Wielokulturowość Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej. Kilka metodologicznych uwag o definiowaniu i badaniu zjawiska

The Multiculturalism of Central-Eastern Europe: Some Methodological Remarks on the Definition and Research of the PhenomenonThe article is a voice in the discussion over the state and prospects of modern research on multiculturalism. Taking into account the importance of this phenomenon in the contemporary reality and a variety of approaches both to the way it is defined and to its numerous examples, this study makes an attempt to delineate multiculturalism as a complex socio-cultural phenomenon in the Central-Eastern European context, with all ethnic groups living in this area as its subjects. This complexity can be seen on four levels of multiculturalism: the level of “empirical state of affairs” (demographic), social awareness, the political one and the marketing one. The article makes a consistent connection between theoretical assumptions and methodological proposals, including the presentation of some guidelines taking into consideration the specifics of a particular level – a given research subject and the way of obtaining data, both qualitative and quantitative. As observed, the need to carry out – on various levels – research on multiculturalism in Central-Eastern Europe is also connected with reflection on the regional specifics of this phenomenon so that it avoids being treated as a “copy” of the Western European version.