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An illusion of exoticism

The evolution of the perception of Africa in Poland (1945-1989)

Authors

  • Błażej Popławski Polish Africanist Society

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59569/jceeas.2021.1.1-2.9

Keywords:

Africa, People’s Republic of Poland, Perception, exoticism, stereotype, Afro-Pessimism

Abstract

The aim of this article is to describe the evolution of the perception of Africa, especially the Sub-Saharan part, and its inhabitants in Poland between 1945 and 1989 on the basis of official documents, literary sources, and memoirs. It is possible to assume that the process of conventionalization of the symbols generated the image of the “Dark Continent” and the substantial modification of the language of cognition – from “Afro-Optimistic” in the early 1960s to “Afro-Pessimistic” in the 1980s. This change was caused by various factors: cold-war geopolitics, anticolonial and “fraternal aid” rhetoric, frequency of social interaction, more visible presence of Africans in the cultural landscape of Poland, and liberalization in terms of “passport politics” in the People’s Republic of Poland (in Polish: Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL).

Author Biography

Błażej Popławski, Polish Africanist Society

Błażej Popławski is a freelance researcher, a member of the Polish Africanist Society. He holds a PhD degree in Historical Studies from the University of Warsaw (2011). He graduated from the University of Warsaw (MA in Historical Studies – 2007; MA in Sociology – 2008, Postgraduate Museum Studies – 2018). He specializes in the African politics and history, constitutional systems, and in modern literature, museology. He has field-research experience from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Tunisia.

Journal of Central and Eastern European African Studies Volume 1 Number 1-2 2021

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Published

2021-07-04 — Updated on 2024-03-12

Versions

How to Cite

Popławski, B. . (2024). An illusion of exoticism: The evolution of the perception of Africa in Poland (1945-1989). Journal of Central and Eastern European African Studies, 1(1-2), 156–175. https://doi.org/10.59569/jceeas.2021.1.1-2.9 (Original work published July 4, 2021)

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1-2 (2021): JCEEAS - Vol 1 Number 1-2 2021

Section

Articles