Being Goral: Identity Politics And Globalization in Postsocialist Poland (SUNY SERIES IN NATIONAL IDENTITIES)

The Góral ethnic identity has been at the center of political machinations in Poland for centuries. The late Pope John Paul II, for example, was a Góral. This is the first book-length study of the Góral identity and one of the few studies in English to discuss Górals. Through personal interviews, local manuscripts, and academic histories of the region, author Deborah Cahalen Schneider shows how important the Góral identity has been to Poland's history. The conflict over the Góral identity in the community of Zùywiec, Poland serves as a lens through which Schneider views national identity issues and class conflict in Poland at large. The Góral identity not only gave this community a sense of togetherness under the Habsburg Empire, but also was a symbol of Polish identity for Polish nationalists during that time. Schneider shows how the Góral identity has spanned the rise and, arguably, the fall of nationalism as the primary discourse of political identity in the post–Cold War, European Union–dominated Eastern Europe. "The Goral ethnic identity has been at the center of political machinations in Poland for centuries. The late Pope John Paul II, for example, was a Goral. This is the first book-length study of the Goral identity and one of the few studies in English to discuss Gorals. Through personal interviews, local manuscripts, and academic histories of the region, author Deborah Cahalen Schneider shows how important the Goral identity has been to Poland's history. The conflict over the Goral identity in the community of Zuywiec, Poland serves as a lens through which Schneider views national identity issues and class conflict in Poland at large. The Goral identity not only gave this community a sense of togetherness under the Habsburg Empire, but also was a symbol of Polish identity for Polish nationalists during that time. Schneider shows how the Goral identity has spanned the rise and, arguably, the fall of nationalism as the primary discourse of political identity in the post-Cold War, European Union-dominated Eastern Europe."--BOOK JACKET Being Góral......Page 4 Contents......Page 8 1. The Day the Pope Came to Town......Page 10 2. A Political and Economic History of the Zwiec Region......Page 36 3. Elite Class Struggles and Authority......Page 72 4. Nonelites, Family Networks, and Identity......Page 106 5. The Community, the Nation-State, and Globalization......Page 144 6. Politics, Culture, and Modernityin Postcultural Poland......Page 176 Notes......Page 192 Bibliography......Page 199 C......Page 214 F......Page 215 I......Page 216 N......Page 217 R......Page 218 W......Page 219 Z......Page 220 Being Góral 4 Contents 8 1. The Day the Pope Came to Town 10 2. A Political and Economic History of the Zwiec Region 36 3. Elite Class Struggles and Authority 72 4. Nonelites, Family Networks, and Identity 106 5. The Community, the Nation-State, and Globalization 144 6. Politics, Culture, and Modernityin Postcultural Poland 176 Notes 192 Bibliography 199 Index 214 A 214 B 214 C 214 D 215 E 215 F 215 G 216 H 216 I 216 J 217 K 217 L 217 M 217 N 217 O 218 P 218 R 218 S 219 T 219 U 219 V 219 W 219 Y 220 Z 220 Deborah Cahalen Schneider. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 191-203) And Index.