Slavs as the Other Europeans : Slavic exo-stereotypes and values in the eyes of international students of European Studies in Kraków

Przypisy. Bilbiogr. s. 164. Streszczenie w języku angielskim

Slavs make an important ethnographic metacategory, pointing the largest ethnolinguistic group in ethnos-rich Europe. The cultural identity of the Slavs is a mosaic of many communities, historically linked to territories from Moscow in the east to Cologne in the west, and from Danzig to Athens. In modern Europe, however, Slavicness has lost its political significance and has moved to the background of European identities. At the same time, proto-Slavic themes do not cease to be the subject of reconstructions and romantic stylisations, and proto- Slavic beliefs and customs provide further inspiration for pop-cultural productions. The text describes the results of a survey of international students in European Studies. The analysis is based on a questionnaire (20 respondents) and 2 focus interviews, conducted with 2 groups of the youngest and the most senior students. The surveyed students mostly represent cultural models belonging to the broadly defined circle of Western values. The aim of the analysis was to reconstruct the identity of Slavs as seen from the outside, as well as to reconstruct the proportion between common, stereotypical beliefs and scientific knowledge among students of European Studies.