Publisher: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego

Transmission of culture‑related content in the development of communicative competence (on the basis of Russian language pedagogy directed to Poles)

Przekaz treści z zakresu kultury w kształtowaniu kompetencji komunikacyjnej (na podstawie nauczania języka rosyjskiego skierowanego do Polaków)

Author(s): Izabela Nowak / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: transmission; culture; communicative competence; Russian language; pedagogy; Poles

The work focuses on the transmission of culture-related content in the didactic process directed toward the development of communicative competence. The aim of the author is to investigate to what extent this question is reflected in language teaching materials intended to teach Russian as a foreign language. The first chapter presents opinions associated with Russian studies and the methods which are currently applied. The description is diachronic in nature and it constitutes a point of departure to present the basic questions in the communicative approach and to direct the attention of the reader to the problem of interculturality. This part of the work discusses both the role of the process of thinking, the place of the maternal tongue as well as the question of linguistic kinship as those factors which determine the acquisition of the Russian language by Poles. The second chapter familiarises the reader with the problem of competence, which was investigated from the linguistic, psycholinguistic and language teaching perspective. The focus of this chapter has to do with communicative competence, which is referred to the modern language pedagogy. Another aspect which is considered has to do with the differences in the development of competence in the maternal and the foreign language which are taken into account during the process of teaching the Russian language to Poles. The third chapter discusses the concept of culture conceived of as a universum and its relationship with language was analysed. The crucial problem of this part of the work is associated with the selection of cultural content in order to use it in the teaching of Russian as a foreign language. The author suggested the concept of the organisation of the material at whose heart lies the research term leksykultura [lexiculture]. The shared collection of values and beliefs which is manifested in this term is recognised as the basic and binding factor which constitutes lexiculture. It may be presented in the day-to-day communication of the native speakers of the Russian language; an important role is also played by the semantic surplus which manifests itself in the Polish-Russian intercultural relations. Subsequently the author analysed whether or not the assumptions that were accepted are reflected in the selected textbooks whose purpose is to teach Russian as a foreign language. The presence of lexicultures was analysed in the perspective of their selection, mode of introduction and methodical activities directed to the student. The material that was collected was subject to a qualitative and quantitative analysis. The purpose of this analysis was to reveal whether or not in the modern Russian language pedagogy the model of learning a language in strict reference to the communicative application of language is promoted. The approach toward the transmission of culture-related content in the process of teaching Russian that is presented in this work is an attempt at departing from the traditional research works. The centre of attention is occupied by communication as the superior factor which determines the approach to the teaching of culture-related content and treats the language learner as a subject whose initial perspective on the world and the system of values was shaped by his or her maternal language and native culture.

Persuasion in television public service advertisements. A sociological study

Perswazja w telewizyjnej reklamie społecznej. Studium socjologiczne

Author(s): Ewa Kurzeja / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: Persuasion; advertisement; television; sociology; marketing

