Kevin J. Hannan (January 22, 1954 – January 5, 2008) was an American
ethnolinguist
Ethnolinguistics (sometimes called cultural linguistics) is an area of anthropological linguistics that studies the relationship between a language and the nonlinguistic cultural behavior of the people who speak that language.
__NOTOC__
Example ...
and
slavicist
Slavic (American English) or Slavonic (British English) studies, also known as Slavistics is the academic field of area studies concerned with Slavic areas, languages, literature, history, and culture. Originally, a Slavist or Slavicist was prim ...
.
Personal life
He was born into a family of
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
n and
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
ancestry. Kevin Hannan married Hanna, a
Polish American
Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.83 ...
, and had two daughters with her, Marianna and Celeste.
Education and Academic Career
Hannan graduated with a BA degree from
Stephen F. Austin State University,
Nacogdoches, Texas
Nacogdoches ( ) is a small city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Nacogdoches is a sister city of the smaller, similarly named Natchito ...
and a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
degree from the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
. He was the first student to receive a doctorate in Slavonic Philology from the latter university.
He earned a living by working for Mills Electrical Contractors in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
. In 2002, he left the United States, and resumed his research and academic career at the
University of Łódź
The University of Łódź ( Polish: ''Uniwersytet Łódzki'', Latin: ''Universitas Lodziensis'') is a public research university founded in 1945 in Łódź, Poland, as a continuation of three higher education institutions functioning in Łódź i ...
, in
Łódź
Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
.
Research
Hannan grew up in Texas, where the descendants of the original
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
an settlers, until recently, preserved their local dialects/languages, commonly referred to as Bohemian (Czech), Moravian, and Silesian. This early experience of
multiethnicity and
multilingualism
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
, along with family links to
Czech Silesia
Czech Silesia (, also , ; cs, České Slezsko; szl, Czeski Ślōnsk; sli, Tschechisch-Schläsing; german: Tschechisch-Schlesien; pl, Śląsk Czeski) is the part of the historical region of Silesia now in the Czech Republic. Czech Silesia is, ...
, inspired him to embark on the doctoral research to comprehend the shaping and maintenance of ethnolinguistic and religious difference in the borderland region (that borders on Poland and
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
) in the broader context of Central Europe. His wide-ranging findings, he presented in ''Borders of Language and Identity in Teschen Silesia'' (1996), which is a monograph on the ethnolinguistic present of the
Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia, Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia ( pl, Śląsk Cieszyński ; cs, Těšínské Slezsko or ; german: Teschener Schlesien or ) is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered on the towns of Cieszyn and Český T ...
.
After resuming his research near the end of the 20th century, Hannan widely travelled in
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, Poland,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, and the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
. He came to the conclusion that civic cosmopolitanism, divorced from localized ethnic values as embodied in long-lasting ethnic groups (often imagined as nations), failed people. An epitome of such a situation he saw in his native United States, which, according to him, explained a constant increase in genealogical research in the country, observed since the 1970s. In this line of thinking, a person can find one's identity only in one's ethnolinguistic ancestry, not in the technical rationalism of law and economy. Hence, the United States or any other settler state could never become a 'real ethnic country'.
As a positive alternative to the de-ethnicized United States he posed the ethnic values of Poland in his ''My Poland: Essays on Polish Identity / Moja Polska. Eseje o polskości'' from 2005. He did, on occasion, make note of the failings of Polish nationalism and national statehood such as the long-lasting preservation of serfdom and the never-ending quest for ethnolinguistic purity, which led to vast ethnic cleansing in the communist period (1944–1989). He was especially critical of the relentless
Polonization
Polonization (or Polonisation; pl, polonizacja)In Polish historiography, particularly pre-WWII (e.g., L. Wasilewski. As noted in Смалянчук А. Ф. (Smalyanchuk 2001) Паміж краёвасцю і нацыянальнай ідэя ...
of
Belarusians
, native_name_lang = be
, pop = 9.5–10 million
, image =
, caption =
, popplace = 7.99 million
, region1 =
, pop1 = 600,000–768,000
, region2 =
, pop2 ...
,
Rusyns
Rusyns (), also known as Carpatho-Rusyns (), or Rusnaks (), are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group from the Carpathian Rus', Eastern Carpathians in Central Europe. They speak Rusyn language, Rusyn, an East Slavic languages, East Slavi ...
(
Lemkos
Lemkos ( rue, Лeмкы, translit= Lemkŷ; pl, Łemkowie; uk, Лемки, translit=Lemky) are an ethnic group inhabiting the Lemko Region ( rue, Лемковина, translit=Lemkovyna; uk, Лемківщина, translit=Lemkivshchyna) of Car ...
), and
Ukrainians
Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...
, who, in his eyes, preserved 'real Slavic spirituality,' as encapsulated in
Greek Catholicism The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually.
The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...
,
Orthodox Christianity
Orthodoxy (from Ancient Greek, Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion.
Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Late antiquity, A ...
, and the liturgical language of Church Slavonic.
[see: ''Experiencing the Divine Conversation: Liturgical Languages of Eastern Christians in Contemporary Poland'', 2005]
Hannan chose
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
as his adopted homeland in preference to the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
, which he perceived as an example of an overexclusive ethnic nationalism, which led to the
1993 breakup of Czechoslovakia, producing this nation-state and another,
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
. He qualified any strong-Polonist sentiments by saying that 'his Poland' was the southern half of the country skirted by the multilingual, multiethnic, and multiconfessional
Carpathians
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The ...
