Page - 124 - in Mobile Culture Studies - The Journal, Volume 1/2015

124 Mobile culture Studies. The Journal 1 2o15 Elisabeth Janik | Sea travel experiences of Polish migrants The most impressive part of the journey was probably the passage across the Atlantic. The enormous size of the steamers and the fact that they became a temporary living space for at least two weeks may have frightened and unsettled many migrants. Most of them were jammed together in steerage, where the conditions were very harsh. In comparison to the upper-class accommodations, steerage was characterized by its enclosed nature, absence of privacy, and miserable sanitary conditions. It is interesting to see that the contemporary social structure was embodied in the allocation of the passengers on the ship. The wealthy traveled in the first and second classes, and the poor in the lower decks. The ship became a closed space with a clear structured hierarchy for all of them, but especially for the migrants in steerage. The American sociologist Erving Goffman (1972) introduced a concept that describes the specific character of ships and other spaces such as detention camps or colonial strongholds as “total institutions.” These institutions are characterized by their closed nature and their hie- rarchical structure. More important in this context is that processes in such institutions are organized by different rules. The consequences for passengers in steerage were particularly bad. They were affected by the various repressions of the “total institution.” This meant that they were not allowed to leave their decks and had to follow a number of strict rules. In my paper, I argue that the closed nature of the ship had a major impact on the memoirs and impressions of the passage. Moreover, I assume that the founding of the Polish state after the first World War as well as the growing nationalism in and outside Poland led to a stronger Polish identity. This identification with Poland, its culture, and its traditions were crucial for the Polish diaspora in South America. These memoirs are a good example of the importance of national belonging. References Alberdi, Juan Bautista. 1853 (1946). Bases y puntos de partida para la organización política de la República Argentina (Buenos Aires: W. M. Jackson Editores) Goffman, Erving. 1972. Asyle. Über die soziale Situation psychiatrischer Patienten und anderer Insassen (frankfurt a.M.: Edition Suhrkamp) Extended Abstract of: Elisabeth Janik, ‘„Auf den schaumigen Wellenkämmen suchte ich nach dem Gespenst der polnischen Bauern auf der Suche nach Boden und Brot“ ‒ Reiseerfahrungen polnischer MigrantInnen auf der Seereise nach Südamerika, 1870-1930’, Mobile Culture Studies. The Journal 1, 2015. <http://unipub.uni-graz.at/mcsj> Author’s affiliation Elisabeth Janik MA, Doktoratskolleg Galizien, Institut für Slawistik der Universität Wien elisabeth.sylvia.janik @ univie.ac.at