Waldemar Kuligowski is professor at the Department of Anthropology and Ethnology at Adam Mickiewicz University.

“This book by one of Poland’s leading anthropologists is a unique portrait of the transformation of Polish society following the collapse of state socialism in Eastern Europe. Kuligowski’s ethnographic focus is on the cultural realm. He takes us to the world of music, festivals, parades, weddings, carnivals and local community life to capture the fascinating tensions between cultural continuity and change in the geopolitical space exposed to sweeping modernization processes.”

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Modernizing Localities in Poland: A Never-ending TransformationChapter 1: State Ideologies and Community Values: Post-war Poland in the Mirror of FestivalsChapter 2: From “Commercial Sellout” to Community-based Event: The Paradoxes of Polish Punk Rock Music FestivalsChapter 3: Punk Rock Beyond the Center: Critical Geography of ArtChapter 4: Creating a Public Sphere Through a Celebration: The Case of the St. Martin's ParadeChapter 5: Laughter, Fear, and Rural Feminization: Contemporary Carnival Shrovetide in the Polish Countryside Chapter 6: A Wreath from a Sex Shop: Bachelorette PartiesChapter 7: Peasanthood as Long-term StructureChapter 8: “How Poland Entered Europe:” The Motorway as a Space of NeoliberalismBibliographyAbout the Author

Waldemar Kuligowski is professor at the Department of Anthropology and Ethnology at Adam Mickiewicz University.

“This book by one of Poland’s leading anthropologists is a unique portrait of the transformation of Polish society following the collapse of state socialism in Eastern Europe. Kuligowski’s ethnographic focus is on the cultural realm. He takes us to the world of music, festivals, parades, weddings, carnivals and local community life to capture the fascinating tensions between cultural continuity and change in the geopolitical space exposed to sweeping modernization processes.”

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Modernizing Localities in Poland: A Never-ending TransformationChapter 1: State Ideologies and Community Values: Post-war Poland in the Mirror of FestivalsChapter 2: From “Commercial Sellout” to Community-based Event: The Paradoxes of Polish Punk Rock Music FestivalsChapter 3: Punk Rock Beyond the Center: Critical Geography of ArtChapter 4: Creating a Public Sphere Through a Celebration: The Case of the St. Martin's ParadeChapter 5: Laughter, Fear, and Rural Feminization: Contemporary Carnival Shrovetide in the Polish Countryside Chapter 6: A Wreath from a Sex Shop: Bachelorette PartiesChapter 7: Peasanthood as Long-term StructureChapter 8: “How Poland Entered Europe:” The Motorway as a Space of NeoliberalismBibliographyAbout the Author