Embodying ressentimentful victimhood : virtual reality re-enactment of the Warsaw uprising in the Second World War Museum in Gdansk

This article examines how the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk, Poland, employs an immersive virtual reality (VR) experience ‘Postcard from the Uprising’ (Kartka z Powstania) in order to build an affective memory regime that prescribes an emotional repertoire for museum audiences. By engaging in a narrative inquiry of the VR experience, I demonstrate how it evokes the emotional dynamic of ressentiment, which has been identified as the affective driver of right-wing populism and which informs the historical policy of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party. The ressentimentful emotional regime is predicated on (1) the repeated re-experiencing of perceived injustice and victimhood, which requires (2) an outlet of negative emotions directed at the enemy and (3) a reclaiming of self-worth and dignity along with an ennobled and morally superior victimhood position. The VR experience functions as an emotion training device through which ‘appropriate’ emotions towards the past are instilled in the audience. The VR narrative transforms collective historical victimhood from a powerless to a morally superior position and may help the PiS in harnessing feelings of injustice and victimhood present among the museum visitors, who yearn to overcome these feelings and reclaim their self-worth and dignity.Peer reviewe

Pašušvio šnektos izoliuotų balsių spektrų tyrimas

The article examines the spectra of isolated vowels, their acoustical features, articulation and their relationship with the corresponding vowels of the subdialects of Akmenė, Eržvilkas, Lukšiai, Kučiūnai, and D. Jones’ cardinal vowels.The system of the isolated vowels of the Pašušvys subdialect is the closest to the system of the Lukšiai subdialect, what is especially true of the vowels [a.], [a.], [a] which are lower as compared with the same vowels of the other subdialects.The distance between the articulation place of separate vowels of the Pašušvys subdialect is small: the back labialised [u.], [u.], [u], [o.] are pronounced almost in the same back place of the mouth (values of F2 are similar), the front [e̤.] [ε̣.], [i.], [i], [ẹ] differ a little from each other by the vertical movement of the tongue and degree of the openness of the mouth. The [o.] is the most back and [e̤.], [ε̣.] are high vowels. Compared with the very open [i̲], [u̲] of the Raseiniai sub dialect, Pašušvys analogic vowels are more close, but more open than half-long and long ones. The long [a.], [æ.] are higher and closer than the corresponding half-long [a.] [æ.]. The reason for this must be the surviving traces of nasalisation.The spectral analysis and the acoustic data allow us to claim that the isolated vowels of the Pašušvys subdialect are more similar to the secondary rather than to primary cardinal vowels. Neither the extreme front nor the extreme back articulation is characteristic of the vowels of the subdialect

Žemutinio pakilimo balsiai Pašušvio šnektoje

The article is devoted to the low vowels of the Pašušvys subdialect which belongs to the northern West-Aukštaitian dialect. The subdialect under analysis has the following sets of low vowels: in unstressed syllables the short [a a. ȧ], [e æ ẹ]; in stressed syllables the short [a ȧ], [æ e], the half-long [a. ȧ.], [æ. e.], and the long [a. ȧ.], [æ. e.]. The long vowels [e.], [ẹ.], [ie] are shortened to the short [e ẹ] in unstressed syllables. The reasons conditioning the appearance of new, the a type, vowels are the nonpalatalization or certain consonants, vowel assimilation, analogical vowel change. contraction, or the influence of semantically or phonetically related words. In word-medial and word-final positions the back vowels are followed by non-palatalized consonants and the front are followed by palatalized consonants. In word-initial position the back vowels are used due to the neutralization of the opposition of the low [e e. e.] vs [a a. a.].In this way, there are three low phonemes in the Pašušvys subdialect: short /a/, half-long /a./, and long /a./

ŽYDINČIOS SAULĖGRĄŽOS VAIZDINYS LIETUVIŲ POEZIJOJE

The aim of the present research is to analyse and to discuss the linguistic expressions and the semantic paradigm of the images of the sunflower in bloom that have formed in Lithuanian poetry. The methodological basis of the research is cognitive linguistics. The paper verifies that visual features of the sunflower in bloom are emphasized in poetry. The sunflower is perceived as a large in shape object that shines and moves (swings, sways and rises, bends, turns to the sun) or keeps one’s balance. The indicated features are the basis of metaphorical names of the plant.KEY WORDS: sunflower, poetry, mental image, categorization, meaning, metaphor.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/ rh.v0i16.101

Addressing linguistic diversity in the European Union : strategies and dilemmas

Peer reviewe

Mediating shame and pride : countermedia coverage of Independence Day in Poland and the US

This article adopts a comparative qualitative approach to studying the rhetoric of injured pride in the coverage of Independence Day celebrations by the right-wing countermedia in Poland (wPolityce.pl) and the US (Breitbart News) from 2012 to 2018. In both countries, the number of countermedia articles on Independence Day proliferated in the aftermath of the election of the Law and Justice party (2015) and Donald Trump (2016). Based on the analysis of the narrative strategy for affective polarisation, we argue that the countermedia mobilise support from an electorate of ‘the disenfranchised’ by strategically invoking emotions of shame and pride. By positioning the radical right as a political force that shields ‘patriots’ from the leftist ‘pedagogy of shame’, the outlets instrumentalise the mobilising potential of shame by transforming it into righteous anger and pride. This strategy results in a mediated ‘emotional regime’ that offers guidelines for an acceptable emotional repertoire for the members of the nationally bound in-group.Peer reviewe

History education in Lithuania

Peer reviewe

Uniqueness Perception and Willingness to Buy Protected Geographical Origin Versus Doppelgänger Brands

This study explores what drives consumers’ judgments and decisions – uniqueness perception of a foreign product with protected geographical origin cue or uniqueness perception of a domestic doppelgänger product. We find that uniqueness perception of domestic brands has greater impact on willingness to buy domestic brands compared with the uniqueness perception of the brand holding geographical origin labels. Next, our data shows that uniqueness perception of domestic doppelgänger brands has influence not only on willingness to buy such brands (positive influence) but also negative influence on willingness to buy true and unique brands denominated by protected origin. Thus, by perceiving the uniqueness of a domestic brand positively, consumers discount the original, unique and legally protected brand and are less willing to buy such a brand. The study offers theoretical implications for ingroup positivity and outgroup negativity research as well as managerial implications for managers and policy makers indicating how to improve marketing efforts and regulatory support to geographical origin labels. &nbsp