Edinburgh Napier University

  This thesis explores the relationship between discourses of nationhood and homosexuality in the context of Polish “post-communist transformations” that have taken place over the last decade. It begins with the hypothesis that there must be a more complex relationship between the two discourses than a situation where nationhood simply and straightforwardly rejects the homosexuality. As such, the thesis explores possibilities for going beyond (or further into) the dialectics of the same/other, as a way to develop understandings about the relationship between the nation and homosexuality. The focus is on undercurrents and internal dynamics, constantly negotiating and re-working mutual dependencies between the two discourses. In this context, the thesis is especially geared to exploring the “unforeseen” (or possible), the “wilful”, “unintended” (or hoped for) in the two discourses. The thesis is organised around three major research problems: (1) How is homosexuality framed by national discourse (when performed by the nationstate)? (2) How do discourses of homosexuality relate to nationhood (in times of national distress)? (3) How might national/ist rhetoric be present in discourses of LGBT organisations? Methodologically, the thesis is grounded in a case study approach and discourse analysis. Overall, I argue that we may map out the relations between the nationhood and homosexuality through discourses of rejection as well as dependency, oscillating on the continuum between “sameness” and “otherness”. These relations are best described via the concepts of “dis-location”, “be-longing”, “attachment”, and “dis-identification”. This research is important for at least three reasons. There is a scarcity of work about sexualities in Central and Eastern Europe and a need for more work in this area. Additionally, we have recently witnessed a rise of concern with “homonationalism” in queer studies. Attention to Poland is a valuable addition to this scholarship, which so far is about only the “West” and “Islam”. Finally, it also contributes to nationalism studies, where sexuality is still an under-explored topic, and it offers new insights for scholars interested in Polish nationalism studies.