy meant ignorance of the alphabet, and thus inability to read and write. At present, the term ‘functional illiteracy’ is in use. An illiterate person is a person who knows the letters, knows how to read and write, but does not comprehend the texts he/she reads andis not able to use the information provided with the writing (e.g. manuals explaining how to operate devices, instructions on how to use something, how to take medication, etc.). Today‘s educational expectations are even higher. An increasing number of developed countries are deciding to lower the compulsory school age, thus making the period of formal education longer.The presented work deals with issues related to the attempt to lower the compulsory school age of children to six years of age in the Polish educational system during the period of so-called transitional regulations, when it was the parents‘ decision to enrol a six-year-old child at school. The paper comprises information on how the age of education and the structure of education in Poland has changed over time, what solutions concerning school age and structure of educational institutions have been adopted by particular countries in Europe, and what specific solutions have been introduced in education within the frame of theproposed educational reform.In the empirical part, the following research has been presented: a review of national social opinions on social acceptance of the proposal to lower the compulsory school age to the sixth year of life of the child; an interview conducted in 2013 with the then Minister of NationalEdu cation – on the assessment of the prevailing social situation and the opinion of the Minister about the project and the procedure of the introduced changes to the educational system; interviews with directors of selected primary schools in Katowice, who had experience of working with a six-year-old child in their institutions; the results of questionnaire surveys conducted among parents of six-year-old children who startededucation at primary school.

Different facets of the family – reflection on the contemporary family

Rodzina niejedno ma oblicze – refleksja o współczesnej rodzinie

Author(s): / Language(s): English,Polish,Slovenian

Keywords: family; problems; prospects; Poland; Europe

The family is one of the basic institutions in every society. It is the social groupthat constitutes a transmission belt integrating individuals into broader social systems.Its efficient functioning brings about both the well-being of individuals and the effectivefunctioning of complex macro-social systems. Systematically conducted scientificresearch indicates the dynamic changes that take place within this basic microsocialsystem. The observed changes occur primarily within an extend of the structure – inthe positions and roles of the marriage and family. They also relate to the functionsthat are currently carried out by families and their functional equivalents. The changesin the connections between partners, directed towards the personal dimension, resultprimarily from the progressive process of the individualization of life. Family life isconditioned by many factors of a socio-economic, cultural, and demographic nature.The texts comprised in this monograph present interdisciplinary views of the authorson various aspects of family life in the changing social reality. This book seemsto be an important contribution to the discussion about the contemporary family andthe challenges it is to face.

The “self” in axiological spaces. Some problems of subjectivity in the literature of the 19th-20th century

„Ja” w przestrzeniach aksjologicznych. Z problematyki podmiotowości w literaturze XIX–XXI wieku

Author(s): / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: subject; values; literature; axiology

The book entitled “The “self” in axiological spaces. Some problems of subjectivity in the literature of the 19th-20th century”, is an attempt at formulating anew in the modern and postmodern world the relations of the subject with the sphere of values, an attempt in which the “self” and the world may reveal their slightly less obvious features. The significance of literature consists in the fact that the concepts of the world, entities and phenomena which are created by literature are concretised by literature in the form of something which actually exists, manifesting the essence of those things and what happens to them. Similarly it makes evident our “self” entwined with values. Literature creates, organises the field in which the thing which happens may be viewed and examined. By taking advantage of this ontological capability of literature, as well as by taking advantage of a wide array of phenomena which are provided by it, we inquire in the book about the adventures of the “self” in the spaces of values, about what is told about them by literary forms, the new literary figures, and the old ones which are re-interpreted. The first part of the book comprises works which focus in a particular way on poetic figures – for the purpose of the examination and the description of the axiological spaces of poetry. Here romantic and modernist areas of literature interpenetrate; most commonly they are studied according to a cross-sectional, comparative approach. What seems particularly interesting is the discussion between texts which discuss the relations of good and evil, and – in a broader context – about the various forms of the world of values. The second part of the book is organised problem-wise and is somewhat formatted by texts which determine in a fundamental way man’s situation in modernity. Metaphors and symbols faded away, there are only things, their traces in the area of memory. The final part of the book explores the axiological space in frontier literary areas: reportage, criticism or the values in the sphere of electronic output. The book is intended for experts in the field of literature, culture, for philosophers, as well as for general readership who seek a guide in the modern world and who are guided themselves by values.

