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[Music]

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We invite you to listen to episodes of the new podcast series "Polish Studies Newsletter's Meetings"

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(Polish Studies Newsletter's Meetings) titled "Engaged Polish Studies."

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Polish studies are not a helpless observation of the world.

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They provide tools to navigate it,

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to enable a greater understanding of it, and

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to prevent exclusion and loneliness.

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This is the Polish studies we want to showcase through our project:

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"Engaged Polish Studies."

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[Music]

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[Mariola Wilczak:] We live in a changing, unpredictable,

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often unclear and incomprehensible world.

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We need to re-assign meaning to

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what has proven fragile in recent years,

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to look at the world anew,

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to confront social isolation, exclusion, and loneliness.

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The team behind the "Polish Studies and the Challenges of the Modern World" project,

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which I have the honor of leading,

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has decided to engage in the search for answers

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to contemporary problems

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and focus on individuality,

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on regaining connections, interpersonal contacts, and a sense of identity,

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on respecting the principles of openness, accessibility,

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and inclusivity in the world around us.

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From our conversations with our guests, you'll learn

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what Polish Studies have in common with medicine and architecture,

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and how they respond to the climate crisis.

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This perspective on Polish Studies will allow you to see

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that Polish Studies scholars also have much to offer in the job market.

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We'll discuss this in the episodes about Polish studies competencies.

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[Karolina Malinowska:] My name is Karolina Malinowska, I'm a psychologist and researcher.

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I also work on career development

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and was invited to participate in the "Polish Studies and the Challenges of the Modern World" project.

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I decided to do this because I feel the need

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to demonstrate the wide application of Polish studies, or more broadly, humanities skills, in contemporary job market,

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yet at the same time, how undervalued this education can be.

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In this endeavor, I have the pleasure of collaborating with Dr. Piotr Bordzoł.

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Together, we are conducting a range of research activities,

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including interviews with various individuals with Polish studies degrees

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about their perceptions of their own skills,

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how they built their career paths.

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We are also analyzing data on the careers of humanities graduates

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and taking a detailed look at job advertisements for individuals with such skills.

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I hope that all our activities

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will contribute to a better understanding of the value of the humanities in a professional context.

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[Piotr Bordzoł:] In my opinion,

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the project brings us closer to recognizing and documenting the presence of Polish studies achievements

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in key areas of our lives.

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Polish studies, as an academic discipline still being defined,

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has an important,

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though not always clearly defined, utilitarian dimension.

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It creates history, connects diverse communities in discussions about identity, Polishness, and existence in language,

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and simultaneously allows us to construct and develop tools useful in life,

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as well as to think, create,

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and utilize discoveries and technologies in an effective and user-friendly way.

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[Mariola Wilczak:] In our project, we also want to draw attention to Polish studies

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and the achievements of Polish Studies institutions around the world.

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To this end, we will enrich our Geopolonistics (Geopolonistyka) map

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with new information and locations.

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We want to reach people with our knowledge,

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(people such as specialists, psychologists, doctors, architects, social activists, and educators)

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who will consult our Bibliography of sources for science and society.

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Let's hear what our experts and bibliographers,

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including Dr. Magdalena Szarota and Ewa Pakalska, have to say about their participation in the project.

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[Magdalena Szarota:] I greatly appreciate that the "Polish Studies and the Challenges of the Contemporary World" project

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has emerged in our academic world and that I was invited to participate.

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Through a range of research, documentary, and popularization activities

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undertaken by our interdisciplinary team,

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we want to shed light on humanities in its various dimensions

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and encourage others to draw on their resources.

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For me personally, this project is also important

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because disability studies, which I have been involved in for years,

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are included in our activities,

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for example, leading to the creation of a thematic collection in this area,

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which will be the first of its kind in Poland.

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We hope that this unique map of disability studies

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will facilitate

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the further development of this field,

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which is also crucial for the humanities,

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and whose ethos is to

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address social and economic challenges.

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[Ewa Pakalska:] I joined this project

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because the issues of disability studies are close to my heart

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and I am happy to combine them

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with my expertise as a bibliographer.

