Authors:Karolina Hess, Andrzej Kasperek Pages: 3 - 14 Abstract: The present study focuses on the activities of the first Polish Theosophical group, which for many reasons was never fully institutionally recognized. It was active from around 1905 and concentrated around Kazimierz Stabrowski (1869–1929), a Polish painter and the head of the Warsaw School of Fine Arts. The aim of this paper is to sociologically analyze this esoteric environment in Warsaw, which is treated here as an example of a cultic milieu from the perspective of visibility and recognition. Referring to the category of rejected knowledge (anomalies or the “cultural rubbish bin”) and using the case of Stabrowski and other members of the group, the authors highlight their efforts in the struggle for the recognition of their ideas in various environments and trace the process of their exclusion. Further, they examine the status of the Theosophical current in the public discourse of the time, which was undoubtedly related to the scope of Theosophy itself, which largely focused on the liminal aspects of humanity and cognition. PubDate: 2021-12-29 Issue No:Vol. 14, No. 1 (2021)
Authors:Giuseppe Maiello, Kamila Velkoborská Pages: 15 - 25 Abstract: This paper presents a specific situation concerning the Czech Pagan community, mainly through the narrative of the actors. Using the emic approach, the aim of the paper is to show an insider’s perspective of the ways in which Czech Pagans relate to the problematics of transgender, and its connection with the vaguely understood concept of shamanism. Due to the problematic nature of the informants’ experience, the paper uses the narrative and episodic interview approach. Free narration enabled the interviewee to use their own spontaneous language to tell the stories of their life with minimal influence from the interviewer. PubDate: 2021-12-29 DOI: 10.20413/rascee.2021.14.15-25 Issue No:Vol. 14, No. 1 (2021)
Authors:Barbara Thériault, Konrad Pędziwiatr Pages: 27 - 38 Abstract: In this brief essay, we look at a contemporary example of “practical theology:” a fragment of the internet production of Adam Szustak, a Polish Dominican monk, combined with interviews with a small sample of subscribers. Searching for clues to his success, we are attentive to the life conduct and aesthetics he conveys in his videos. In presenting himself as “ordinary,” “normal,” and “authentic,” we argue that he succeeds in speaking to the aspirations and interests of young Catholics in Poland in the context of the increasing politicization of the Church and the strengthening alliance of its more conservative faction with the right-wing government. PubDate: 2021-12-29 DOI: 10.20413/rascee.2021.14.1.27-38 Issue No:Vol. 14, No. 1 (2021)
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