Class and Cultural Narratives. The Upper Silesia..

This book delves into the exploration of local identities as depicted by the inhabitants of working-class estates in Upper Silesia, focusing on their unique portrayals in regional literature. By examining the works of Kazimierz Kutz and Stefan Szymutko, the book seeks to provide a sweeping perspective of a postindustrial world, acknowledging the region's distinctive characteristics, its rich industrial and agricultural background, and a collection of characters intertwined with the complex history of the local communities. Central to this study is the premise that literature serves as a repository of identity representations. Through the lens of autobiographies, family tales, and regional stories, the narrative of Silesia is reconstructed, formed from an assortment of memories and personal accounts. Consequently, the novels under analysis offer a distinctive form of social representation of Upper Silesia, belonging more to the communal fabric within which they are shaped than to individuals. These representations are characterized by an ongoing process of reproduction, redefinition, and continuous recreation of Upper Silesia's past and present.