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Going Beyond:
The 2008 Presidential Address
by
Anna Jaroszyńska-Kirchmann
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A PAHA president gets one shot at a presidential address, which, although not exactly a state of the union, is nevertheless an occasion to take score and praise accomplishments, as well as chart new directions, and, perhaps, even to inspire. It is usually an opportunity to repeat our pledge to increase membership, involve more young people in leadership positions, improve our public relations, and expand and diversify the focus of our study. An organization like ours, entirely based on the volunteer work of dedicated individuals, must always, I am afraid, face these issues—each new president and each new board needs to respond to them according to circumstances and available human capital. A presidential address has, nevertheless, its advantages: It can identify and highlight areas that need particular attention and improvement beyond the day-to-day, year-to-year work of the organization. |
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In the interest of time, since our program today is very full and very exciting, I will skip any lengthy "taking score" section and instead refer you to the Spring 2008 issue of the Polish American Studies, which included my article on the history of PAHA during the last fifteen years, in which I attempt to continue the work of John Bukowczyk, the unsurpassed chronicler of PAHA. Instead, I will briefly focus on just two issues which I consider particularly important for the continued success of the Polish American Historical Association. |
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The day after Thanksgiving I had a chance to visit the Tenement Museum on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Their well-apportioned gift store included a wall of bookshelves full of works, most of them popular, on the history of almost all ethnic groups represented in New York City's ethnic mosaic: the Jews, the Irish, the Germans, the Italians, Puerto Ricans, Chinese, and many others. As I browsed the store, I realized that there was not a single book on the Poles there. Of course I could immediately think of some titles of scholarly works that should have been included—but I had a much harder time coming up with popular works, which, while historically sound, would popularize the Polish-American experience to an average visitor of the museum. This realization made me pause and ponder: Is there anything that PAHA could do about it? |
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I immediately thought of our work on the publication of Polish American History and Culture: An Encyclopedia, a reference work, which will highlight, explain, and popularize American Polonia's experience in the United States. Polonia, although one of the largest European ethnic groups, still lacks this kind of resource, which could serve the public: not just scholars, but all members of the community as well as non-Polish Americans. |
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Over the six decades since its inception, PAHA established an impressive record of historical scholarship and became a professional organization that its founders envisioned. Now we must go beyond this vision. We are at a point that, in my opinion, requires us to re-connect with those who entrusted us to remember and understand their experiences of migration. From the ivory tower of our scholarly accomplishment we need to cast our eyes back towards those we study and provide them with the tools necessary to see their lives and lives of their ancestors in a broad and rich context of historical and cultural growth and development. The encyclopedia, which should appear with McFarland Press in 2010, will be a strong and resounding beginning to this process and a wonderful resource to all. |
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I think, however, that we can and we should do more. We can encourage greater participation of non-academic historians in our conferences and involve them more in the work of the organization. We can develop a funding program for research and publication of popular works. We can continue to identify and review popular books on Polonia. And we can more often, consciously and seriously, both write for and speak to the non-academic audiences. After all, PAHA's past does include Haimans and Wachtels, and scores of priests and nuns, who, with less professional training, but with much eagerness, diligently uncovered and popularized Polonia's history. I think that we as an organization are confident enough in our professional credentials to afford firmly embracing also the goal of popularizing Polish-American history and making it more accessible to society at large. |
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The second issue that I would like to mention on this occasion has to do with the location of this event. Since we are tonight on Polish soil, as represented by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland, it is almost impossible not to think about PAHA's ties to Poland and Polish scholars. Since the mid-1990s, these ties expanded and solidified, as PAHA co-sponsored a conference and a resulting publication in Poland, and two scholars from the Jagiellonian University served on the PAHA Board five times in 1992–2007. PAHA also honored Professor Adam Walaszek with two Swastek Prizes and the Haiman Medal. The Embassy of Poland and the Polish Consul in New York graciously hosted PAHA's awards banquets and a midyear board meeting, Polish Consul in Chicago attended PAHA's conference and banquet, and both the Ambassador and the Deputy Ambassador gave presentations during our conferences. We certainly treasure these ties. At the same time, a number of scholars from Poland continue to publish in Polish American Studies and some present at the PAHA conferences. |
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These are certainly all good things, but again I think that PAHA needs to go beyond them and adopt a more active role in not only maintaining the old bridges, but also building new ones. Poland is witnessing a rapid growth of interest in and scholarship on the history and culture of her diaspora, which includes Polonias on all continents. A new generation of scholars works in this expanding field. New research centers and university institutes, as well as repositories of historical materials are established. Polonia's history is being explored and interpreted from many new angles. PAHA needs to engage and sometimes perhaps challenge this dynamic community, and enter into a meaningful scholarly debate with its members. Our history, our tradition, and our goals as a professional organization oblige us to do no less. We should be the ones to reach out, to again suggest collaborative research projects and conferences, joint publications, exchange of information, all a part of a stimulating and comprehensive scholarly dialogue. Along the way, I am sure that we will be able to count on the help and good advice of our friends at the Embassy and the Consulates of Poland. |
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PAHA has made and is continuously making progress in its development as a professional historical organization, recognized for its scholarship and leadership. Maintaining these high standards and ambitious goals is a central task for the years to come. Going beyond them, however, might be equally necessary if we want to grow, expand, and reach the audiences we also serve: Polish Americans and interested non-Poles remaining outside the scholarly circles, as well as our counterparts in Poland. By going beyond, PAHA might actually strengthen and embrace the very core of what makes an ethnic professional association. |
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The 2008 Presidential Address was given during the PAHA Awards Banquet hosted by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington, D.C. PAHA would like to extend a heartfelt dziękuje to the Embassy and its staff for their generous hospitality, and particularly to Dr. Mariusz Brymora and Dr. Andrzej Rabczenko for their help in organizing the event.
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