People who are unemployed, homeless, poor, or otherwise experiencing prolonged economic hardship do not conform to widely accepted expectations surrounding work, productivity, property, and lifestyle. Therefore, they pose a challenge to society. Taking a humanistic and social approach to this issue provides a better understanding of how mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion influence community organisation in both market-oriented and egalitarian societies.

This issue explores the portrayal of socio-economic minorities and their experiences of life on the margins, as well as political, cultural and aesthetic responses to poverty, unemployment, labour migration and homelessness. We welcome theoretical and empirical contributions, including case studies focusing on specific historical periods, regions or social contexts.

Suggested thematic areas include:

• Welfare and exclusionary ideologies in capitalist and communist systems
• Discourses of poverty and exclusion in public, political and media language
• Language and communication within marginalised communities
• Biographical and documentary narratives of life on the economic margins
• Representations of unemployment, homelessness and poverty in art and popular culture
• Architecture and topography of deprivation in urban and rural environments
• Historical and contemporary forms of solidarity and resistance among marginalised groups
• Everyday economies and survival strategies of people living on the socio-economic and cultural margins

We invite the submission of scholarly articles in English or Polish by 30 April 2026 via the "Zeszyty Łużyckie" platform, following the instructions provided there. The managing editor of the issue is Dr hab. Patrycjusz Pająk, Univ. Prof. Any questions, concerns, or comments regarding this issue should be directed to his email address: p.p.pajak@uw.edu.pl.