Polish Studies and the challenges of the modern world

Among the latest publications that serve as an attempt to recognize these problems and seek answers to them, it is also worth mentioning the following: J. Tabaszewska, Servile Humanities. Negotiating the Field and Constructing Autonomy in Times of Crisis; J.B. Bednarek, P. Czapliński (eds.), It will come back: The past and future of the pandemic; T. Stawiszyński, Rule for the Times of Chaos and Escape from helplessness; J. Mencwel, Concreteosis/Betonosis. How Polish cities are destroyed; Tick-tock, the End of the World. Climate-ecological Crisis in the Voice of Multiple Sciences; M. Napiórkowski, Fixing the Future. Why We Need Better Stories to Save the World; 43 texts on architecture and space; A. Fidowicz, Disability in Polish Children's and Young Adult Literature of the 20th and 21st Centuries; L. Davis, Enforcing Normalcy: Disability, Deafness, and the Body; S. Taylor, Beasts of Burden: Animal and Disability Liberation; Difficult Places: A Transdisciplinary Research Model; Humanist Reflection in Spatial Planning; The List of (Non)Attendance. Disability in School Textbooks (2021). The problems of contemporary times were also written about, among others, in the 2021 volume of the “Napis” annual, entitled Isolation and Communication. Reflections on Forms of Literary and Cultural Communication (https://biuletynpolonistyczny.pl/pl/journals/issues/izolacja-i-komunikacja-rozwazania-nad-formami-komunikacjiliterackiej-i-kulturowej,151/details). They were also the subject of the discussion: Who will we be after covid? Philosophical interpretations of the consequences of the pandemic (02/08/2021, https://biuletynpolonistyczny.pl/pl/events/kim-bedziemy-po-covidzie-filozoficzne-interpretacje-konkluzywnii-pandemii-debata-filozoficzna,2320/details). In response, the Beyond COVID-19 bibliography was also created, launched by the OPERAS consortium, where in the introduction we can read:

The pandemic currently affecting European and global societies is considered predominantly from a health perspective. However, we know that a health crisis of this scale is accompanied by difficulties and serious challenges of all kinds: economic, political, social and cultural, which will lead to changes in society itself. (https://biuletynpolonistyczny.pl/pl/articles/operas-uruchamia-bibliografie-beyond-covid-19-zaproszenie-do-udzialu-w-projekcie,184/details)

This project will not only be a creative extension and important addition to this valuable bibliography, which is an unarguable proof that there is a need for this type of bibliographic work. The project team will carry out such work in a coordinated way and will take care of its visibility and accessibility, creating a resource that can support other databases (such as the database in Zotero) if there is such a need (and possibility).

Using the resources of the humanities (and Polish studies) has encouraged us to bring issues related to disability studies, narrative medicine, medical humanities, ecocriticism, and Architectural Literary Studies closer to society. The thematic collections that we will establish will be created in cooperation between bibliographers and subject experts who will execute supervision over the project results and be responsible for the quality of the bibliographic collections and the collected data. The authors of the bibliographic collections will also involve in the creation of reports, interviews, articles, and podcasts (as interviewees or authors) and participate in open seminars (as presenters or guests).

(freepik)

The interest in the aforementioned activities of foreign Polish studies scholars (thanks to their participation in "Geopolonistics" and in the open seminars) will allow for an increase in the level of involvement of Polish and international Polish studies and the Editors-Coordinators representing specific institutions as spokespersons for Polish studies in general. 