. He wrote lyrically about this area in his collection of poems, ''Bounties of Collective Memory / Dary zbiorowej pamięci'' from 2006.
Books
*
*
'Donnell, Stojgniev, pseudonym''Why I Left America: Reflections on History, Culture and Religion / Dlaczego wyjechałem z Ameryki. Refleksje nad historią, kulturą i religią'' (translated into Polish by Anna and Jarosław Fejdych). 2003.
Marklowice: The Celto-Slavic Fellowship of Apiarists and Bielsko-Biała: Prasa Beskidzka. .
* ''My Poland: Essays on Polish Identity / Moja Polska. Eseje o polskości'' (translated by Jacek Serwański et al.). 2005. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Poznańskie. .
* ''Bounties of Collective Memory / Dary zbiorowej pamięci'' (Series: Rzecz Poetycka). 2006. Łódź: biblioteka.
ollection of poems
Articles and Book Chapters
* Analogical Change in West Slavic Be (pp 306–324). 1993. ''
Journal of Slavic Linguistics.'' No 2, Summer-Fall.
* The Language Question in Nineteenth Century Moravia (pp 116–125). 1993. ''Czechoslovak and Central European Journal'' (formerly ''Kosmas''). No 2, Winter.
* Some Unpublished Poems of
Óndra Łysohorsky
Óndra Łysohorsky was the pseudonym of Ervín Goj (6 July 1905 – 19 December 1989), a Czech poet of Silesian origin and awareness. He is known for his works written in Lach language (intermediate dialect between Czech and Polish) which w ...
(pp 98–123). 1995. ''
Oxford Slavonic Papers.'' Vol XXVIII (New Series).
* Identity and Assimilation among the Poles of Zaolzie. 1996. ''
The Sarmatian Review
The ''Sarmatian Review'' () is an English-language peer-reviewed academic tri-quarterly journal devoted to Slavistics (the study of the histories, cultures, and societies of the Slavic nations of Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe).
The ''Sa ...
.'' No 1, Jan. http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~sarmatia/196/Hannan.html
* Ethnic Identity Among the Czechs and Moravians of Texas (pp 3–31). 1996. ''
Journal of American Ethnic History
A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to:
*Bullet journal, a method of personal organization
*Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period
*Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...
.'' No 4, Summer.
*
* K lingvistickému přehodnocení Łysohorského literární laštiny (pp 39–47). In: K Jánasová, ed. 1996. Óndra Łysohorský, 1905-1989. Kolokvium uskutečněné ve dnech 8.-10. červena 1995 u příležitosti nedožitých 90. narozenin básníka. Frýdek-Místek: Muzeum Beskyd. .
*
* Ethnic Identities in Austrian and Czech Silesia before the Second World War (pp 225–243). In: Kai Struve and Philipp Ther, eds. 2002. ''Die Grenzen der Nationen. Identitätenwandel in Oberschlesien in der Neuzeit'' (Series: Tagungen zur Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung, vol 15). Marburg: Herder-Institut. .
* Reflections on Assimilation and Language Death in Czech-Moravian Texas (pp 110–132). 2003. ''Kosmas: Czechoslovak and Central European Journal''. No 2, Spring.
* O urokach i stereotypach polskości (pp 135–148). 2003. ''Sprawy Narodowościowe''. No 22.
* Polish Catholicism: A Historical Outline (pp 1008–1015). 2004. ''The Sarmatian Review''. No 1, Jan.
* Lech kocha Głupią Ludmiłę. Polacy i stereotypy słowiańskości a "Malowany ptak" Jerzego Kosińskiego (pp 67–84). 2005. ''Er(r)go''. No 2.
* Experiencing the Divine Conversation: Liturgical Languages of Eastern Christians in Contemporary Poland (pp 263–294). 2005. ''
The Polish Review
''The Polish Review'' is an English-language academic journal published quarterly in New York City by the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America. ''The Polish Review'' was established in 1956.
Editors-in-chief
The following persons hav ...
''. No 3.
* Polishness in the Borderlands (pp 205–226). In: Wojciech J. Burszta, Tomasz Kamusella and Sebastian Wojciechowski, eds. 2005. ''Nationalisms Across the Globe'' (Vol I: Europe). Poznań: School of Humanities and Journalism. .
* The Historical and Linguistic Background of Lachian Regionalism and "Separatism" (pp 471–496). In: Wojciech J. Burszta, Tomasz Kamusella and Sebastian Wojciechowski, eds. 2005. ''Nationalisms Across the Globe'' (Vol I: Europe). Poznań: School of Humanities and Journalism. .
* Citizen of the Borderlands: Óndra Łysohorsky (1905-1989) (pp 123–144). In: Maria Wanda Wanatowicz, ed. 2007. ''Józef Chlebowczyk – badacz procesów narodowotwórczych w Europie XIX I XX wieku'' (Ser: Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Śląskiego w Katowicach, Vol 2463). Katowice, Poland: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego. , ISSN 0208-6336.
Notes
References
Obituaryfrom ''
Taylor Daily Press''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hannan, Kevin
1954 births
2008 deaths
Linguists from the United States
People from La Marque, Texas
American people of Irish descent
University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts alumni
20th-century linguists