The book is devoted to the phenomenon of persuasiveness in television public service advertisements. The said type of advertisements is aimed at prompting particular socially desirable attitudes or persuading members of the audience to cease their socially undesirable behaviour. Therefore, such campaigns serve to transform currently existing reality and disseminate knowledge related to social phenomena and to engage audience in social matters.The monograph is composed of seven chapters, complemented with introduction and summarising section, along with an extensive bibliography, and the lists of tables and figures appearing therein. First four chapters, written on the basis of rich literature on the subject in question, are of theoretical character. In a form of an outline, they present the history of advertising and its defining features, fundamental issues involving contemporary advertisements and their role in shaping public opinion; but also important questions falling into the scope of public service marketing, its origin, devices, and functions performed by it. Another discussed issue are the methods of exerting influence by mean of a message contained in an advertisement, which are synonymous with persuasion and targeted at changing the members of the audience’s attitudes. The chapter concluding this part of the publication deals with persuasion in public service advertisements directly. Polish public service advertisements, characterised according to their problematic, are presented in the said chapter, along with the discussion of the means of persuasion used in them, particularly: the formal concept, auditory, verbal and visual layers, and a type of protagonists featured.Part two of the book, which is empirically oriented, presents the author’s own research relating to the public service advertisements broadcasted in Poland in the years 2005–2010. The proper research sample (n = 99) was obtained on the basis of the probabilistic random sampling method. The formulated research problem is the role of public service advertisements in the process of shaping social awareness as well as the members of the audience’s attitudes. What was set as the research aim, was the analysis of particular advertisements’ contents and the comparative analysis thereof. Chapter five discusses the research method used (content analysis), the technique devised by the author (categorization key), and the implemented methods of analysis and interpretation of the obtained data. Chapter six, in turn, presents a model analysis of the phenomenon of persuasion in television public service advertising. Additionally, it gives a demonstration of research material collected in the course of the study, subsequently ordered in accordance with suitable criteria and complemented with commentaries constituting an attempt at comprehensive overview regarding the collected data. The final chapter contains both the analysis and the interpretation of the conducted research. By means of categorization keys, the chapter provides a description of distinctive themes present in the analysed advertisements, as well as the issues addressed in them. The advertising spots were classified with reference to their length, the period in which the campaigns containing them were conducted, and the territorial scope of their broadcasting (all-Poland, regional, local). What is more, the analysis of the advertising spots’ contents wasperformed, taking into account: the addressee thereof, the means of expression used, and a type of protagonist featured. Crucial part of the chapter is a detailed discussion of particularmeans of persuasion devised in the advertising spots under analysis. The presented researchresults were supplemented with relevant commentaries, indicating the weighty aspects of agiven question along with the presentation of selected examples and the author’s own interpretation of the observed interrelations. In concluding remarks, the research results and the their analysis were summarised and confronted with the initially forwarded hypotheses.

Morphological transformations of the urban space of Katowice

Morfologiczne przekształcenia przestrzeni miejskiej Katowic

Author(s): Marta Chmielewska / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: Katowice; Urban Space; City morphology

The monograph is situated within the scope of the Conzenian urban morphology and concerns the transformation of urban space in terms of morphology, in conjunction withchanges within its functional structure. The considerations are based on the example of Katowice—a city of a short but turbulent history, the space of which was influenced by numerous variable and diverse factors, and which has been recently transforming into a modern city—post-industrial and post-socialist. The main objective of the study is to demonstrate the evolution of the urban space of Katowice, and in particular, to answer the questions: how has the today’s morphological character of Katowice been formed, and in which direction will it be transforming? To accomplish the objective, a multi-step morphological analysis of the space of the city has been carried out, in accordance with the guidelines of Conzen’s methods with the employment of GIS tools. Firstly, the reconstruction of the formation of the space of Katowice, which was indispensable for further research, was undertaken. Genetic factors conditioning the course of the evolution of the city, as well as the stages of its morphological and spatial development were determined, and settlement units located within its boundaries were identified and arranged stratigraphically. 70 historical settlements were identified—diverse in terms of the time of their formation, their origin and incorporation in the borders of Katowice. Subsequently, the morphological structure of Katowice was characterised. The city was described in terms of its morphogenesis, physiognomy and layout. These three elements were employed as criteria to determine 48 classes of structural units of the study area and 178 units representing 19 of these classes. These units are arranged in a mosaic and non-uniformly fill the space of individual districts. Therefore, Katowice has a highly complex morphological structure.In the following stage of the work, the evolution of the urban space of Katowice, which has been occurring through the morphological and functional transformation, was examined. These transformations were analysed both in time and in space, with attention focused on their causes, directions and intensity. As a result, the phenomenon of morphological and functional succession was observed in the space of Katowice. Further research led to identification of the stages and types of this phenomenon. The morphological and functional evolution of Katowice, over its entire area, was characterised by isomorphism. The most important reason for the occurrence of the evolution was industrialisation, while the other reasons were complementary or secondary, or referred only to a small part of the city. The main directions of the transformations consisted in locating and developing industrial plants, and spreading of the residential area. Currently, emphasis on the elimination of the industrial plants and the development of services has been placed, however many new residential projects have been carried out.The morphological and functional transformations in the urban space have been resulting in replacing the existing morphological forms with new ones, and in changes of the functions performed by this space. Taking into consideration the number of transformations of the space in Katowice, three types of morphological and functional succession were distinguished, and subsequently these types were divided in view of the direction of the transformations into subtypes (32). The surface of the areas that corresponds to the individual types is inversely proportional to the complexity of the transformations characteristic of these types—the areas in which the succession has not yet been revealed are predominant, whereas the smallest surface is occupied by the areas that have undergone a three-phase succession. In addition, it may be observed that the succession took place predominantly in the areas in the northern part of the city, in the latitudinal belt.In the last part of the monograph, the trends in the transformations emerging currently in the morphology of Katowice (after 1989) were focused on. They are the result of the interaction of two groups of factors—the consequences of the political transformation, and the activities and plans of municipal authorities and social initiatives. The greatest impact has been exerted by the revitalization of both degraded post-industrial areas and urban areas, however the intensity and direction of the transformations of these two types of areas are different. The revitalisation projects additionally vary in terms of the impact on the morphology and function of the space. The most intensive changes occur in the central part of Katowice and are related to the aspirations towards transforming the centre of Katowice into a modern service and culture centre, the origin of the metropolis of Upper Silesia. These transformations are accompanied by the development of other parts of the city, oriented towards increasing its importance as a regional and national centre.

