John Paul II and the identity of the local inhabitants of Wadowice

Praca porusza kwestie tożsamości lokalnej dwóch pokoleń wadowiczan.Poruszone zostały w niej takie zagadnienia jak: : identyfikacje wadowiczan, ich więzi z miastem, satysfakcje lokalne, stabilizacje lokalne, poczucie odrębności, aktywność lokalna, znajomość przez wadowiczan historii miasta oraz dziedzictwa kulturowego i zagadnienia dotyczące rozwoju miasta. W pracy tożsamość lokalna rozumiena jest za M. S. Szczepańskim.Za obszar swoich badań wybrałam Wadowice, miasto w którym urodził się Jan Paweł II. Ciekawiło mnie to kim dla mieszkańców miasta jest Jan Paweł II oraz czy istnieje związek pomiędzy nim, a tożsamością lokalną wadowiczan. Dlatego główne pytanie badawcze niniejszej pracy brzmi: Czy istnieje związek osoby Jana Pawła II z tożsamością lokalną dwóch pokoleń mieszkańców Wadowic? Jeśli tak, to w jaki sposób się on wyraża?

The master's thesis raises an issue of Wadowice inhabitants' sense of local identity. I focused on two generations of residents and I was interested in specific aspects of local identity such as : emotional attachment to the city, sense of individuation, local satisfaction, identification, stabilization and activity. The knowledge of local history and cultural heritage and issues associated with city's development were also included in the area of my interest.The constituents of local identity which were mentioned above, were extracted from the definition made by Marek Szczepański. According to this author, the local identity is understood as a kind of collective and cultural identity containing some specific social, cultural, geographic, topographic and economic features.It wasn't an accident that I decided to carry out my research in Wadowice. It is the birthplace of John Paul II, Polish Pope who was very important for a lot of people, not only from Wadowice but also from all around the world. I was curious if something has changed after his death and what the figure of Polish Pope currently means to his compatriots from Wadowice.There were two questions which have been tried to answer in the master's thesis. First, does the association between the sense of Wadowice inhabitants' local identity and the figure of John Paul II really exist? Second, if yes, what is the way of its expression?