Egalitaryzm i elitarność w myśleniu o zabytkach dziedzictwa narodowego

Abstract

The author presents the results of a research lead in 2002-2003 among visitors and employees of the Royal Castle in Warsaw and of Wawel in Cracow. The respondents speak of the monuments in two ways: they treat a monument either as a part of national heritage, and on this basis, they think that it is "obligatorily" egalitarian for Poles, or they situate it within the sphere of dominant culture and at that point, they privilege, as potential receivers, representatives of intelligentsia interested in humanities and public persons, excluding at the same time people of low cultural capital. Analysing the attitude of the respondents towards the issue of egalitarianism and elitism in the access to the monuments and national heritage, the author concentrates on the influence of education and media on their attitudes.