Troping the Troubles: The Rhetoric of Cultural Memory in Recent Northern Irish Fiction

Tropy konfliktu. Retoryka pamięci kulturowej we współczesnej powieści północnoirlandzkiej

Author(s): Leszek Drong / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: Cultural Memory; Rhetoric; Troping; Fiction; Troubles; Northern Irish; Reconciliation; Community

“Troping the Troubles” shows how recent Northern Irish fiction remembers the past. The focus of this work is on recent history and contested narratives of the past; it seeks to illustrate the significance of cultural representations of the Troubles in shaping collective memory. Northern Ireland provides a particularly interesting set of historical, social and political circumstances to inspire literary productions, which Drong calls, following Birgit Neumann, fictions of memory. Novels connected with the Troubles, featuring characters preoccupied with the past – with remembering or forgetting the conflict – are explored at length here, particular heed being paid to how they affect models of mnemonic performance. Inspired by recent research into memory studies, and cultural memory studies in particular, Drong identifies distinctive aspects of memory culture in Northern Ireland. In consequence, Troubles fiction proves to be a uniquely adequate illustration of performative memorealism, a discourse that is responsible for a cultural normativization of the past due to its potential to create the illusion of history’s stability and identity in the characters’ or/and narrators’ memories. Chapter 1 is concerned with the historical and political background that underpins most of the novels interpreted in Chapters 3-6. Its main purpose is to explain the circumstances that had led to the establishment of Northern Ireland in 1921 and then to the eruption of violence there in 1969. A detailed discussion of the Troubles is offered to explain and/or refute common misconceptions connected with the conflict, including the allegedly religious motivations of the two major communities in Northern Ireland. The current situation in the province is also explored at some length to explain why Brexit may threaten the peace process. Chapter 2, in turn, focuses mostly on memory studies and its relevance to Northern Irish fiction. Recent developments concerning cultural memory studies are placed in political and historical contexts relevant to Irish studies to produce a rhetorical perspective that is particularly sensitive to how Irish fictions of memory perform, i.e., what role they play within Irish memory culture. The argument offered in this chapter is premised on the assumption that literary works are both representational and performative: their performance in culture depends upon the illusion of reference (hence the significant role of memory in fiction). Chapter 2 also raises the issue of Northern Irish literature as a distinct category and its usefulness for further analysis. The chapters concerned with Northern Irish novels focus on „Reading in the Dark” by Seamus Deane, „Ripley Bogle” by Robert McLiam Wilson, „One by One in the Darkness” by Deirdre Madden and „The Truth Commissioner” by David Park. Those four works of fiction are discussed in light of the concerns raised in Chapter 2 but also much attention is given in those readings to their specific historical and geographical circumstances, the linguistic minutiae, all those apparently trivial, idiosyncratic details suppressed by mainstream history but intriguing and captivating as aspects of minority narratives, counter-narratives, postnational/transnational memory cultures, etc. The concluding chapter introduces the concept of restorative memory, which is not so much concerned with truth recovery per se but instead envisages either individual or communal redemption or restitution if those may lead to reconciliation within Northern Irish society.

The literary text within the scope of linguistics. Vol.2

Tekst literacki w kręgu językoznawstwa. T. 2

Author(s): Ewa Sławkowa / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: style; artistic language; semantics; phraseology;literary onomastics;

This book is a continuation of the studies presented in the 2012 volume Tekst literacki w kręgu jęz ykoznawstwa [The literary text within the scope of linguistics], which, generally speaking, attempted to demonstrate that the dialogue between fiction and linguistics – called for in theoretical studies and much needed in academic teaching – is possible.Like the first book, this second volume of The literary text aims at showing that the focus on a literary text does not mean that the teacher or the student must necessarily give up their linguistic interests or passions. On the contrary, direct contact with a work of fiction may turn into a valuable intellectual adventure, generating the energy necessary to enter the field of linguistic studies and become acquainted with the wide variety of interesting theories they offer. After all, the knowledge of language and the study of literature do not constitute two separate worlds. In its present shape linguistics is part of knowledge of the human being: the culture, worlds of values, and ways of thinking and communicating with others. Literature addresses the same issues. Coming face to face with a literary work may be a chance for linguistics to demonstrate its full potential as a truly humanistic science.The book proposes a specific mode of reading of a literary text, which in the first volume was referred to as “a linguistic reading”. This reading mode consists in entering the supposedly inaccessible world of linguistic issues without giving up on the cognitive satisfaction and aesthetic pleasure which the act of reading brings.The volume consists of thirteen chapters, of which five comprise the theoretical and eight the practical part of the book. They present different perspectives, including polemical views, on selected current issues in linguistics, such as the relationship between language and culture, cognition and thought, and language, ethics and individual biography. The central concern among them, highlighted throughout the volume, is the problem of authorial language and style. Various theoretical aspects of this issue are discussed in chapters forming the first part of the book. They are mostly synthetic in nature, their aim being to present a possibly complete picture of the problem. They offer an overview of theoretical stands and research perspectives on the study of the vocabulary, phraseology and language (style) of particular authors in the context of stylistic varieties of the Polish language.The second part of the book is practical in nature. Each chapter proposes an analysis of selected literary material (coming from a single source or several texts), with a view to presenting particular linguistic theories with the categories and research tools that they have developed.