The social policy. Considerations about theory and practice

Polityka społeczna. Rozważania o teorii i praktyce

Author(s): Marian Mitręga,Joanna Lustig,Natalia Stępień-Lampa,Bożena Zasępa,Paweł Grzywna / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: social policy; subdisciplines of social policy; the welfare state

The work engages the problems of social policy and its subdisciplines. The social policy in Poland was subject to numerous transformations. Due to the institutional changes which are being constantly introduced, the transformations in the social structure and the technological progress, this process cannot be considered finished. The increasing range of services, new methods of managements, the development of a knowledge‑based society and the more and more closer international collaboration render this activity impossible to be perceived merely in terms of redistributive justice. Due to this, according to the authors, it is legitimate and worthwhile to conduct research in this scholarly field. The considerations that are presented in this work represent two currents of thinking about social policy – social policy as theory and as practice.The monograph constitutes a synthetic guide to the principal research areas of modern social policy. The work consists of sixteen chapters which describe the following problems of social policy: the problem of a definition, the genesis of the social policy and support activities, a model‑based approach, social security, the activities of the third sector, the population‑relatedpolicy, the policy associated with handicapped people, social protection, poverty, educationalpolicy, health‑related policy, the policy of the job market, the housing policy and the familypolicy. The publication is intended for people who are interested in the problems of social policy, political decision‑makers, including especially the representatives of self‑governmentauthorities and also the institutions of the second and third sectors.

Coding course for beginners: graphic approach

Nauka programowania dla początkujących: podejście graficzne

Author(s): Diana Domańska,Krzysztof Gdawiec / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: Coding course; Processing; Coding

”The present book is a light introduction into the world of computer programming. It turns out that we do not have to be computer geniuses to learn to code. Most people have a limited knowledge about the construction and functioning of a car or a motorbike, but still it does not prevent them from sitting behind the wheel and driving. We do not have to know the basic construction and functioning of computers in order to be able to make use of them. Coding is a similar case. Today we have many different programming languages to choose from. We can start learning to use any of them, but in the case of some languages this process is going to be easier, while in the case of others – more difficult. A Chinese proverb says ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’, and this is why we are going to focus on a programming language which is particularly orientated towards creating pictures. The language in question is Processing. It is a dialect of Java, the most popular programming language (October 2016) according to TIOBE1 ranking. Processing has been designed especially for artists, thanks to which it is very easy to learn. The best way of learning to code is writing programmes as often as possible. The mere reading of the book will not make you proficient as far as coding is concerned. Thus, while reading, you are advised to re-write the exemplary programmes, modify them and use as an encouragement to write your own. If you follow this advice, after finishing the book you will surely know a lot about the process of coding. You may not be a coding guru, but still you will learn the basic skills of computer programming and you will possess the knowledge enabling you to follow different paths. Maybe in future you will even become a professional programmer, which we wish for you. The book has been aimed at those who do not have any previous experience with coding, therefore many concepts are discusses in great detail. For the readers who do have some programming background it may seem to be boring, but they also can find something valuable in this book: they will have a chance to learn the basics of the Processing language. Readers are not required to be familiar with any advanced tools. The only requirements are the elementary knowledge of mathematics and the willingness to learn to code. Despite the fact that in the book the coding is taught by means of Processing language, the acquired knowledge will facilitate to move on to learn other programming languages, such as C, C++, C# or Java”. (from The Introduction)