The aim of the project will also be accomplished by recognizing the key achievements of Polish studies in the above-mentioned areas, which are part of the global achievements of the humanities. According to researchers working in ​​Polish studies worldwide, interdisciplinarity is a condition for rebuilding interest in Polish studies as a field of education and a research area. At the same time, drawing attention to Polish studies is a real opportunity in the era of changes in university structures, which result, among other things, in greater freedom of choice of lectures by students. "Lecturers of Polish language and literature – argues Krystyna Lipińska-Iłłakowicz – must make every effort to strengthen and deepen their presence in the field of students' vision" (Lipińska-Iłłakowicz, Polonistyka w świecie globalnego kryzysu humanistyki, in: Polonistyka bez granic, vol. 1: Wiedza o literaturze i kulturze, eds. R. Nycz, W. Miodunka, T. Kunz, Kraków 2011, p. 108). As the researcher emphasizes, the interdisciplinary approach allows for offering Polish topics to a larger number of students (ibid., p. 110). Polish studies – operating in foreign centers most often within Slavic departments – must compete with other directions and research areas, "experiencing their ups and downs in close correlation with the geopolitical system" (W. Bolecki, Koncepcja utworzenia katedry polskiej na Uniwersytecie Columbia w Nowym Jorku (komunikat), in: ibid., p. 113). The dynamics of changes in the structures of Polish studies abroad speak for the need to document their current achievements. This need is reinforced by the prospect of war beyond the eastern border and the actions of other totalitarian governments, which are gradually preventing access to the Polish studies heritage and eliminating current Polish studies activities. War threatens to destroy the achievements of Polish studies (important for research in all areas of the humanities, political and social sciences), while the context of war in the long-term perspective makes cooperation with selected centers operating within the territory of the former Republic of Poland (the territory of today's Russia and Belarus, where Polish studies were conducted in the 1990s) difficult or impossible. Meanwhile, the scope of the research and documentation carried out in this project will be understood as, to use the term by Algis Kalëdy, "a stereometric view of many manifestations of human activity" (Kalëdy, Światopogląd polonistyczny... O znaczeniu polonistyki w kulturze krajów rodzinnej Europy, in: ibidem, p. 71). It will be defined by geographical and historical space, considering the heritage of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which – as Kalëda emphasizes – must be taken into account in Polish philological and historical-cultural studies, as well as the social space in which today's Polish studies function. The ambition of the project will be to recognize and record all manifestations of Polish studies, including those aspects that have a special dimension shaping the contemporary socio-economic space, experienced by the pandemic, war, facing climate change, energy transformation, rapid technological development.

The organization of Polish studies centers in the world (outside the borders of the First, Second and Third Polish Republics) was largely related to the geopolitical and economic situation of Polish lands, consecutive waves of political and economic emigration. As Tadeusz Bujnicki notes:

[...] the functions of Polish studies in countries with a large Polish minority are manifold, not only educational and cognitive, but also related to the "mission" of maintaining its identity.

(Bujnicki, Polonistyczne badania literackie w kraje Bałtyckich, p. 141)

Current activities of Polish studies take place in various forms and scopes. It is not limited to teaching Polish at various levels of advancement – historical, literary-critical and interdisciplinary research is also conducted. Every manifestation of Polish studies activity serves to strengthen the national, social and cultural identity, to popularize and internationalize Polish studies (as Andrzej Borowski argues, in Polish studies conducted outside the country, "the category of cultural identity and issues related to it are a set of topics particularly exposed in these circumstances" (Borowski, Tożsamość kulturowa jako przedmiot studiów polonistycznych za granicą, [in:] ibidem, p. 95). According to the findings of the quoted Włodzimierz Bolecki, in the implementation of "Polish studies [...] language is desirable (but not necessary), while the basis is knowledge of history, culture, politics, economy or society" (W. Bolecki, op. cit. p. 115). At the same time, it is important to exclude the postcolonial, mechanistic understanding of "center" and "periphery", because the experience of Polish studies activity always serves "self-knowledge of cultures" (A. Borowski, op. cit., p. 103).

The main objective of the project is, therefore, to recognize and document the achievements and changes in Polish studies in Poland and around the world (Polish studies were distinguished as a scientific discipline in the "Classification of fields of science and scientific disciplines and artistic disciplines" announced by the Minister of Education and Science on October 11, 2022) and to strengthen its social dialogue in the face of the problems and challenges of the modern world.

The effect of the project will be to provide a wider audience (both scholars and people interested in the development of Polish studies, or more broadly: humanities) with information on the international, diverse, modern nature of Polish studies, which results from its interdisciplinarity and great application potential (on the border of social, natural, and medical sciences). The project will cover the characteristics of all manifestations of Polish studies activity, in the didactic plane (teaching Polish as a national and foreign language) and scientific plane (philological, interdisciplinary research).

The project will be implemented based on a publicly available online journal “Polish Studies Newsletter” ("Biuletyn Polonistyczny"), integrating information about scientific institutions, researchers, job and education offers, events, publications and scientific projects.

As researchers postulated during the conference "Towards New Polish Studies" (Katowice, 17-18.04.2023) during the panel “Internationalization of Polish Studies” (https://youtu.be/67oBeeuyqhY; 7:54:30), it is necessary to strive to "promote and support such teaching programs in which the Polish language component is part of a broader educational project (...). We are looking for such ways of didactic and educational use in which we combine it with other components, including those in other languages" (prof. dr hab. Tomasz Mizerkiewicz). 

