Cultural Family History Essay
Cultural Family History Research Essay – Assimilation of Ancestors
Shaina Wood
GS221
Professor Edmund Pries, Professor Bina Mehta
Wilfrid Laurier University
Sto lat, sto lat, Niech żyje, żyje nam. Sto lat, sto lat, Niech żyje, żyje nam, Jeszcze raz, jeszcze raz, Niech żyje, żyje nam, Niech żyje nam! As a child I heard this jumbled collection of words flying out of my family’s mouths in song, directly after the celebration jingle ‘Happy Birthday’. Other children would ask me what it meant and all I could comprehend was that it was Polish. I was mildly aware while growing up that I had European family members and ancestors but as I transitioned into adulthood it became less of an understanding and more apart of who I have became today. This essay is going to explore the last four generations of my mother’s side of the family and our own cultural family history. As well as employing forms of cultural and ethical analysis from our two texts and other academic sources, the essay will be demonstrating how my family history has incorporated elements from various cultures around the globe.
Remembering the days of old where my family began, goes much further back than my particular research in this essay. Although, where I have chosen to start appears to have the most impact on my life. To begin, the scene is set in 1933, Krochcice Poland when Alois Glosnek was born to Stefan Glosnek and Elizabeth Nee Pielat, starting one of the many stages of their family. It is important to note that Kochcice was a part of Upper Silesia, which was inhabited predominantly by ethnic Germans as opposed to Poles. (Russell 1941) Agnieszka was born in 1935 and then Jadwiga, in 1936. On September 1st 1939 Germany invaded Poland and men went to war. Most Silesians, because of their German heritage, were conscripted to the German army. (Lukas 1997) Stephan went to fight in the war as Elizabeth was left to, alone, parent their
Shaina Wood
GS221
Professor Edmund Pries, Professor Bina Mehta
Wilfrid Laurier University
Sto lat, sto lat, Niech żyje, żyje nam. Sto lat, sto lat, Niech żyje, żyje nam, Jeszcze raz, jeszcze raz, Niech żyje, żyje nam, Niech żyje nam! As a child I heard this jumbled collection of words flying out of my family’s mouths in song, directly after the celebration jingle ‘Happy Birthday’. Other children would ask me what it meant and all I could comprehend was that it was Polish. I was mildly aware while growing up that I had European family members and ancestors but as I transitioned into adulthood it became less of an understanding and more apart of who I have became today. This essay is going to explore the last four generations of my mother’s side of the family and our own cultural family history. As well as employing forms of cultural and ethical analysis from our two texts and other academic sources, the essay will be demonstrating how my family history has incorporated elements from various cultures around the globe.
Remembering the days of old where my family began, goes much further back than my particular research in this essay. Although, where I have chosen to start appears to have the most impact on my life. To begin, the scene is set in 1933, Krochcice Poland when Alois Glosnek was born to Stefan Glosnek and Elizabeth Nee Pielat, starting one of the many stages of their family. It is important to note that Kochcice was a part of Upper Silesia, which was inhabited predominantly by ethnic Germans as opposed to Poles. (Russell 1941) Agnieszka was born in 1935 and then Jadwiga, in 1936. On September 1st 1939 Germany invaded Poland and men went to war. Most Silesians, because of their German heritage, were conscripted to the German army. (Lukas 1997) Stephan went to fight in the war as Elizabeth was left to, alone, parent their
Bibliography: 1) Russell, E. J. (1941). Reconstruction and development in eastern Poland, 1930-39. S.l.: The Royal Geographical Society 2) Lukas, R. C. (1997). The forgotten Holocaust: the Poles under German occupation, 1939-1944 (2nd rev. ed.). New York: Hippocrene. 3) Vertovec, S., & Cohen, R. (1999). Migration, diasporas, and transnationalism. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. 4) Schiller, N. G., Basch, L. G., & Blanc, C. (1992). Towards a transnational perspective on migration: race, class, ethnicity, and nationalism reconsidered. New York, N.Y.: New York Academy of Sciences. 5) Featherstone, M. (1997). Global modernities ([Reprinted]. ed.). London ; Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications. 6) Ritze, G., & Atalay, Z. (2010). Readings in globalization: key concepts and major debates. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell. 7) Hopper, P. (2007). Understanding cultural globalization. Cambridge, UK: Polity. 8) Appiah, A. (2006). Cosmopolitanism: ethics in a world of strangers. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.. 9) Kumaravadivelu, B. (2008). Cultural globalization and language education. New Haven: Yale University Press. 10) Young, R. (1995). Colonial desire: hybridity in theory, culture, and race. London: Routledge.