Jan Ciechowicz (1949–2017)
Jan Ciechowicz (1949–2017)

A Professor from Chylonia

Summary/Abstract: Jan Ciechowicz, born on 24 June 1949 in Koluszki, died on 16 Sept. 2017 in Gdynia. Ciechowicz completed the elementary school and high school in Koluszki. He then enrolled in the Polish philology Master’s degree programme at the Catholic University of Lublin (1967–1972). He participated in Irena Sławińska’s theatre studies seminar. In his fourth year of studies, Ciechowicz debuted as a theatre reviewer in Tygodnik Powszechny, where he published reports from Northern Poland for more than twenty years. Ciechowicz married Aleksandra Aldona née Wydrowska, a psychology graduate of the Catholic University of Lublin, at the Oliwa cathedral on 22 January 1972. In the same year, Ciechowicz settled in Pomerania where he found employment at the Polish Philology Institute of Gdańsk University, established two years prior, and he lived there for the rest of his life. Ciechowicz went through all stages and positions of the academic career: assistant professor (1973), Doctor and associate professor (1980), Habilitated Doctor (1993), Professor Extraordinarius (2001), and Professor Ordinarius (2004). In his scholarly work, he focused on the history of drama and theatre in Poland in the 19th and 20th centuries as well as on contemporary theatre and literature. He published numerous articles and reviews in Pamiętnik Teatralny, Teatr, Dialog and other periodicals. In June of 1980, he was granted doctoral degree based on a dissertation about the one-man theatre, written under the supervision of Professor Stanisław Kaszyński of Łódź. Ciechowicz was awarded his Habilitation title based on his study about the Kraków Rhapsodic Theatre of Mieczysław Kotlarczyk. In 1996–2016, Ciechowicz headed the Zakład Dramatu, Teatru i Filmu (Institute of Drama, Theatre, and Cinematography), transformed later into Katedra Kultury i Sztuki/Katedra Dramatu, Teatru i Widowisk (the Chair of Culture and Art/the Chair of Drama, Theatre, and Spectacles). He authored five books: Sam na scenie. Teatr jednoosobowy w Polsce. Z dziejów form teatralnych (1984), Dom opowieści. Ze studiów nad Teatrem Rapsodycznym Mieczysława Kotlarczyka (1992), Konkurs szekspirowski wczoraj i dziś (1997), Myślenie teatrem (2000), and Teatr i okolice (2010). He was a master of short forms of literary and theatre criticism. His last two volumes of collected works that include essays, articles, conference papers, and contributions are notable for their academic erudition, broad and varied area of interest, writing skilfulness, and the quality of looking at things from numerous points of view: theatrical, literary, sociological, or political. Ciechowicz was also a gifted editor. He edited and published 21 titles in total, collaborating on his projects with other outstanding editors. One can only marvel at his editorial achievements, the projects he devised, the historical areas he penetrated, his resourcefulness and creativity, thought-through composition, aesthetic taste, editing skills and organisational talents. Suffice it to mention the four-volume history of theatre in Gdańsk or the two-volume edition of Dramat polski. Interpretacje (2001). He was an outstanding pedagogue. He promoted more than 120 Masters and 15 Doctors. He penned several dozen reviews as part of proceedings of granting doctoral degrees, habilitations and professorships. He reviewed research projects on numerous occasions and took part in academic research grants; he organised more than a dozen national and international conferences. He was a member of numerous scholarly societies; he organised and initiated cultural and artistic events in Pomerania; he served as advisor to municipal and voivodeship authorities.

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