The problem of psychology in the post-kantian philosophy

Problem psychologii w filozofii pokantowskiej

Author(s): Andrzej J. Noras / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: psychology; philosophy; post-kantian philosophy

The subject of analyses undertaken in the book are concepts of the post-Kantian philosophers who, in their inquiries, referred to psychology, namely: Jakob Friedrich Fries, Friedrich Eduard Beneke, Johann Friedrich Herbart, Jürgen Bona Meyer, and Leonard Nelson. What is revealed in the course of the author’s investigations is the following. First of all, attempts to establish relationship between psychology and philosophy are not identicalwith the subsequent endeavours to found philosophy on a bedrock of psychology. Such an understanding of relations between the two has come to be known as psychologism, and does not refer to the concepts in question. Second of all, one cannot propose a single model of understanding the relation occurring between philosophy and psychology. As a source of the problem here one can indicate the interpretation of Kant’s thought put forward by Fries. The latter – to a lesser or greater degree – is referred to by the remaining thinkers. Thirdly, the author’s analyses demonstrate such a plethora of standpoints regarding the titular issue that the only common denominator may be broadly understood psychology.

Labial-Dorsal Interactions: A Phonologically Based Approach

Labial-Dorsal Interactions: A Phonologically Based Approach

Author(s): Artur Kijak / Language(s): English

Keywords: Element Theory; place of articulation; labial; dorsal

"This work has proposed a novel approach to the intrasegmental structure ofdorsals based on detailed synchronic, diachronic, intra-linguistic, and crosslinguisticanalysis of interactions between labials and dorsals."

Specialised Languages. Glottodidactic Theory and Practice

Języki specjalistyczne. Teoria i praktyka glottodydaktyczna

Author(s): / Language(s): English,Polish,Italian

Keywords: glottodidactics; glottodidactician; specialised languages; foreign languages; teacher; specialised knowledge

The volume is devoted to defining the notion of “specialised languages,” and to presenting problems and dilemmas encountered by foreign language teachers, whose duty is to provide students with language education with elements of specialised knowledge. The texts collected in this book are the effects of experiences of practising teachers dealing with glottodidactics. Working in various educational contexts, the authors are foreign language teachers at higher education institutions or at modern philology departments of higher education institutions. This collection of texts written by teachers-glottodidacticians shows their reflections, knowledge, and practical experiences in teaching specialised languages – the expressions of their own explorations.The editors believe that this volume will become not only a source of knowledge and ideas how to cope with teaching specialised languages, but also an inspiration for further searches of teaching methods and techniques that are more motivating, effective, varied, and able to go beyond the curriculum of a language course, realised by means of less traditional didactic materials.

