Cavafy in Poland

Abstract

Despite the diversity of Modern Greek poetry available in Polish translation, Cavafy's work has eclipsed the achievements of other poets, just as the shadow of his lifelong translator, Zygmunt Kubiak, has inhibited other attempts only starting to surface in the twenty-first century. While external factors have determined Modern Greek anthologies in Poland, Cavafy translation has been mostly driven by personal passion. Apart from translation, this article reflects on various reasons why the Alexandrian's work should be so attractive to the Polish literary scene. Cavafy's seminal place within Polish literature stimulates further reflection on rewriting Cavafy in Poland.     

Iranian Studies in Turkey

Among other Middle Eastern countries, Iran and Turkey stand out as the two neighboring countries with many linguistic and cultural similarities. The question that comes to the fore is: to what extent do these two countries know each other? This article attempts to provide a picture of the state of Iranian Studies in Turkey with specific attention to three monographs originally written as PhD dissertations in various Turkish universities over the last three decades. Produced from within three different social science and humanities divisions, i.e. Political Science, Persian Literature and History, these are three of the very few scholarly monographs produced on Iran in Turkey. Based on a close reading of these studies, it seems possible to observe that they are mostly ill-balanced by methodological, ethnocentric as well as Turkish nationalist biases.     

The Iranian Diaspora in Sydney: Migration Experience of Recent Iranian Immigrants

Recent research has found that discrimination against Islam and Muslims is deeply rooted in Australia. This report explores whether or how recent Iranian migrants have experienced racism, discrimination, or Islamaphobia in Sydney. These questions are explored by focusing on their experiences and issues regarding their making of new lives in Australia. This article suggests that recent Iranian migrants are experiencing far less discrimination than other Muslim diasporas in Sydney. Concluding that despite recent reports by some researchers grouping various Muslim populations together as regards Islamaphobia, there is a necessity for investigating discrimination, stereotyping, and Islamaphobia against particular diasporas to determine the needs of the Muslim population at large.     

Landscape Sacralisation in Post-communist Poland

Landscape sacralisation is the process of filling the cultural landscape with religious phenomena and giving it a sacred character with elements of ritualised devotion. This paper examines this process in Poland during and since the communist era (1945–1989), and with a particular emphasis on late communist and post-communist times (1980–2013). It is argued that faith, politics, economy and religious ‘traditions of place’ are the most important factors shaping landscape sacralisation in Poland, particularly since 1980. Three types of landscape sacralisation are identified – architectural, linguistic and seasonal – and this paper discusses recent trends in these processes of landscape sacralisation with respect to their prevailing religious and non-religious dimensions. In recent decades, the Polish landscape has been filled with diverse religious objects and forms (churches, crosses, monuments, public processions, annual festivals and rural and urban nomenclature) associated chiefly with the Roman Catholic Church, the dominant denomination in the country. It is argued that scholarly appreciation of landscape sacralisation is a vital means of identifying the religiosity of Polish people during and since the communist era.