Dorota Woroniecka (IFiS PAN), Aleksandra Wojtaszek (PhD student, GSSR)

Tuesday, December 16, 2025, 15:30-16:30

Room 268, Staszic Palace, Nowy Świat 72, 00-330 Warsaw, Poland       

Abstract: 

The “Made in Iraq” research project (https://madeiniraq.edu.pl/) explores architectural and urban transformations of Baghdad through the eyes of Iraqi professionals who worked in the city during international sanctions. It employs qualitative methodology, combining in-depth interviews, archival research and fieldwork in Iraq. The seminar will problematize key aspects of data collection and analysis that can inform broader debates on conducting research in fragile and/or conflict-affected contexts. It will also offer reflections on ethical considerations involved in conducting fieldwork in Iraq and in collaborating with Iraqi scholars.

Dorota Woroniecka-Krzyżanowska (IFiS PAN)

Dorota Woroniecka-Krzyżanowska is Assistant Professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences, and the Principal Investigator of the “Made in Iraq” project. She is a social anthropologist and specializes in migration, urban studies and social change with geographical focus on the Middle East. Dorota holds degrees in Arabic studies (BA) and sociology (MA) from the University of Warsaw and a PhD in social sciences from the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences. She held visiting positions at the University of Oxford, Birzeit University and Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient. Her PhD thesis focused on the relation between identity and place in the context of protracted exile, based on ethnographic study of a Palestinian refugee camp. Dorota’s post-doctoral project explored knowledge relations in the field of architecture and urban planning between the Polish People’s Republic and Iraq through a case study of the Department of Architecture, University of Mosul.

Aleksandra Wojtaszek (PhD student, Sociology, GSSR)

Aleksandra Wojtaszek is a PhD student at the Graduate School for Social Research (IFiS PAN). Her doctoral research examines urban life and the resilience of urban actors in Baghdad during and after international sanctions, focusing on how the city’s social and spatial structures adapted to changing conditions. Before joining GSSR, she worked in the NGO sector on humanitarian and development projects in Poland and the Middle East, including the EU-funded MASAR program in Iraq. She holds an MSc in Arabic Studies from the University of Warsaw and a BA in Oriental Philology from the Jagiellonian University, with a master’s thesis on urbanization processes in Jordan’s largest Syrian refugee camp.