Philosopher of Pure Cognition. Thing about Hermann Cohen

Filozof czystego poznania. Rzecz o Hermannie Cohenie

Author(s): Andrzej J. Noras / Language(s): Polish

Hermann Cohen remains one of the most important philosophers of the turn of the 19th century. He is known first and foremost as the founder of the Neo-Kantian Marburg School, which, alongside the Baden School, constituted the primary center of philosophicalthought in Germany at that time. Nonetheless, Cohen has not been widely recognized for his contributions to the study of philosophy due to the fact that, because of his Jewish heritage, he worked at the provincial University of Marburg in Hessia. The following monograph accounts for his relative lack of recognition and thus begins with an overview of Cohen’s biography. Following that introduction, the monograph has been divided into two parts.The first part concerns theoretical philosophy, which constituted the cornerstone of Cohen’s doctrine. The Marburg Neo-Kantianism is considered to be the most radical version of anti-psychologism and logicism; nonetheless, Cohen started his career as a philosopher as a disciple of Heymann (or Chajim) Steinthal, a linguist and a philosopher, as well as Moritz (or Moses) Lazarus: the publishers of the periodical Zeitschrift für Völkerpsychologie und Sprachwissenschaft. In 1871, he published the first edition of Kants Theorie des Erfahrung,which was later republished in 1885 and 1918. In this part of the monograph, the author presents the evolution of Cohen’s ideas, who gradually progressed toward radical anti-psychologism. This stance is clearly reflected in his 1902 book Logik der reinen Erkenntnis, which shows Cohen as a philosopher interested in grounding the notions of philosophy and science. Cohen, then, is seen as a thinker who searches for conditions which would guarantee the objective value of cognition. Thus, his epistemological program becomes an alternativefor the phenomenology school of thought, which came to prominence in the beginning of the 20th century. Cohen remains convinced that the objective value of cognition is irrevocably connected with a search for the source. The concept which becomes crucial for his philosophy is the notion of the source (Ursprung), which for Cohen signifies a search for the rules whichgovern cognition and which ensure its objective value. What is particularly interesting about Cohen’s theory of cognition is the fact that it constitutes an attempt at a transcendental grounding of cognition, which is sometimes referred to as “a theory of cognition withoutthe subject” or “idealism without the subject.” This phrase, coined by Manfred Brelage, has its origins in the fact that Cohen’s idealism is a transcendental idealism par excellence. For that reason, Gerhard Lehmann calls Cohen “the archpriest of science.”The second part of the monograph is devoted to practical philosophy, and ethics in particular. This ethics is connected with the ethics of socialism, developed by the protoplast of the Marburg School, even though Cohen is interested not so much in the subject of the ethics itself, but rather in the grounding of ethics in science. He is convinced that while mathematical natural history has its grounding in logic, ethics has its groundings in jurisprudence. Next, the author proceeds with an analysis of the philosophy of law, whichbecomes even more interesting given the fact that Rudolf Stammler, one of the most distinguished philosophers of the law of that period, also belonged to the Marburg School. Thus, the author discusses the conception of varying content of the law of nature. Moreover, itshould also be noted that—as Claudius Müller argues in his book—during the time of the Nazi regime, libraries in Germany discarded all books by Hermann Cohen, who was Jewish, as well as those of Karl Vorländer, who was a socialist and one of Cohen’s students. Moreover, the author focuses on the philosophy of religion—crucial due to Cohen’s Judaism—as well as aesthetics and psychology. The monograph constitutes an overview of Cohen’s views, painting the thinker as a scholar determined to discover the foundation inwhich he could ground his science. This process was so crucial for the founder of the Marburg School that his philosophy is often equated with constant critique. Martin Heidegger—involved with Marburg in 1923–1928—in his book Grundprobleme der Phänomenologie (1919/20), uses the figure of Rudolf Hermann Lotze, but doesn’t directly refer to that fact. Meanwhile, Lotze, in his critique of the common practice of grounding philosophy in the theory of cognition, writes, “[…] such tasks are forced to find solutions: the constant sharpening of knives is boring when there is nothing to be cut.” This sharpening of the knives is, indeed, what seems to lie at the core of Cohen’s philosophy. Nonetheless, what this monograph aims to emphasize is the meaningfulness of the task.