The Manuscript Found in Saragossa by Jan Potocki and selected novels from the 20th century (Fowles – Rosendorfer – Gretkowska)

„Rękopis znaleziony w Saragossie” Jana Potockiego i wybrane powieści XX wieku (Fowles – Rosendorfer – Gretkowska)

Author(s): Maria Janoszka / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: Potocki Jan; Fowles John; Rosendorfer Herbert; novel; intertextuality

The present study tries to show the unusual modernity of The Manuscript Found in Saragossa by Jan Potocki by analysing the intertextual relations between the work of the Count, written in the first decades of the 19th century, and two 20th-century novels: The Magus by John Fowles and The Architect of Ruins by Herbert Rosendorfer. Another novel subjected to analysis is Manuela Gretkowska’s Rękopis nieodnaleziony, czyli zalety szubienic.Convergences and similarities can be indicated primarily in the scope of the composition of works, genre and literary conventions used, the construction of the protagonist and novel spaces. Their analysis leads to further findings: these novels are linked by genre diversity, compositional and ideological polyphony, philosophical, epistemological, anthropological and metalliterary problems, dramatization of the depicted world, the element of irony and parody, the symbolism of the labirynth and circles, and other, more detailed ties, such as mirror motifs, love triangles or the figure of the Wandering Jew. All these works also highlight the importance of the act of narration and explore various areas of Mediterranean culture. Among the direct allusions present in the works of Rosendorfer and Gretkowska, there are repeated vampire motives that take up the game with the legend surrounding Potocki’s death, and at the same time draw an image of the „vampirism” of The Manuscript… itself, constructed from recurring, potentially infinite stories.From this perspective, The Manuscript… appears as a work extremely close to contemporary consciousness, pioneering in the face of 20th-century novels on many levels, from artistic solutions to the correlated vision of an unrecognisable, changeable and relative world. These numerous analogies, noticeable between works created in different epochs and national literatures, demonstrate the novelty of Potocki’s writing.

Spaces of translation Vol. 2

Przestrzenie przekładu T. 2

Author(s): / Language(s): Russian,Polish

Keywords: artistic translation; specialist translation;interlinguistic transfer;

The present monograph is devoted in full to the issues of translation. The articles are the outcome of academic reflection upon the problems of interrelations between language and culture, upon the phenomenon of intercultural transfer, upon the functioning and reception of translated texts. The research results presented here take into consideration various methodological and ideational approaches. The volume is intended for both theoreticians and professional translators, as well as for all those who are interested in this area of study.

Linguarum silva Vol. 7 (full)

Linguarum silva Tom 7 (całość)

Author(s): / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: Polish; text; media; advertising;bilingualism;

The Palimpsest. Places and Spaces

Palimpsest. Miejsca i przestrzenie

Author(s): / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: palimpsest; place;space;

In the present volume, which we present to the readers, the metaphor of the palimpsest is an interpretational key opening the reflection upon the categories of place and space in literature and culture. Places, which bear imprints of the subsequent inscriptions of the human history, refer to meanings that are both clear and hidden, like palimpsests. The palimpsest awakens curiosity in a different way than a page that has been inscribed once. It seemingly conceals, for that which is beneath (even if it is blurred or partly scratched) – is diaphanous. The more illegible it is, the more intriguing, open, potential it becomes. The palimpsest sensitises to the inconspicuous and emphasises its importance. Elżbieta Dutka (one of the authors of the present volume) writes: “the metaphor of the obliterated, multi-layered text, where one layer shines through another one, seems to be paradoxical in the studies on space: yet it is irreplaceable (often referred to) and insufficient (criticised and refuted) at the same time.” The authors of the subsequent sketches seem to support this thesis and thus search for meanings of place and space in various cultural phenomena.