“The situation of Polish studies in the world is dramatic” (prof. dr hab. Magdalena Popiel, Professor at the Faculty of Polish Studies at the Jagiellonian University, President of the International Association of Polish Studies), and many foreign centers of Polish studies are threatened with decommissioning. It is more valuable to appreciate the role of language courses, which are the seed (or remnant) of Polish studies. However, new foreign centers are also being established. The image of changes that are taking place in Polish studies worldwide is tracked and recorded by the digital map “Geopolonistics” (“Geopolonistyka”), under the patronage of the International Association of Polish Studies, and the implementation of which belongs to the Institute of Literary Research and the “Polish Studies Newsletter”.

The idea of ​​building a community of Polish scholars, or more broadly – ​​humanities students professionally involved in Polish studies, as well as establishing international cooperation, has accompanied Polish philologists for generations; it also guided the implementation of the projects: Modern tools of education and promotion... (2019) [Nowoczesne narzędzia edukacji i promocji …] and Geopolonistics – a virtual bridge between cultures (2022) [„Geopolonistyka” – wirtualny most pomiędzy kulturami], financed by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange in the following programs: Modern Foreign Promotion and Promotion of the Polish Language. The first identification of the centers and their activities took place in the years 2015-2018 during the implementation of a series of tours by the documentarians of the “Polish Studies Newsletter” called Tour de Polonistyka (visits were made to domestic centers – Białystok, Rzeszów, Zielona Góra, Słupsk, Olsztyn, and foreign ones – Vilnius, Banska Bystrica, Grodno, Lutsk, see e.g. https://biuletynpolonistyczny.pl/pl/events/summary/biuletyn-polonistycznyplatforma-prezentacji-i-popularyzacji-polonistycznego-zycia-naukowego-spotkanie-z-cyklu-tour-depolonisty,1258/details; https://biuletynpolonistyczny.pl/pl/events/summary/otwarte-spotkanie-z-cyklu-tour-depolonistyka-w-lucku,1174/details).

In 2019, "Geopolonistics" attracted a lot of interest from researchers from abroad, including from Great Britain, Italy, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and even Brazil. This was reflected in their response to the surveys sent out regarding the activities of institutions and researchers. They were sent by 26 foreign institutions and 77 researchers. It is also worth noting that at the turn of September and October 2019, i.e. when the "Geopolonistics" module was launched, "Polish Studies Newsletter" had the highest number of visits to the website in several months – over 900 users per day. In 2022, during the project Geopolonistics – a virtual bridge between cultures, the number of visits to the geopolonistic map increased significantly (by 50%). The number of visits to the website with general information about “Geopolonistics” (https://biuletynpolonistyczny.pl/pl/geoabout/) increased by over 30%.

In obtaining information about Polish language courses, “Polish Studies Newsletter” can count on the support of the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange, which appreciated the contribution to the work on the creation of the “Geopolonistics” map. Projects implemented with PNAAE (NAWA) funds in 2019 and 2022 allowed for the establishment of the map's IT infrastructure and a partial description of Polish language institutions (in addition to the Editors-Coordinators from Polish language institutions permanently cooperating, information was sent by researchers from 25 foreign institutions). However, this is only the starting point for further, comprehensive work. Information about other Polish studies institutions in the world is not updated due to lack of human and financial resources. The idea of ​​its creators was that “Geopolonistics” was to be gradually expanded and supplemented with scientific studies on Polish studies units around the world, and the “Polish Studies Newsletter” portal was to become a specialized tool in the work of researchers related to Polish culture, language and literature outside the country (actively co-created by them), and to contribute to the creation of a generally accessible panorama of Polish studies “across borders”.

The project will allow for mapping the emergence and disappearance of centers, and by collecting current and complete information about them in one place (in the “Geopolonistics” module), it will make it easier for Polish studies to establish contacts and start cooperation. It will also enable the description of the research areas included in the application, examined by foreign Polish studies scholars, because “the perspective of foreign Polish studies is not the perspective of domestic Polish studies. These are completely different mechanisms of operating. There is nothing to prevent a Polish philologist working abroad today from reaching for Polish studies just as well as Polish literary studies, history, memory studies, translation studies, because this is the natural area of ​​his activity" (dr hab. Tomasz Bilczewski, prof. UJ, speech at the conference "Towards a New Polish Studies"). In the project, we would like to pay special attention to those interdisciplinary areas that have emerged in response to the changes and challenges of the contemporary world, such as disability studies, narrative medicine, medical humanities, ecocriticism, architectural literary studies.