The crises in the European Union in the second decade of the 21st century. Determinants – process – implications

Kryzysy w Unii Europejskiej w drugiej dekadzie XXI wieku. Uwarunkowania – przebieg – implikacje

Author(s): / Language(s): English,Polish

Keywords: European Union; EU

The research objective undertaken in the present work is the analysis of the most important issues regarding the main reasons and manifestations of the crises occurring in the EU in the second decade of the 21st century, together with indicating the possibilities of their overcoming, and discussing their most important implications as far as the further realization of the integration project is concerned. It should be mentioned that only some of the consequences of the EU crises which have occurred in the second decade of the 21st century can be successfully diagnosed. Others will surely set in, only in a shorter or a longer term. Moreover, there is the difficulty with a precise separation of some reasons (sources) from the symptoms of the crises (e.g. the deficit of democracy in the EU). It remains a fact that further process of European integration has become much less predictable than it was a couple of years ago. There emerge various, more or less probable, scenarios of the functioning or disintegration of the EU and its main consequences for the UE member countries, as well as for both the European and the global international system. In the present work, the expressions “the EU crisis” and “the crises in the EU” are used interchangeably. Typically, in literature on the subject these terms are used with different scopes of meaning. The authors of the studies devoted to this problem, including the authors of some of the texts printed in the present volume, draw attention to the fact that a crisis or crises in the EU may be of fragmentary nature, concerning some levels or dimensions of integration within the EU. They claim that the crises in the EU do not have negative influence on the functioning of the Union as a whole. The EU crisis, on the other hand, refers to the crisis of the entire system, the crisis that is spatial and structural, and which poses a threat to the very existence of the EU. It should be kept in mind, though, that the multiplicity and the intensity of the crises, as well as the fact that there have been numerous crises overlapping in a relatively short time in the second decade of the 21st century, have resulted in the situation where the crises in the EU transform, as it were, into the crisis of the EU. Therefore, we have to do with the situation when the crises in the EU in consequence become the EU crisis. The present volume contains 24 articles divided into four parts. The allocation of some articles to a given part of the volume is fairly arbitrary due to the fact that the authors of some texts printed in the present work discuss the issues that concern both the reasons or symptoms, as well as the consequences of the crises under consideration. Because of this, several articles might as well belong to other parts of the volume as well. In the first part, entitled “The theoretical aspects of the crises in the European Union”, there can be found articles written by Zbigniew D. Czachór, Janusz Ruszkowski, Józef M. Fiszer, and Piotr Tosiek. Part Two, entitled “The determinants of crises in the European Union”, contains the studies in which the authors have exposed some internal (intra‑Union) as well as external determinants of the crises occurring in the EU. In this part of the volume there are articles by Dariusz Milczarek and Olga Barburska, Rafał Riedel, Jerzy Jaskiernia, Katarzyna Czornik, and Agnieszka Miarka. The most extensive part of the volume is Part Three, “The symptoms of the crises in the European Union”. Here, one can find texts written by Jacek Pietrucha, Sławomir Czech, Andrzej Podrazy, Michał Dulak, Bogdan Góralczyk, Ryszard Zięba, Mieczysław Stolarczyk, Joanna Ciesielska‑Klikowska, and Anna Pacześniak. In the final part of the present work there are articles by Agnieszka Nitszke, Justyna Zając, Artur Adamczyk, Monika Szynol, Magdalena Tusińska, and Tomasz Kubin. The present study is addressed to a wide range of readers. The editors of the volume hope that the articles contained in the present publication will contribute to the enhancement of the knowledge concerning the main reasons, symptoms, and implications of the crises occurring in the European Union in the second decade of the 21st century. They wish for the present book to become a significant form of scholarly participation from various academic centres of our country in the on‑going discussion devoted to this problem and the voice in the discourse concerning not only the fundamental issues of integration politics of Poland and other EU member countries, but also the matters of preliminary importance for the politics of the security of Poland and other countries, as well as international security in Europe and the world. Because further regression, and all the more the disintegration of the EU, would have difficult to overestimate implications not only for the European international system, but also for the international system globally.

