Paper short abstract:

not required

Paper long abstract:

Based on an ongoing project in engaged anthropological research in the Polish city of Wroclaw, we will address possibilities of ethnographic research to be applied as a critical and participative learning tool. Once a vibrant German metropolis (Breslau) almost totally annihilated during WWII, Wroclaw was later nearly entirely re-populated and rebuilt by Poles in the post-war era and its Polish identity created through the official and ideologically driven process of Polonization. Post-1989 democratization has opened up a platform for highly politicized and nationally polarized discussions about the city's cultural heritage. Since 2004, we have worked with groups of college students with whom we have produced multi-layered interpretations of selected urban areas of Wroclaw, which differ radically from the bilateral German/Polish narratives. In the spirit of action research, which aims at implementing knowledge in practical social action, we have produced self-guided tour brochures that lead today's visitors through Wroclaw, pointing to its culturally composite heritage.