The Past and Present of the Polish Diaspora's Bookstore in ViennaPrusek, Oliwia (Avtor) Muršič, Rajko (Mentor) Mückler, Hermann (Komentor) Polish diasporaPolish Bookstore in Viennamigrationplace-makingreadershipPolish languageThis thesis examines the Polish Bookstore in Vienna as a small but significant cultural site within the everyday life of the Polish diaspora. Drawing on literature on migration, diaspora, place-making, everyday life, and reading practices, the study approaches the bookstore as a place where the Polish language, memory, social relations, and book culture intersect. Based on qualitative ethnographic research, including participant observation, field notes, informal conversations, and interviews with people linked to the bookstore, this study explores how émigré reading practices and language are sustained in a transnational urban setting. The thesis situates the bookstore within broader discussions of migrant cultural life and depicts how its role as an émigré space extends beyond commercial exchange. Through everyday encounters and the work needed to keep it running, the bookstore becomes more than a place of purchase, as people attach personal meanings to it. The analysis suggests that its significance does not lie in representing all Poles in Vienna but in making visible ordinary connections to Polish cultural life abroad. By focusing on one particular site, the thesis understands belonging as something lived through everyday practices.20262026-08-30 08:18:41Magistrsko delo/naloga186308sl