School as an anthropological place : the experience of literature

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The article deals with literary experience of an anthropological place as locus educandi in the second half of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century. The turn of the centuries is a time of increasing modernisation processes affecting education through its dissemination, development of institutionalized teaching methods and differentiation in school types. All of these processes, by contributing to social, moral and cultural changes, stimulated the formation of modern society. Literature participated in these transformations by showing different images of school and changing its perception as an anthropological place. It is defined by M. Augé as a place historically specified, which creates social tissue, helps an individual to identify, and possesses an identity creative value. The speculations are based on works by J.I. Kraszewski, T.T. Jeż, W. Sabowski, M. Bałucki, B. Prus, A. Dygasiński, G. Zapolska, S. Żeromski, J. Korczak, J. Kaden-Bandrowski, and others. Works from the 30s, such as Zmory by E. Zegadłowicz and Ferdydurke by W. Gombrowicz, are also taken into consideration, as well as contemporary texts by I. Filipiak, M. Pilot, J. Paliwoda, J. Dukaj. The outline concentrates on two aspects connected with literary loci educandi as transitional places. The first, described in the fragment entitled Alien – homely; rooting – eradication, deals mostly with folk school and is connected with the experience of an anthropologically unfamiliar place, anchoring children in a cultural reality, which is different from their parents’ . In Polish conditions, the unfamiliarity of school was also connected with the fact that institutions of education were ruled by occupants. The second aspect, which appears in the part entitled The experience of isolation and mechanization, is the result of the perception of school as an artificial environment and an isolated place, fulfilling the function of a “future adult” education. It was supposed to introduce them into culture and tradition, and also prepare to their future social roles. In novels, such school has features of negatively valued heterotopia. Finally, the literary experience of school allowed to pose a question concerning relations between school as a place of education and an educational space outside it. This problem is important especially in present times.