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The thematic collection being created by our team

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is intended to serve as a bridge between important theoretical and literary achievements in other countries,

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which can be an intellectual inspiration for Polish researchers,

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and the achievements of Polish and foreign scholars in disability studies.

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[Mariola Wilczak:] Our expert in medical humanities and narrative medicine

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is, among others, Dr. Marta Chojnacka-Kuraś.

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[Marta Chojnacka-Kuraś:] Medical humanities are primarily studies conducted by humanists,

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meaning literary scholars, or perhaps anthropologists,

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which concern medical topics.

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And there are plenty of studies

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on the portrayal of illness in literature

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in the specific works of specific authors.

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On the other hand, I have the impression

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that narrative medicine, as Rita Sharon proposed,

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is primarily meant to be clinical practice, medical practice,

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drawing on such a powerful humanistic category as narrative, narrativity,

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and I have the feeling that this path of medical humanities is currently developing significantly in Polish research.

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So, humanists do take topics and develop them using their own tools,

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striving, of course, to emphasize

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the subjective, individual, true nature of the experience of illness.

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Let's give the floor to Dr. Aleksandra Wójtowicz,

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who will discuss her work on issues related to architectural literary studies.

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Creating a thematic collection and specialized bibliographic database

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in various areas, including architectural literary studies,

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pursues a dual goal:

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first, documenting the achievements of Polish studies

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and fostering social dialogue. Here, I cite the assumptions of the project "Polish Studies and the Challenges of the Contemporary World,"

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but second, it also provides an opportunity

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to disseminate knowledge about the principles of architectural literary studies,

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where this traditional literary workshop serves as a starting point

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for research of a more practical nature.

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Years ago, when formulating the assumptions of architectural literary studies as a research path,

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together with representatives of various fields,

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we proposed a shift from interdisciplinary literary studies

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to the development of a transdisciplinary model of place research.

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We then defined them as difficult places,

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analyzing two squares: Piłsudskiego and Defilad,

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and the history of attempts to develop them.

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In principle, this model could be applied

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to the analysis of selected areas exhibiting similar characteristics.

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It was also important to demonstrate

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how the results of literary studies

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can have a real impact on reality.

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How these literary analyses can be conducted

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in response to a specific social problem,

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as in this case,

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the need to develop or revitalize culturally marked places—crucially,

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non-obvious ones, entangled in politics, history, symbolic,

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whose content requires broader analysis.

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This architectural literary studies

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is precisely geared toward supporting architects and urban planners,

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as well as decision-making groups managing spaces,

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and non-academic sectors.

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It employs various methods and tools,

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and the creation of this bibliographic database

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encompassing the work of Polish researchers

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will embrace diverse fields,

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encompassing geopoetics, geocriticism, ecocriticism,

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urban studies, and works drawing on traditional literary studies. It is

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precisely the analysis of textual materials

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that constitutes this intertwining of the disciplines

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of literary studies and Polish studies.

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[Mariola Wilczak:] We encourage you to join us in conversations,

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meetings, participate in seminars, read articles and interviews,

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listen to podcast episodes,

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and subscribe to our newsletter,

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where we will inform you about the results of our work and our plans.

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[Magdalena Szarota:] The humanities are passé.

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This opinion unfortunately also circulates in the increasingly neoliberal academic world.

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In short, without the humanities, there is no social life.

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The humanities provide tools for both understanding the world and transforming it.

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The complexity of contemporary challenges

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and the question of what they mean for current and future generations

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require an interdisciplinary approach and engaged research attention.

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That's why the humanities are timely and necessary.

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[Music]

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The "Engaged Polish Studies" podcast series

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was produced as part of the "Polish Studies and the Challenges of the Modern World" project.

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Co-financed from the state budget

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under the Minister of Education and Science's

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Science for Society II program .

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The project number is provided in the description [NdS-II/SP/0264/2024/01].

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We invite you to listen to subsequent episodes

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available on Spreaker, Spotify, and YouTube,

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as well as in the online "Polish Studies Newsletter."

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See you there!

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[Music]