Galicia. A multicultured land
Author
C.M. Hann and P. R. Magocsi
Publisher
Toronto: University of Toronto Press
Year of publication
2005
ISBN
0-8020-3943-X (hardcover)
0-8020-3781-X (paperback)
OPAC
Abstract
Habsburg Galicia, an area in central Europe covering territory presently ruled by Poland and Ukraine, was distinctive for its multi-ethnic character. With the unravelling of the Austro-Hungarian Empire following the First World War, a new political map of Europe emerged, one based on the principle of the nation-state. The very concept of the nation-state, however, was problematic in culturally pluralistic regions like Galicia.The essays in this volume examine Galicia beyond the traditional paradigm of national history, in an effort to understand better the region as a place where different ethnic communities – Poles, Ukrainians, Jews, Austro-Germans – lived in peaceful co-existence. With the recent expansion of the European Union, increased migration, and the demise of the nation-state, a look back to see how cultural diversity was managed in a pre-nationalist age is of more than antiquarian interest. The contributors to this multidisciplinary volume pursue to a wide range of approaches that shed fresh light on this unique region.