By broadening the perspective of social perception of Polish studies, the project will also contribute to raising awareness among socio-economic organizations of the benefits of interest in the achievements of Polish studies and greater interest of labor market in students and graduates of Polish studies. It will be achieved through the cooperation with business and non-governmental organizations resulting in, among others, raising awareness of the convergence of competences acquired during Polish studies with the expectations of employers, enriching the database of job offers kept in the "Polish Studies Newsletter" and a series of interviews, podcasts and jointly organized meetings. The project will thus contribute to increasing the interest in Polish studies as a field in which so-called cross-sectional competences are acquired and improved. The project will be in line with the objectives of the Section VII of the Integrated Skills Strategy (Employers' cooperation with formal and non-formal education), which emphasizes: "Effective cooperation requires the development of cooperation networks" (ZSU 2030, detailed part, p. 39). The document also notes the need to promote participation in internships and apprenticeships among learners and to promote national and international mobility. Basic skills include understanding and producing information (the ability to identify, understand, express, create and interpret concepts, feelings, facts and opinions in speech and writing, using images, sounds and digital materials in all fields and contexts; the ability to communicate effectively and communicate with others in an appropriate and creative way, p. 48). Cross-sectional skills include, among others: digital skills (using digital technologies confidently, critically, responsibly and engagingly for learning, working and participating in society; ability to use information and data, communication and collaboration, competent media usage, digital content creation (including programming), security (including digital comfort and cybersecurity competences), intellectual property issues, problem-solving and critical thinking, p. 48); abilities to work collaboratively to plan and manage projects that have cultural, social or financial value (p. 48); skills for cultural awareness and expression, including knowledge of local, regional, national, European and global cultures and modes of expression, p. 49); related to multiculturalism, creativity and innovation). Competences that are important in the changing labor market include those that machines do not have: discovering meaning and giving meaning, the ability to establish relationships with others, unconventional and adaptive thinking, intercultural competences, transdisciplinarity, design thinking, the ability to filter and hierarchize information, the use of new media (A. Davies, D. Fidler, M. Gorbis, Future Work Skills 2020, Institute for the Future for the University of Phoenix Research Institute).

One of the priorities of the Area of ​​Impact V of ZSU 2030, the general part, is to develop mechanisms that strengthen the cooperation of educational and research institutions with employers and organizations associating employers. To meet these demands, the documentarians of the "Polish Studies Newsletter" will regularly, on an ongoing basis, identify economic subjects interested in employing Polish teachers, update the database of job offers, scholarships and competitions. They will also publish articles and interviews on the role of Polish language skills on the labor market (including soft and technological skills).

The presentation of documentation of Polish studies centers will also support the mobility of students and researchers by providing access to the research profiles of Polish studies units. The presented project goals are consistent with the needs of Polish studies communities expressed in the programmes of community meetings, e.g. the 7th World Congress of Polish Studies (2021), which was held under the slogan World Polish Studies. Archives and the Present Day.

The panorama of Polish studies abroad will supplement, expand and make available the knowledge about Polish humanistic thought and will serve to perpetuate the memory of the discipline. The database of information entered into the "Polish Studies Newsletter" will cover the activities of at least 25 domestic institutions and 30 foreign ones (including from Great Britain, Switzerland, France, Turkey, Germany, the Czech Republic, China). Correction and enrichment of data, constant revision and updating of information about Polish studies in terms of their completeness, reliability and relevance will be carried out by documentarians participating in the project, editors-coordinators representing institutions and interns (students). Ultimately, the repository-instrumentarium functioning within the "Polish Studies Newsletter" would occupy an important place in shaping the "Polish studies worldview".

The data stored in "Geopolonistics" will be used in comparative research, in research on the history of science and the identity of the field, and in the longer term – in conducting statistical research, research in the area of ​​scientific documentation, history, cultural studies, etc.

Maintaining the infrastructure and improvement (automating) the documentation and bibliographic work will be possible thanks to programming work, aggregation of data from public data resources, implementation of RESTfulAPI, which will allow for the automation of data exchange.