Call for papers

The editorial board of the journal Ruska Bursa Annual invites submissions for the 22nd volume of the annual, to be published in 2026. This year’s issue will be devoted to the topic:

Lemko/Rusyn Identity

This is a broad and multifaceted topic. It concerns fundamental issues related to both the historical and contemporary development of the Lemko/Rusyn ethnos and its culture. It is also an interdisciplinary topic, open to contributions from scholars representing the humanities, social sciences, and other academic disciplines. The perspective adopted should focus primarily on the community of Carpatho-Rusyns, though it may also include comparative approaches or research situating the subject within broader European, Carpathian, or other contexts.

Although the formulation of the topic employs a generalized ethnic designation, this stems more from terminological conventions used in previous volumes of the Ruska Bursa Annual (e.g. Lemko/Rusyn art or literature) than from the nature of the phenomena and processes related to identity itself. Identity, understood as a concept of the “self,” is inherently linked to the consciousness and imaginaries of individuals, which would more precisely require the formulation: “The Identity of Lemkos/Carpatho-Rusyns.” At the same time, however, if we adopt an ethnic, communal, and cultural perspective rather than a psychological one, we primarily refer to what is commonly described as collective, communal, ethnic, or national identity. Thus, Lemko/Rusyn identity should be understood as the set of shared beliefs held by a given group of people—in this case, Lemkos/Rusyns—concerning their own ethnic and cultural character, distinctiveness, and differences in relation to other groups. Particularly important within these beliefs are questions of genesis/origin, shared historical fate, and uninterrupted historical continuity.

Issues of identity may be explored, analyzed, and presented in various ways, depending on the methodological and interpretative perspective adopted. This is one of the themes that already has a substantial body of scholarship in Lemko studies, which may serve as a point of reference for further reflection. At the same time, we also welcome texts presenting new ideas that engage with the evolving discussion of the first quarter of the twenty-first century concerning identity, community, and categories of social belonging that move beyond Anderson’s concept of imagined communities.

We see potential areas for the presentation of identity-related issues, among others, as:

• the historical formation and processual development of the ethnic self-image of the group that currently identifies as Lemkos or Rusyns, and the ways in which these ethnonyms contribute to the construction of a sense of community and its centuries-long continuity under various historical and political conditions;
• discussions on ethnogenesis, origins, roots, and the early formation of the Rusyn (Lemko) ethnos;
• ethnonyms and autoethnonyms as the basis for communal and external representations, interpretations, and classifications, as well as mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion within the ethnic categorization of the social world;
• ethnic identity as a field of political manipulation in the region of Lemkovyna/Carpathian Rus’;
• the cultural foundations of Lemko/Rusyn identity concepts and their interpretations within the intellectual traditions of Lemko/Rusyn intelligentsia;
• language, ethnos, nation—identity formulas and their contemporary relevance or irrelevance for community-building concepts developed within the Lemko/Rusyn context;
• symbols, rituals, signs, emblems, coats of arms, and other forms of communicating and manifesting Lemko/Rusyn identity;
• the significance of identity concepts in revitalization activities concerning Lemko/Rusyn culture and language;
• hybrid, borderland, transitional, fluid, and transcultural forms and modes of expressing Lemko/Rusyn identity.

These are only examples of thematic areas that we perceive as possible approaches to the issue of identity. We remain open to individual authorial proposals conceptually and methodologically connected to the various academic disciplines in which contributors specialize.

Prospective authors are kindly asked to submit the proposed title of their article, together with a short abstract of the planned content, by June 10, 2026. We will notify authors by June 15, 2026, whether their submissions have been accepted for the peer-review process. Final articles written in Lemko/Rusyn, Polish, or English and prepared in accordance with the editorial guidelines of Ruska Bursa Annual (https://journals.akademicka.pl/rrb/about/submissions) should be sent to rocznik.ruskiej.bursy@wp.pl by August 31, 2026.

Editorial Secretary     
Klaudia Nowak

Editor-in-Chief
Helena Duć-Fajfer