The teaching and the promotion of the Polish language in the world. Assessment – status – perspective

Nauczanie i promocja języka polskiego w świecie. Diagnoza – stan – perspektywy

Author(s): Władysław Miodunka,Jolanta Tambor,Aleksandra Achtelik,Romuald Cudak,Danuta Krzyżyk,Jan Mazur,Bernadeta Niesporek-Szamburska,Kazimierz Ożóg,Adam Pawłowski,Dorota Praszałowicz,Anna Seretny,Roman Szul,Agnieszka Tambor,Tadeusz Zgółka,Małgorzata Smereczniak,Karolina Graboń / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: education; teaching Polish; Polish as foreign; mother tongue; foreign language; second language; heritage language; Polish literature; Polish culture; Polish cinema; promotion; certification

“The teaching and the promotion of the Polish language in the world. Assessment – status – perspectives” is an indispensable item in the library of teachers, lecturers, instructors, Polonia activists, promoters of cultural activities, journalists and diplomats – to put it briefly, all people who are concerned about the prestige, the fate and the status of the Polish language in the world and all people upon whom the fate and the status of the Polish language depends. The publication was developed by the following team of authors: Władysław Miodunka, Jolanta Tambor, Aleksandra Achtelik, Romuald Cudak, Danuta Krzyżyk, Jan Mazur, Bernadeta Niesporek-Szamburska, Kazimierz Ożóg, Adam Pawłowski, Dorota Praszałowicz, Anna Seretny, Roman Szul, Agnieszka Tambor, Tadeusz Zgółka (collaborators: Małgorzata Smereczniak, Karolina Graboń). The authors at the same time constitute a team of experts appointed by His Magnificence Rector of the University of Silesia on the basis of an agreement with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in January 2017 in order to develop a strategy of the teaching and the promotion of the Polish language in the world which was supposed to involve the following items:• the teaching of the Polish language as a foreign language in all age groups, at all levels, both in the system of non-higher education and higher education and in all forms;• the promotion of the Polish language in the world, along with an indication of the priority geographical areas and the areas of substance, as well as the instruments of promotion;• the coordination of the activities and the establishment of the tasks of the particular institutions;• the indication of the scope of the necessary legislative modifications and the means of financing.The work on the strategy was completed in July 2017, the book is going to be released in July 2018. The chronological distance is slight but it is quite eventful. Above all in October 2017 one established the National Agency of Academic Exchange, an institution which took over the tasks of the Bureau for Academic Recognition and International Exchange, but also of a number of other sections, divisions and departments. Before the publication of the work the authors attempted to introduce the necessary changes, which take into account the new situation. However, this was not always possible.The authors assess the current status of the teaching and the promotion of the Polish language in the world and they put forward the best solutions to solve the problems, they suggest the best solutions possible. We realise that prompt realisation of some of the changes which are proposed is not possible, for it would require huge system-related modifications – however, these are maximum plans, which indicate the ills of the current state of affairs and the things which are relevant to teachers, students, parents of children of Polish origin and foreigners who learn Polish for a variety of reasons (e.g. migrants, refugees, as well as re-emigrants, who enter the Polish system of education), things which are also relevant to the enthusiasts of Polish literature, Polish theatre, Polish cinema, to people who stay abroad where access to the products of culture is sometimes considerably limited; to Polish tourists, travellers, passengers who are hard put to receive Polish announcements in airplanes, Polish-language customer service in trains or Polish notices in such airports. Fragments of this publication will be useful for students who major in foreign language pedagogy, for post-graduate students who train to become teachers of the Polish language as a foreign language. The work should be consulted by teachers, lecturers as well as students. Inspiration from this work ought to be drawn by people who are responsible to introduce certain changes, to make certain decisions and introduce some solutions which are put forward.The work describes the status at the turn of 2018 – the status which remains the same system-wise. It furnishes a basis for re-thinking, it indicates the things that may be fixed quickly and easily, and the things which require a greater deal of effort. We would like to indicate clearly – and this is very important – that the work also presents all of the accomplishments, triumphs and the strong points of Polish-as-a-foreign-language education and the promotion of Poland and the Polish language.

Professional etiquette. Diplomatic Protocol

Etykieta zawodowa i protokół dyplomatyczny. Wyd. 1. popr.

