Published: 2022-04-06

Between acculturation and social anchoring – a look at the contemporary migration of young Poles in Ireland from the perspective of their food choices

Ewa Garstka
Academic Journal of Sociology
Section: Articles
https://doi.org/10.21697/ucs.2021.28.2.04

Abstract

Young Poles leaving their homeland to work are forced to „face” a new cultural and social reality. The feeling of separateness in a previously unknown environment affects the type of meals chosen by migrants. Culinary patterns become an element of the localization process in the conditions of progressing cultural unification. This article presents the contemporary migration of young Poles in Ireland from the perspective of their food choices. It is also an attempt to present two perspectives – acculturation and „social anchoring” in the context of research on contemporary migrations. Habits and practices focused on eating, entangled in a system of mutual relations and interactions, have a determining influence on the sense of socio-cultural identification of a given group. The consumer behavior of young Poles in Dublin is associated with a strong relationship between the migrant and his homeland. The table in a metaphorical way becomes an element helping to find oneself in the foreign reality of the host country. There is a strong relationship between the emigrant and the country of origin, which manifests itself in everyday food choices. Culinary patterns are „external” elements of contemporary individual, social and collective identities, and the situation of migration emphasizes their importance in the adaptation process.

Keywords:

migrations, acculturation, eating patterns, culture, social anchoring

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Garstka, E. (2022). Between acculturation and social anchoring – a look at the contemporary migration of young Poles in Ireland from the perspective of their food choices. Academic Journal of Sociology, 28(2), 25–30. https://doi.org/10.21697/ucs.2021.28.2.04

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