« Representing settler colonialism visually: Nicholas Dean Brodie, Kristyn Harman, ‘Other picture boards in Van Diemen’s Land: The recovery of lost illustrations of frontier violence and relationships’, Aboriginal History, 41, 2017, pp. 3-21
A special issue on indigenous netways: Tad Lemieux (ed.), Indigenous Matters: Cultures, Technologies, Mediations, MediaTropes, 7, 1, 2017 »

Polish settlers in Paraguay: Gabriela Galecka, Cezary Obtacht-Prondzynski, ‘Polish Community in Paraguay: Maintaining National Identity in Everyday Life and Festivity’, Revista del CESLA, 20, 2017, pp. 123-150

07Jan18

Abstract: The article investigates everyday life and festivity of the Polish community living in Itapúa department in Paraguay. The research also addresses the sense of national identity of the descendants of Poles who came to Paraguay in the years 1936-1938. It firstly presents the socio-economic conditions of the districts of Itapúa, Carmen del Paraná and Fram, where fieldwork was carried out. Due to the agricultural nature of the Poles’ emigration to Paraguay, the research was conducted mainly in a rural environment where agriculture and small entrepreneurship are the primary occupations. The research was based on two types of sources: induced (open interviews) and existing ones. Eighteen in-depth interviews were conducted with representatives of the first and second generation born in Paraguay, giving a picture of the life of four generations. The elements of everyday life and festivity presented in the article are the most widely discussed aspects of the life of the Polish community in the context of maintaining the national identity of successive generations of Polish emigres. The key concept of the analysis is family. The research concludes that changes in family structure initiate alterations in the self-definition of members of the Polish community.


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