Human, animals and public displays in Poland and Latvia

Funding Source: Polish Academy of Sciences, Latvian Academy of Sciences
Programme: Mobility and networking
Implementation Period: 01.01.2025.–31.12.2027.
Partners: Institute of Archaeology and ethnology at Polish Academy of Sciences and Instiute of Latvian History, Faculty of Humanities, University of Latvia
Project Leader: Dr. Dominika Czarnecka
Coordinator: Dr.hist. Ilze Boldāne-Zeļenka
Project team: I. Boldāne-Zeļenka, D. Czarnecka, Prof. Dagnoslaw Demski, Mg. Art. Kristine Miler

Project description

This project builds on several years of successful collaboration between institutes in both countries, including researchers Dagnosław Demski, Dominika Czarnecka, and Ilze Boldāne-Zeļenka. It focuses on a historical and anthropological analysis from a postcolonial and decolonial perspective, examining how people of non-European origin ("Others") were exhibited alongside animals in public settings in Poland and Latvia. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, ethnographic shows (Völkerschauen in German) attracted significant public interest in Western Europe and North America. This project evaluates the impact of these practices on Eastern Europe, a region often viewed as peripheral in global discussions of colonialism, race, and conservation. The study explores how the display of people and animals in ethnographic shows, zoos, and tourist attractions contributed to the construction of the concept of the "other."

Objective

This project aims to examine how local social actors in Eastern Europe, often considered peripheral to global colonial discourses, developed and sustained conservation, environmental, and wildlife-tourism narratives shaped by racism, nativism, xenophobia, and violence. It explores key concepts such as wildness, captivity, extinction, and authenticity to incorporate Polish and Latvian perspectives into global discussions on race, colonialism, and violence.

Expected results and impact
Scientific articles: Publication of results in internationally recognized academic journals in Polish, Latvian, and/or English.
Critical reflection: Review of contemporary historical and nature conservation narratives in Poland, Latvia, and globally.
Research networks: The project will expand international research networks and lay the groundwork for future collaboration.