“People Said My Father Was Supposedly Polish, but It Made No Difference to Him”—A Vernacular Perspective on National and Religious Identifications in the Subcarpathian Countryside Before and After World War II

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This paper is not in my major field of expertise, but I have to say that it offers an outstandingly original and perceptive analysis of issues of identity in a complex borderland area as deliberately chosen and performative. It is remarkable both for its analysis is theoretical issues, and its handlng of powerful and evocative case studies. In the process it expands the category of lived religion to lived and affective religion in a powerful way. The issue of mixed Polish-Ukrainian identify is hot and contested. What is so remarkable about the study is the balance which it presents to an outsider, making the study a model of its kind. It is rare for me to say this, but there was nothing I can say to improve this paper. Perhaps the introductory section was on the lengthy side. There was a sentence (lines 219-22) with an excellent statement "the article foregrounds religion not as a fixed marker..."  that perhaps could have come earlier in the introduction. Otherwise the argument flowed very well.

 

Author Response

Comment 1: 

This paper is not in my major field of expertise, but I have to say that it offers an outstandingly original and perceptive analysis of issues of identity in a complex borderland area as deliberately chosen and performative. It is remarkable both for its analysis is theoretical issues, and its handlng of powerful and evocative case studies. In the process it expands the category of lived religion to lived and affective religion in a powerful way. The issue of mixed Polish-Ukrainian identify is hot and contested. What is so remarkable about the study is the balance which it presents to an outsider, making the study a model of its kind. It is rare for me to say this, but there was nothing I can say to improve this paper. Perhaps the introductory section was on the lengthy side. There was a sentence (lines 219-22) with an excellent statement "the article foregrounds religion not as a fixed marker..."  that perhaps could have come earlier in the introduction. Otherwise the argument flowed very well.

Response 1:

I am very garteful for encouraging and generous review. The Reviewer suggested considering moving an important sentence to an earlier part of the text.  While agreeing that moving this sentence could have made it stand out more,  I have left it in its original position, as relocating it would have disrupted the logical flow of the argument.

 

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This exceptionally thought-provoking and scientifically precise article uses rich field material to demonstrate the intertwining of ritual and national identities in the Carpathian region, as well as the impact of war and post-war events on these identities. The text combines a microhistorical perspective with an anthropological reading of lived religion, providing an important correction to nation-centric narratives.

My only minor recommendations concern the description of the methodology. The introductory chapter should be more concise. The chapter on methods should include information about the data evaluation process and the method of validation. The limits of the research should be explicitly stated. These adjustments would further improve the high-quality, valuable manuscript.

I noticed a few formal inaccuracies:
- L. 439: The age is given; elsewhere, the year of birth is given.
- L. 606: The abbreviation "b. c." is not defined in note 3.
- L. 131: Reference to Butler (2004), but Butler is listed in the bibliography as 2009.

Author Response

Comment 1:

This exceptionally thought-provoking and scientifically precise article uses rich field material to demonstrate the intertwining of ritual and national identities in the Carpathian region, as well as the impact of war and post-war events on these identities. The text combines a microhistorical perspective with an anthropological reading of lived religion, providing an important correction to nation-centric narratives.

My only minor recommendations concern the description of the methodology. The introductory chapter should be more concise. The chapter on methods should include information about the data evaluation process and the method of validation. The limits of the research should be explicitly stated. These adjustments would further improve the high-quality, valuable manuscript.

Reponse 1: I would like to sincerely thank the Reviewer for encouraging and generous comments, and for the valuable suggestion regarding methodological clarifications. I have addressed the Reviewer’s suggestions, including the limits of the microhistorical approach, the evaluation and validation of data at the end of the Methodology section (p.10). The reason I have not made the Introduction more concise is that doing so would have required substantial changes to the carefully structured argument. I was concerned that condensing it might oversimplify the reasoning presented.

Comment 1:

 I noticed a few formal inaccuracies:
- L. 439: The age is given; elsewhere, the year of birth is given.
- L. 606: The abbreviation "b. c." is not defined in note 3.
- L. 131: Reference to Butler (2004), but Butler is listed in the bibliography as 2009.

Reponse 2:

I sincerely thank the Reviewer for pointing out the above inaccuracies. I have revised the manuscript to reflect these corrections.

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The author makes an empirical study of the evolution of feeling and expression of personal identity (mainly religious and/or national) among the inhabitants of southeastern Poland. The subject is of clear interest. Without a doubt, it affects one of the great problems (religious, national, political, social, economic, cultural) of our time. This is an important issue because, in the article, the efficacy or irrelevance of some abstractions in the everyday behavior of ordinary people is particularly well manifested. This is of particular interest in the case of the concepts of "nation" and "identity". They are ambivalent abstractions: generally, they give rise to alienations that can weaken or strengthen the community in whose members they are incarnated. From the interest of this article, however, it is striking that a part of the inhabitants of the region did not even consider (or even did not know?) the concept of "nation" and, probably, the ignorance was clearer in the case of the notion of "identity". It is precisely the value of this article that arises from these observations: it is surprising that, in the thirties of the twentieth century, there were people in Poland who did not even consider the question of their belonging. It is also striking (but easily understood) that, on the other hand, one's own "identity" in the religious sphere was clear. After all, it is something that is usually managed individually, inside each person, and, from within, it is projected in their external actions. Actions that, in this case, draw attention to a generalized religious tolerance that, probably, was not even conceptualized as such; simply, one lived. The article shows a very remarkable example of religious plurality managed in a positive and even creative way.

