Marek Barwiński

Abstract Poland is a peculiar example of country which had a very rich tradition of being one of Europe’s most multicultural societies, and at the same time most tolerant and open to “others”, notwithstanding a contemporary history characterised by a notable degree of national and religious homogeneity, as well as the aversion of a large part of society (and some political parties) to immigrants, especially those from beyond European culture. This is also visible in any attempt to outline contemporary geographical research in multiculturalism, as well as its presence in geographical education. The following general conclusions could be formulated on the basis of the analysis carried out: – The vast majority of research topics taken up concern relics of the former Polish multiculturalism – small and strongly integrated national, ethnic and religious minorities, cultural heritage attesting to the rich and proud history of Poland, and the presence of Polish culture and tradition in eastern borderland regions that lives on through centres of Polish minorities. Overall, it is what might be described as “sentimental multiculturalism” (internal, historical, traditional and indigenous); – The same relationship can be seen in school-level geographical education, which shows Polish multiculturalism through the lens of centuries-old, but currently scarce national and religious diversity, as well as the migration of Poles to the United Kingdom. At the same time, societies with different skin colours and non-Christian religions are located in far-away, exotic countries. – Despite the latest censuses showing a dynamic increase in numbers of the so-called regional minorities (especially Silesian and Kashubian) that dominate the contemporary ethnic structure of Poland, as well as their intensified social, cultural and political aspirations, there has been no proportionate upsurge of interest on the part of geographers; – Geographical research marginalises the issue of “immigrant multiculturalism” (external, modern and immigrant), despite this being an important research, journalistic, economic and political issue in the European Union for decades, and especially now. This perception of, and research on multiculturalism, in Polish geography is to a large extent understandable, in line with the historical and cultural importance of the so-called traditional minorities on the one hand, and – on the other – the lack of attractiveness of our country as a destination for settlement among economic migrants and refugees from the Middle East and North Africa. Despite all of that, Poland will ultimately not differ from Western Europe, in that it will not avoid a further increase in multiculturalism, given that no minority will either fully emigrate or fully integrate. Sooner or later, the influx of immigrants from nonEuropean cultures will increase, and the waves of legal and illegal immigration will not omit Poland. The substantive and mental preparation of Polish society for this “immigrant multiculturalism” – in a manner that is free of both populism and political correctness – represents a huge challenge for geographers, but also for sociologists, political scientists and historians.

Keywords: wielokulturowość, wieloetniczość, dziedzictwo kulturowe, regiony wielokulturowe, struktura narodowościowa, mniejszości, imigranci

Marek Barwiński, University of Łódź Faculty of Geographical Sciences Kopcińskiego 31, 90-142 Łódź: Poland e-mail: marbar@geo.uni.lodz.pl

Citation

APA: Barwiński, M. (2016). Wielokulturowość we współczesnych polskich badaniach geograficznych i edukacji geograficznej – zarys problematyki. Przegląd Geograficzny, 88(2), 137-157. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.2.1
MLA: Barwiński, Marek. "Wielokulturowość we współczesnych polskich badaniach geograficznych i edukacji geograficznej – zarys problematyki". Przegląd Geograficzny, vol. 88, no. 2, 2016, pp. 137-157. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.2.1
Chicago: Barwiński, Marek. "Wielokulturowość we współczesnych polskich badaniach geograficznych i edukacji geograficznej – zarys problematyki". Przegląd Geograficzny 88, no. 2 (2016): 137-157. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.2.1
Harvard: Barwiński, M. 2016. "Wielokulturowość we współczesnych polskich badaniach geograficznych i edukacji geograficznej – zarys problematyki". Przegląd Geograficzny, vol. 88, no. 2, pp. 137-157. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.2.1