This unit joins philosophers and sociologists, whose academic inquiries unfold along two main areas. The first research area is concerned with the profound transformations that have taken place in the discourse of European metaphysics under the influence of selected currents of contemporary philosophy. Particular emphasis is placed on the latest hermeneutic, phenomenological, poststructuralist and feminist concepts. The aim of this research is to bring out the relevance of these transformations for today’s philosophical discourse and to determine how they situate themselves against the existing tradition. To what extent they represent a challenge to it, a rejection of it, and to what extent they preserve it, but only in an altered form. The issues addressed include defining the foundations of society and culture, individual and collective identity. We also examine the influence of the aforementioned concepts on the conduct of the humanities, the social sciences and on the thought of literature.
The second key area of research is related to the transformations that have taken place in contemporary feminist thought. These have two closely related aspects, philosophical and sociological. In the philosophical aspect, the team undertakes research on issues of gender and sexual difference, mainly from the perspective of phenomenology and post-structuralism. Significant concepts and topics developed in this area are first-person description of lived experience, epoché, eidetic and transcendental reductions in the perspective of poststructuralist criticism and feminist thought. The study of the female subject in the context of the issue of otherness and the dualism (binary) of gender recognition. Analysis of methodological possibilities beyond dichotomous identity settlements of the type: sex-gender, affect-discourse, body-mind, practice-theory, etc.
In sociology, our academic interests span the history of emancipation in Eastern Europe, post-coloniality and post-socialism, transnational feminist movements, and grassroots social mobilizations in the face of democratic backsliding. We aim to understand reproductive agency, defined as “reproductive autonomy”, and “procreative liberty” in the context of the connections between reproductive justice, social reproduction, state policies, capitalism, and democratization practices. Focusing on Poland, where diverse and sometimes conflicting values coexist, empirical studies examine reproductive agency as a complex practice involving tension and conflict.
Within the PASIFIC postdoctoral fellowship program (https://pasific.pan.pl/about-pasific/) our research group hosts Dr. Navjoypal Kaur, who possesses a comprehensive understanding and expertise in the fields of men and masculinity studies, feminist political ecology, and qualitative research methods. She has contributed significantly and constructively to a number of gender-related projects in both the global North and South – specifically in Canada and India. Her postdoctoral research project investigates the relationship between men, masculinities, and agriculture in the North Indian state of Punjab, as well as the gendered consequences of environmental degradation within that specific socio-geographic area.
Team members:
Prof. dr hab. Paweł Dybel, pawel.dybel@ifispan.edu.pl
(willing to supervise doctoral students)
Dr hab. Magda Grabowska, magda.grabowska@ifispan.edu.pl
(willing to supervise doctoral students)
Dr Marzena Adamiak, marzena.adamiak@ifispan.edu.pl
Dr Navjotpal Kaur, navjotpal.kaur@ifispan.edu.pl
GSSR PhD students: Anna Bednarczyk, Wiktoria Morawska, Vera Syrakvash