Transformation of Polish habit and custom in the early XXI century

This book is to be an attempt at this kind of synthetic description of Polish customs in the early XXI century. During our research it turned out that the synthesis will be incomplete. The number of issues and areas which comprise modern Polish custom seems almost infinite. Out of necessity then, we decided on a synthesis which would consider only chosen aspects of the variety of customs. One of the significant issues for us was customary change in Poland in the early XXI century. We tried to focus foremost on what new things appear in the sphere of customs, what are the new practices, changing models or norms, and also whether there is an awareness regarding the new customs, what does it concern and how extensive is it, what role in developing this knowledge is played by personal experience, or by the media, what areas of life do dynamic customary changes apply to, to what extent are they the result of cultural appropriation or borrowing and what is considered lasting and traditional. We studied the diversity of customs – daily, celebratory, in the private and public spheres, showing models of customary practices in chosen areas and the sources of their validation, e.g. in tradition, transfer between generations, binding community codices, in contacts with other cultures or media content. We were interested in the customs of the private, as well as the public sphere.

Beata Łaciak

ISNS UW