Professor of Sociology Henryk Domański (Team Leader)
Dr Dariusz Przybysz
Dr hab. Zbigniew Karpiński (unpaid leave)
Dr Katarzyna M. Wyrzykowska (willing to serve as the co-supervisor of dissertations)
Dr Kinga Zawadzka

The main goal of the Team is to investigate various areas of social structure defined in a broad context. Specifically, we are doing empirical research on: (i) social hierarchies and social mobility over time, (ii) class stratification from a cross-national perspective, (iii) the formation of the Polish counterpart of the “middle class”, (iv) how participation in culture, and lifestyle, affects class distances,  and (v) methodology in research on social stratification. These analyses are conducted on data from research based on national samples and qualitative research.

Concerning social stratification our research focus on changes in social barriers related to the family background, principles of meritocracy, and labour market. Analyses on the middle-class focus on the adaptation of attitudes, patterns of socio-occupational careers, and strategies related to material conditions typical for the so-called middle class in Western countries. In the case of stratification of culture, we investigated relationships between class position and patterns of eating, musical preferences and activities, alongside participation in other dimensions of lifestyle and cultural tastes. Especially, studies on the symbolic class distances are pursued (i.e. how people asses each other in terms of class divisions with connotation to moral values): whether they exist and how they are expressed. As regards methodological studies these aim at practical questions concerning the treatment of nonresponse, testing validity of measures applied in statistical analyses, and implementation of new instruments of collecting data. All of them were supported by a Polish National Science Centre under the Maestro and OPUS grants.

The list of most recent publications of the Team includes:

Co-autorship in: Irina Tomescu-Dubrow et al. 2018. Dynamics of Class and Stratification in Poland. Budapest – New York: CEU Press.
H. Domański, D. Przybysz, K.M., Wyrzykowska, and K. Zawadzka. 2021, Dystynkcje muzyczne. Stratyfikacja muzyczna i gusty muzyczne Polaków. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe SCHOLAR.
H. Domański, D. Przybysz, K. M. Wyrzykowska, and Kinga Zawadzka. 2023.  The Effect of Social Mobility on Cultural Barriers in Poland. Polish Sociological Review 223 (1): 353-368.
H. Domański, B.W. Mach, and D. Przybysz. 2024. A Cohort-Based Temporal Analysis of Social Stratification in Poland. Polish Sociological Review 4 (228): 313-338.