Passions, Travel, and Cultural Participation—Intergenerational Transmission of Middle-Class Lifestyles

The article addresses the intergenerational transmission of a middle-class lifestyle in Poland. The analysis demonstrates mechanisms through which cultural practices are inherited in the context of leisure activities. The following categories of leisure activities were identified as being of particu...

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Main Author: Magdalena Bielińska
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Lodz University Press 2025-01-01
Series:Qualitative Sociology Review
Subjects:
Online Access:https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/qualit/article/view/24828
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author Magdalena Bielińska
author_facet Magdalena Bielińska
author_sort Magdalena Bielińska
collection DOAJ
description The article addresses the intergenerational transmission of a middle-class lifestyle in Poland. The analysis demonstrates mechanisms through which cultural practices are inherited in the context of leisure activities. The following categories of leisure activities were identified as being of particular interest: 1) passions, that is, the most pronounced leisure interests, including sport, 2) travel, 3) various forms of cultural participation, such as reading, visual and performing arts, or audiovisual content. The innovative research plan included reanalysis, revisits, and new in-depth interviews. The findings are based on a substantial corpus of qualitative empirical material, comprising 66 individual in-depth interviews. This material covers interviews conducted approximately twenty years before my research, new interviews with the same participants conducted subsequently, and interviews with their adult children. The aforementioned methodological procedures permitted comparisons over time and between generations. Middle-class parents proactively transmit values and practices to their children that are instrumental in maintaining their children’s social status. The effort to format lifestyle messages has significant implications for the long-term viability of this social structure segment in Poland. The analyses conducted indicate the cultural identity of the middle class and the stability of values and practices enacted in non-work and non-educational leisure time. Consequently, they are expected to yield tangible benefits in the professional and educational domains for subsequent generations. This represents the anticipated return on investment in leisure time for middle-class children.
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spelling doaj-art-c0a1c6996a02497d81d8533e08e627672025-02-10T09:11:13ZengLodz University PressQualitative Sociology Review1733-80772025-01-01211749910.18778/1733-8077.21.1.0425398Passions, Travel, and Cultural Participation—Intergenerational Transmission of Middle-Class LifestylesMagdalena Bielińska0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9706-7719Polish Academy of Sciences, PolandThe article addresses the intergenerational transmission of a middle-class lifestyle in Poland. The analysis demonstrates mechanisms through which cultural practices are inherited in the context of leisure activities. The following categories of leisure activities were identified as being of particular interest: 1) passions, that is, the most pronounced leisure interests, including sport, 2) travel, 3) various forms of cultural participation, such as reading, visual and performing arts, or audiovisual content. The innovative research plan included reanalysis, revisits, and new in-depth interviews. The findings are based on a substantial corpus of qualitative empirical material, comprising 66 individual in-depth interviews. This material covers interviews conducted approximately twenty years before my research, new interviews with the same participants conducted subsequently, and interviews with their adult children. The aforementioned methodological procedures permitted comparisons over time and between generations. Middle-class parents proactively transmit values and practices to their children that are instrumental in maintaining their children’s social status. The effort to format lifestyle messages has significant implications for the long-term viability of this social structure segment in Poland. The analyses conducted indicate the cultural identity of the middle class and the stability of values and practices enacted in non-work and non-educational leisure time. Consequently, they are expected to yield tangible benefits in the professional and educational domains for subsequent generations. This represents the anticipated return on investment in leisure time for middle-class children.https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/qualit/article/view/24828lifestylemiddle classintergenerational transmissionreanalysisrevisit
spellingShingle Magdalena Bielińska
Passions, Travel, and Cultural Participation—Intergenerational Transmission of Middle-Class Lifestyles
Qualitative Sociology Review
lifestyle
middle class
intergenerational transmission
reanalysis
revisit
title Passions, Travel, and Cultural Participation—Intergenerational Transmission of Middle-Class Lifestyles
title_full Passions, Travel, and Cultural Participation—Intergenerational Transmission of Middle-Class Lifestyles
title_fullStr Passions, Travel, and Cultural Participation—Intergenerational Transmission of Middle-Class Lifestyles
title_full_unstemmed Passions, Travel, and Cultural Participation—Intergenerational Transmission of Middle-Class Lifestyles
title_short Passions, Travel, and Cultural Participation—Intergenerational Transmission of Middle-Class Lifestyles
title_sort passions travel and cultural participation intergenerational transmission of middle class lifestyles
topic lifestyle
middle class
intergenerational transmission
reanalysis
revisit
url https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/qualit/article/view/24828
work_keys_str_mv AT magdalenabielinska passionstravelandculturalparticipationintergenerationaltransmissionofmiddleclasslifestyles