| Abstrakt: |
Abstract: The text concentrates on issues concerning the beginnings, development and current situation of the Sorbian ethnicity and ethnic identity in the region of Lusatia (Germany) from 1800 to the present. The given phenomenon is observed throughout the course of the 19th century which: 1/ accelerated the transformation of Sorbs into the modern era ethnic group, enabling them to undergo a relatively successful “national revival”; 2/ the same period, however, saw the acceleration of the language and ethnic assimilation (Germanization). Furthermore, attention is paid to the development, specific features, quests, possibilities and limits in the field of Sorbian ethnic consciousness in the 20th and 21st centuries; emphasis is laid on the present-day situation. Closer analyses and ensuing interpretations focus on social and psychologigal factors of the given problem range, as well as on political connotations. A dichotomous situation between the primordial and (post)modernist approaches to understanding ethnicity in Lusatia is also commented on in detail. Finally, the role of Sorbian elements as the common denominator of Lusatian regionalism is dealt with as well. |