Scribble in the child’s artistic creation

Bazgrota w twórczości plastycznej dziecka

Author(s): Urszula Szuścik / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: Scribble; visual perception; artistic creativity;stimulation;

The book presents the assumptions and results of the pedagogical experiment on the genesis of scribble and its transformation by stimulation of visual perception. The study involved children aged 2 and 3 years. As we know, the scribble period is one of the most difficult periods to study in the development of child’s drawing creativity. During this time, the areas of cognitive, enactive and communicational development of the child are formed and integrated. It is a discovery for the child to have left the first graphic trace. I asked myself a question concerning the extent to which the child’s visual stimulation determines his/her original drawing – a scribble. To what extent does his/her visual stimulation change as a result of this impact in terms of the diversity of linear quality, colour patches and shapes – figures? What, therefore, new formal features does the scribble acquire? These are some of the questions I tried to answer in the present work. My approach to the analysis of children’s scribbles rests upon my assumption that this is a kind of specific endeavor able to rebuild the child’s visual and motor experience by means of stimulation of his/her visual perception. The research hypothesis involved the stimulation of children’s artistic creativity depending on the shaping of their visual perception by strictly defined visual stimuli within colours, lines and figures. Visual stimuli formed perceptual patterns determined by individual research tasks. The experiment covered 15 exercises, including five exercises on colors, five on lines and five on figures. The book consists of three main chapters and extensive appendices. I discussed the issue of a scribble in the development of the child’s artistic expression in the first chapter of the work, referring to the concept of the development of artistic creativity and visual perception of selected researchers. I described the development of visual and artistic values in a child’s scribble, namely a line, a color patch, a circle and a figure. I attribute a special role to the development of the child’s visual perception. Moreover, I think that the formation of the semantic aspect of the scribble is one of the elements of the child’s cognitive development that leads to thought-drawing transformations. This issue is presented in the theoretical analysis of the work. Child’s scribbling was an inspiration for many artists; that’s why I have resolved to discuss this topic in this chapter. Seeking answers to this problem, I have contrasted selected examples of children’s scribbles and works of art. In my opinion, what combines them in the beauty of the simplicity of artistic solutions is creative intuition. In the second chapter of the work, I have presented the assumptions of my research, research problems, adopted hypotheses, research procedure, variables and indicators. The whole research was of complementary character. The third chapter of the book presents the analysis of the research results and their interpretation. This is where I provide evidence to support my thesis about the importance of stimulating the children’s scribble by means of visual perception. It can be concluded that the child’s scribbles illustrate and create a chain of transformation of his/her experience. An integral part of the book is a CD, which contains the quantitative and qualitative analyses of the research results, selected examples of children’s artworks from the research that show the diversity and originality of solutions in children’s scribbles. The experiment, conducted and presented in the monograph entitled Scribble in the child’s artistic creation (2019), proved that the formation of visual thinking in children takes place by means of visual perception. Such a process leads to the enrichment of their perceptual experience and the ultimate result: artistic activity.

Teacher and Pupil. Theory and Practice of Reception and Transmission of Information in Early School Education Grades 1–3

Nauczyciel i uczeń. Teoria i praktyka odbioru oraz transmisji informacji w edukacji wczesnoszkolnej

Author(s): Beata Oelszlaeger-Kosturek / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: questions and statements of students; communication acts; activities and actions;Information;

The publication concerns the subject of teacher-students communication in the context of the educational process in the early grades of primary school. In chapter one, the issues of information and knowledge were addressed with regard to their transmission and reception from the sender to the recipient, including the context of an educational process. The activities and actions undertaken by a teacher working with students in grades 1 through 3 were presented. From this perspective, the communicative competence of the teacher was analyzed as a main factor in the whole communication process in the classroom.In chapter two, the most relevant linguistic and philosophical aspects related to the subject were discussed. The focus was on the fundamental types, characteristics and functions of utterances. A variety of questions and statements that could be formulated by children in grades 1–3 was characterized. A typology of these utterances was proposed in the context of representative literature on the subject.In chapter three, research issues were outlined. The subject of research, its goals (theoretical and practical), and research problems were discussed. Three strategies along with methods, techniques, and tools applied for the purpose of the author’s own research were presented. The theoretical aim of this (diagnostic) research was to recognize essential questions and statements uttered by students of early school age, shaping the educational process. The practical aim was related to the search for innovative and valuable strategies and methods – the entire concept of the training of students of pedagogy to become early school education teachers. The main research problem concerned specifically the role of students’ questions and statements in the educational process in grades 1–3.The results of research were illustrated in tables and charts, and a non-stereotypical quantitative-qualitative analysis regarding the reception and transmission of information between a teacher and students was proposed to describe daily schoolwork. A novelty is a multilevel analysis of the communicative acts initiated by students and their continuation or lack of continuation according to the teacher’s decisions, and a development of different communication models based on this.In chapter four, conclusions, certain generalizations, and postulates were proposed, as well as an attempt to develop innovative components in the training of early school education teachers. In the final chapter of the book, chapter five, questions and statements of early primary grade students (grades 1–3) that were asked and formulated in a specific educational context were gathered, along with teachers’ replies to these questions and statements.The lists of students’ questions and statements can be used as source materials by academic teachers in educating pedagogy students – future early school education teachers. They can also be useful in preparing all kinds of research papers (for instance diploma dissertations, M.A. theses, and others).In conclusion, numerous findings and postulates were formulated, which contributed to the development of the author’s original conception of the training of early school education teachers. The publication is provided with a bibliography, a list of tables, charts, diagrams, and examples. A separate part is an appendix, which includes Przewodnik do badań nad pytaniami, stwierdzeniami uczniów oraz czynnościami i działaniami nauczyciela (A Guide to Research on Questions and Statements of Students with Activities and Actions of a Teacher) along with research tools and numerous charts supplementing the research outcomes that were presented and interpreted in chapter three.

