Ethnic socialisation in the experiences of students and graduates of the Lithuanian minority in Poland

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Etninė socializacija; Lietuvių mažuma Lenkijoje; Lietuvių mažumos Lenkijoje; Socializacija; Studentai; Studentai ir baigusieji studijas; Ethnic socialization; Lithuanian minority in Poland; Socialisation; Students; Students and graduates.

ENThe aim of this article is to present the experience of ethnic socialisation recalled in the narratives of students and graduates of the Lithuanian minority in Poland. The sample of students and graduates grew up in Puńsk–Sejny, a rural and predominantly ethnic Lithuanian region and they later migrated to study in cities of Poland and Lithuania. I analyse the process of ethnic socialisation through the concept of a triple configuration of it: first, the national minority itself; second, the nationalising state; and third, the external homeland introduced by Rogers Brubaker (Brubaker 1996) and how these three dimensions of ethnic socialisation play on an individual level shaping identity of individuals. My analysis of these narratives show that the ethnic socialisation of the young generation of the Lithuanian minority was strong and was primarily associated with such institutions as family, school and cultural organisations and activities connected with them. Though the experiences of the interlocutors varied depending on their age and background, most of them followed similar life-ways regarding their choice of schools, social group and leisure activities. The article is based on 65 in-depth interviews with students and graduates of the Lithuanian minority in Poland, conducted between 2012 and 2014 in Puńsk, Sejny (Poland) and in Vilnius, Kaunas and Palanga (Lithuania). [From the publication]