The study consists of three well-defined and interrelated parts. In the first, the author focuses on the method and presents a sufficiently wide range of experts who have studied the question from the theoretical-practical point of view, that is, as a theory that gives rise to a method and results. The author contrasts her/his findings with the Croatian experience mainly and it is obvious that this comparison could be extended as much as we would like. This reviewer was especially reminded of the case of Basque nationalism precisely because it has been interpreted as a "religion of substitution". This is not the time, however, to expand on it. Many other comparisons could be made.

In the second part, the author talks about the sources s/he has used, and this reader deduces that they have indeed been "constructed" in such a way that they show an important success on the part of the author. There are already many of us (at least, in relative terms) who have studied these issues with the "microhistorical" method, which s/he her/himself mentions as typical of her/his work. The difficulty is in documenting "micro-histories", and s/he has done so with a collection of oral accounts of people from southeastern Poland who have been able to trace their memories back to the 1930s. Judging by the results, the documentary base that has been formed is very rich.

In the third part, the results are elaborated, and I have already highlighted the surprising interest shown by some of them. This is relevant, but it is also a methodological example that would be worth highlighting for the study of these same problems in other regions of the world. In many of them (black Africa, for example) the current handling of the concepts of "nation" and "identity" that can be seen in the statements, generally written, of their most cultured people is overwhelmingly "Western". And that is paradoxical because they are not "Western". The case studied in this article reveals the opposite, which is what is especially original: Western people in the thirties and early forties of the twentieth century did not give relevance to these conceptual problems.

I would go on longer, especially with suggestions to broaden the comparison with other territories. But it seems to me that what has been said so far is sufficient to express my assessment of the article. It is, without a doubt, the consideration that it is publishable and even noteworthy as an example for another research.

Author Response

Comment

The author makes an empirical study of the evolution of feeling and expression of personal identity (mainly religious and/or national) among the inhabitants of southeastern Poland. The subject is of clear interest. Without a doubt, it affects one of the great problems (religious, national, political, social, economic, cultural) of our time. This is an important issue because, in the article, the efficacy or irrelevance of some abstractions in the everyday behavior of ordinary people is particularly well manifested. This is of particular interest in the case of the concepts of "nation" and "identity". They are ambivalent abstractions: generally, they give rise to alienations that can weaken or strengthen the community in whose members they are incarnated. From the interest of this article, however, it is striking that a part of the inhabitants of the region did not even consider (or even did not know?) the concept of "nation" and, probably, the ignorance was clearer in the case of the notion of "identity". It is precisely the value of this article that arises from these observations: it is surprising that, in the thirties of the twentieth century, there were people in Poland who did not even consider the question of their belonging. It is also striking (but easily understood) that, on the other hand, one's own "identity" in the religious sphere was clear. After all, it is something that is usually managed individually, inside each person, and, from within, it is projected in their external actions. Actions that, in this case, draw attention to a generalized religious tolerance that, probably, was not even conceptualized as such; simply, one lived. The article shows a very remarkable example of religious plurality managed in a positive and even creative way.

The study consists of three well-defined and interrelated parts. In the first, the author focuses on the method and presents a sufficiently wide range of experts who have studied the question from the theoretical-practical point of view, that is, as a theory that gives rise to a method and results. The author contrasts her/his findings with the Croatian experience mainly and it is obvious that this comparison could be extended as much as we would like. This reviewer was especially reminded of the case of Basque nationalism precisely because it has been interpreted as a "religion of substitution". This is not the time, however, to expand on it. Many other comparisons could be made.

In the second part, the author talks about the sources s/he has used, and this reader deduces that they have indeed been "constructed" in such a way that they show an important success on the part of the author. There are already many of us (at least, in relative terms) who have studied these issues with the "microhistorical" method, which s/he her/himself mentions as typical of her/his work. The difficulty is in documenting "micro-histories", and s/he has done so with a collection of oral accounts of people from southeastern Poland who have been able to trace their memories back to the 1930s. Judging by the results, the documentary base that has been formed is very rich.

In the third part, the results are elaborated, and I have already highlighted the surprising interest shown by some of them. This is relevant, but it is also a methodological example that would be worth highlighting for the study of these same problems in other regions of the world. In many of them (black Africa, for example) the current handling of the concepts of "nation" and "identity" that can be seen in the statements, generally written, of their most cultured people is overwhelmingly "Western". And that is paradoxical because they are not "Western". The case studied in this article reveals the opposite, which is what is especially original: Western people in the thirties and early forties of the twentieth century did not give relevance to these conceptual problems.

I would go on longer, especially with suggestions to broaden the comparison with other territories. But it seems to me that what has been said so far is sufficient to express my assessment of the article. It is, without a doubt, the consideration that it is publishable and even noteworthy as an example for another research.

mment:

 

Response:

I sincerely thank the Reviewer for the extensive and thoughtful comments. While no revisions to the manuscript were required, the observations highlighting the interplay between religion and national identity in non-Western contexts have pointed me toward inspiring and valuable avenues for future research, which I will certainly take into consideration in my further scholarly work. I am very grateful for this guidance.