Women’s Neo-fantastic Writing of Anne Duguël

Le néofantastique féminin d’Anne Duguël

Author(s): Agnieszka Loska / Language(s): French

Keywords: Anne Duguël; feminine neofantastic; Belgian fantastic; women’s studies

The monograph Le néofantastique féminin d’Anne Duguël is an attempt to show the feminine aspect of the prose written by Anne Duguël (1945–2015), a representative of Belgian neo-fantastic literature. Chapter one provides theoretical reflections on fantastic literature and shows difficulties in defining this genre as well as in delineating its fixed boundaries. The reflections serve as a point of departure in the analysis of Anne Duguël’s innovative and original works, provided in further parts of the book. The chapter also presents Anne Duguël’s biography and writing in the context of the profiles of the 20th-century prominent French-speaking women writers practising this literary genre. Referring to the concept of écriture féminine, the last section of the chapter tries to answer the question whether Duguël’s oeuvre can be regarded as feminine and hence analysed accordingly. Chapter two is devoted to the protagonist of Duguël’s works of fantastic literature. The chapter thus provides the characteristics of the female figure and a comparison between her and the male protagonist of classic works of fantastic literature, as well as the narrative analysis which shows the relations between narration and the feminine themes in Duguël’s works. Moreover, the chapter depicts the influence of the reader’s gender in the reception of neo-fantastic works of the writer. Chapter three focuses on the fantastic phenomenon, which in Duguël’s works is closely connected with the female figure and her femininity. The research includes: space-time frame, fantastic objects, female anxiogenic figures, such as a ghost or a vampire, as well as the motif of metamorphosis. The chapter provides an outline on how Duguël enriches motifs derived from classic works of fantastic literature with a feminine element. The last part of the monograph emphasizes the characteristics pertinent to Anne Duguël’s works, and therefore inscribes them in the manner the writer modifies modern fantastic literature by introducing an entirely new, hitherto unknown category, which is women’s neo-fantastic writing. The addenda contain a chronological list of Duguël’s neo-fantastic works, as well as biographical notes of contemporary Belgian and French women writers who represent neo-fantastic literature.

Event – technique – art. The thinking of film art. Observations

Zdarzenie – technika – sztuka. Myślenie sztuki filmowej. Obserwacje

Author(s): Jerzy Łukaszewicz / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: film; event; technique; art

Series: Sztuka Reżyserii. Sztuka Operatorska (1), ISSN 2720-1732 The art of film encompasses the real world and the unknown, elusive reality, at the same time pointing to what is hidden, unknown and what escapes the strict boundaries of reality. However, the boundary between these two spheres remains fluid and indistinct, because there is a constant flow between them: something new is constantly presented to the viewer and something else is constantly concealed and obscured. What, then, is this monograph not about? This monograph attempts neither to speak about correct aesthetic views, nor to reveal creation formulas, nor to expose formal manipulations, nor to present imperative artistic methods. This monograph only attempts to answer the question of what is the deeper meaning hidden in the actions of a filmmaker?

Sensitive strings of personality in romantic relationships

Wrażliwe struny osobowości w związkach romantycznych

Author(s): Marcin Moroń / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: reinforcement sensitivity theory; romantic relationships; interpersonal transgression

The aim of the book is to establish the role of temperamental sensitivity to pleasant and unpleasant stimuli in understanding the dynamics of responding to transgressions in romantic relationships. Using the neuropsychological reinforcement sensitivity theory of personality, there have been shown mechanisms of constructive and destructive reaction in the event of a breach of norms regulating mutual exchange by an intimate relationship partner. The analyses have demonstrated that sensitivity to negative stimuli and to motivational conflicts are the risk factors of avoidance and neglect of a romantic partner, and also revealed the mechanisms of this risk (e.g. difficulties in emotional regulation, reduced self-esteem and sensitivity to rewards and punishments in a romantic relationship).