This interdisciplinary conference The Future of Polish Studies will take place on July 6 and 7, 2023 in Warsaw as a joint initiative of Cambridge Polish Studies and the University of Warsaw.
The aim of the event is to bring together leading experts in multiple disciplines to discuss the state of their fields and directions for innovative development of "Polish Studies” in the broadest possible sense. Particular emphasis will be placed on strategic challenges and opportunities in the study of Poland and its region; fostering effective interdisciplinary research and cooperation; identifying the most significant current research questions and theoretical approaches; cultivating productive engagement with wider audiences and institutions; and determining necessary changes in the study of the broader Central and Eastern European region in the context of Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine.
Conference Programme
Norman Davies (Polish Studies Foundation)
"The Future of Polish Studies"
History and Cultural History
Moderator: Robert Frost (University of Aberdeen) Jan Gryta (University of Southhampton) “Between Polish and Global History. In Search of the Demarcation Line” Brian Porter-Szűcs (University of Michigan) “Beyond Anticommunism: Studying the PRL in the 21st Century” Ewa Ochman (University of Manchester) “Polish Studies and Transnational and Global Histories”
Literature and Language
Moderator: Tamara Trojanowska (University of Toronto) Schamma Schahadat (University of Tübingen) “Polish Studies as Area Studies? Some Reflections on Literary History as Entangled History” Edyta Nowosielska (University of Cambridge) “Shaping the Future: Challenges and Perspectives in Polish Language Studies in the UK” Benjamin Paloff (University of Michigan) “Polish Literature’s Brief Future: A Prophecy”
Public Outreach and Digital Polish Studies
Moderator: Richard Butterwick-Pawlikowski (Polish History Museum; UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies) Jan Pomorski (Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin) "E-Polish Studies. A Joint Project of Online Studies Conducted by John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin and Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin” Marek Skulimowski (Kościuszko Foundation) “The Kosciuszko Foundation and Polish Studies Programs in the U.S.” Marta de Zuniga (Polish Cultural Institute, London) “Strategizing Cultural diplomacy. Partnerships with Academia”
Social Sciences
Moderator: Jan Kubik (Rutgers University; UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies) Adam Daniel Rotfeld (University of Warsaw) “The Future of Polish Studies on International Security” Marta Bucholc (University of Warsaw) “The Place of Sociology in the Landscape of Polish Studies” Stanley Bill (University of Cambridge) “Centring the 'Periphery’: Poland’s Politics in Comparative Context”
Decolonialising Central and East European Studies
Moderator: Joanna Niżyńska (Indiana University) Rory Finnin (University of Cambridge) Tomasz Zarycki (University of Warsaw) “On the Inherently Orientalist Nature of Central and East European Studies” Andriy Portnov (Humboldt University, Berlin) “Perspectives on a New Polish-Ukrainian History in Times of War"
Detailed Schedule
July 6
09.00 – Registration 10.00am-10.20am – Opening 10.20am-11.00am – Keynote 11.00am-11.30am – Coffee 11.30am-1.00pm – Panel 1: History and Cultural History 1.00pm-2.00pm – Lunch 2.00pm-3.30pm – Panel 2: Literature and Language 3.30pm-4.00pm – Coffee 4.00pm-5.30pm – Panel 3: Public Outreach and Digital Polish Studies
July 7 9.30am-11.00am – Panel 4: Social Sciences 11.00am-11.30am – Coffee 11.30am-1.00pm – Panel 5: Decolonialising Central and East European Studies 1.00pm-2.00pm – Lunch 2pm-3.30pm – Concluding Roundtable
Conference Venue
The Conference will take place at the University of Warsaw, Senate Hall (Kazimierzowski Palace), str. Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28.