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Project objective

dr hab. Karolina Ćwiek-Rogalska
For years: 2022–2027
Project number: 101041946
ERC Starting Grant

Ghosts are often presented as the spirits of the dead haunting the living. But what if we understood them as material remains, bringing to light overlooked past and enabling us to grasp the experience of the otherness? We propose such an approach in research on displacement, on territories previously inhabited by one culture but after a forced migration resettled by another one.

The displacement comprises expulsion and resettlement. While the former is well-researched, much of the latter remains understudied: especially the settlers’ experiences with things previous inhabitants had left behind. Things act as “ghosts” of previous culture and force settlers to interact with the “spectral” presence of the expellees. Hence, we will operationalize the category of “post-displacement” as a form of afterlife, based on archival records and fieldwork, in 3 regions in Slavic Central Europe where the traces of previous German cultures remained visible, regardless of the efforts to remove them. With hauntology as the proposed research framework and introduction of the category of recycling, we will establish a novel approach in research on the post-displacement regions. Hauntology, a spectral theory of being, shows how the present is pervaded by the past and enables us to engage with unresolved questions, becoming a tool to investigate unexplained phenomena. Recycling is a mechanism of reintroducing the things that were left by expellees into the life of the settlers. Our approach will bring fresh insights into everyday life in the post-displacement regions by providing a more nuanced and coherent understanding of forced migration processes and their continuous reinterpretations in different political and ideological regimes. In understanding what post-displacement things are and the attitude of people towards them, the project presents a showcase study of what we can learn about the emergence of new cultures from the experiences of Central Europe.

Team

dr hab. Karolina Ćwiek-Rogalska
Principal Investigator in ERC StG
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dr Angelika Zanki
Manager/research facilitator in ERC StG
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mgr. Karina Hoření
Researcher in ERC StG
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Michal Korhel, Ph.D.
Researcher in ERC StG
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mgr Magdalena Bubík
PhD student/assistant
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News

New episode of the Czechostacja podcast. Karolina Ćwiek-Rogalska on the myth of Czechs as “little Germans”

There’s a popular—though misleading—opinion circulating among some Poles: that Czechs are essentially “little Germans” and that the Czech Republic as an independent state has never truly existed. While it may sound fringe, it’s not as rare belief as one might hope.

In Episode 69 of the Czechostacja podcast Karolina Ćwiek-Rogalska together with Jakub Medek explore the long and complex relationship between the Czech lands and their neighbors over the span of more than a thousand years.

This is not a conversation full of easy answers. Even the modern concept of what it means to be “German” doesn’t fit neatly into Czech history. Historical political entities and modern national analogies simply don’t hold up under scrutiny. The topic is tangled, layered, and fascinating because of it.

Discussion spans the Holy Roman Empire, the Habsburgs, and why Jan Žižka was seen as a hero by 19th-century Germans. If you’re looking for a story that challenges national myths and digs deep into Central European history, this episode is for you.

Link to the podcast you can find here.

New blog post (in Czech). Krajiny duchů. Osadnický kolonialismus jako klíč ke spojení Arizony a Sudet

Is there anything more contrasting than Arizona and the Sudetenland? In this blog post, Karina Hoření highlights the surprising parallels between these two regions. She begins with the concept of “borderlands,” a term that applies to both areas, and reveals that their similarities go beyond language. By applying the idea of settler colonialism, she demonstrates how both regions operated under its principles, including the displacement of native populations, the notion of the “Wild West,” utopian ideals, control, renaming, and forgetting.

Link to the blog post you can find here.

New episode of the Czechostacja podcast. Karolina Ćwiek-Rogalska on the myth of Czech atheism

The idea of the Czech Republic as an atheistic country is a prevalent myth in Poland, but the reality is more complex. Karolina Ćwiek-Rogalska sheds light on this topic in episode no. 68 of Czechostacja podcast. Can you be an atheistic Christian? What is secular Christianity? Where does the skeptical attitude towards institutional religions, especially Catholicism, come from? Were the Hussites Protestants? And how does contemporary Czechia relate to all this? It’s important to consider the nuances and complexities of beliefs and attitudes rather than perpetuate simplistic myths.

More you can find out here.

Magdalena Bubík  is one of the four winners of the research stay programme Young Researchers in Vienna

Programme of Research Stays at The Polish Academy of Sciences – Scientific Centre in Vienna for Doctoral Students from the Doctoral Schools of the Polish Academy of Sciences aims to disseminate and promote scientific activities. The competition is designed to enable PhD students to present their research results to the international scientific community in Vienna. Selection criteria for the winners included the substantive value of the project, innovativeness, interdisciplinarity, and social significance.

More information about the programme you can find here.

Congratulations!