Provincializing enlightenment : the ideas and portrayals of Volhynia and Podole by its residents

Abstract

This thesis explores how the szlachta and residents of the geographically, socially, and politically distinctive regions of Volhynia and Podole reflected on and made representations of the Enlightenment in the 1790s – 1860s. By focusing primarily on the memoirs of the local actors in Volhynia and Podole, this dissertation addresses the ways they experienced and responded to changes in social practices and intellectual communication within their local context and environment. The chapters of this dissertation tackle issues such as education, reading habits, the practice of translation, scientific exploration, emancipation, toleration, and the role of religion in society. By building on these topics, this thesis argues for the importance of peripheral areas in order to uncover the geographical diversity of the Enlightenment. It also contributes to the discussions on cultural superiority/inferiority that were prevalent during the age of Enlightenment, and elucidates the new vocabulary that the residents adopted in their works between the 1790s and 1860s. By focusing on the narratives offered by the landed nobility and residents, this study makes a case for the transfer of ideas and their cultural (dis)placement. The ambition of this work is to trace the full spectrum of changes that occurred within this provincial community, in order to provide a fresh perspective on blending and transformation of ideas in a specific context. Simultaneously, the local actors’ works are also examined as indicators of identity formation in the face of foreign imperial domination.