Author(s): Andrzej Szteliga / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: etiquette; Diplomatic Protocol; savoir-vivre

Good manners and ethical conduct are extremely important in interpersonal relationships in general, but they gain special significance in international and interstate relations at various levels. An example, especially on the professional level, can be diplomatic behaviour, which constitutes a specific compilation of historical traditions and contemporary good practices, based on legal and customary norms. // The book „Professional Etiquette & Diplomatic Protocol” by Andrzej Szteliga in an accessible way presents and discusses classical principles of savoir-vivre, professional and social etiquette as well as basic issues of diplomatic protocol and foreign service. Therefore, many of its pages contain such terms as ethics, professional etiquette, savoirvivre, diplomatic protocol, foreign service - explained theoretically and discussed in practice. The book, due to its character as an academic textbook, has a unique cognitive and educational value, not only for students, but also for politicians (especially young), local government officials and managers. The text of the publication is enriched by numerous photographs and situational drawings. // The work presents in detail the classic principles of savoir-vivre, i.e. issues related to greetings and farewells, getting to know one another and establishing contacts and the role of business cards in this process, conducting private talks and official speeches, the mastery of diplomatic, official and private correspondence, precedence (seniority) in professional and social relations, and traditional forms of address in various environments. // Further thematic blocks are related to the issues of the diplomatic protocol, i.e. to the basic elements of diplomatic and consular law, the characteristics of the rules governing foreign contacts (not only diplomatic and consular), the organisation of visits and meetings, the preparation and dispatch of invitations, participation in official and accompanying programmes, conducting negotiations and concluding agreements, a diplomatic ceremony, a flag protocol, placement of officials and guests and the order of speeches, organisation and operation of the foreign service in Poland and abroad (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and bilateral and multilateral posts), awards and distinctions.// The substantive part of the work ends with a presentation of typical improper behaviour and gaffes, as well as advice on how to avoid them.

Contemporary political parties and party systems of Visegrad Group countries in democratization process

Współczesne partie i systemy partyjne państw Grupy Wyszehradzkiej w procesie demokratyzacji

Author(s): / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: contemporary political parties; Visegrad Group; democratization process

Problematyka partii politycznych i systemów partyjnych jest jednym z podstawowych elementów analizy systemu politycznego. Współczesny reżim demokratyczny opiera się na rządach partii politycznej1. Partie stanowią pomost pomiędzy społeczeństwem a władzą publiczną. W tym dualnym układzie z jednej strony reprezentują interesy obywateli, a z drugiej wpływają na realne decyzje polityczne. Wśród wielu sposobów definiowania partii warto zwrócić uwagę na ten, który ukazuje wzajemne relacje pomiędzy jej reprezentatywnym charakterem (w znaczeniu agregacji i prezentacji interesów społecznych) a możliwością zdobycia i sprawowania przez nią władzy. Pozwala to na ukazanie specyficznej roli, jaką partia odgrywa w procesie wyborczym2.

English semantic loans, loan translations, and loan renditions in informal Polish of computer users

English semantic loans, loan translations, and loan renditions in informal Polish of computer users

Author(s): Marcin Zabawa / Language(s): English

Keywords: language contacts; semantic loan; lexical tracing paper; phrase paper; corpus; specialist language; Internet language; language of internet forums; language of computer science

It is common knowledge that Polish is under a strong influence of English nowadays. In the past, such influence was largely restricted to lexical borrowings, noticed and commented upon both by linguists, in the literature on the subject (see especially the monographs by Mańczak-Wohlfeld 1994, 1995, 2006), and by non-linguists, for instance in the popular press. Nowadays the picture is different: English continues to affect Polish at the level of lexis; however, other spheres are not free from the English influence, either. Thus, apart from lexical loans, which have already been relatively thoroughly researched, semantic borrowings, loan translations, loan renditions, and semi-calques (all of which attracted much less attention from linguists) appear with a high frequency as well. In addition, minor types of influence, manifested through the existence of syntactic and morphological loans, can also be detected; such spheres as spelling or punctuation are also under the influence of English, particularly in the more informal varieties of Polish texts. /fragment of the introduction/

Unappreciated Thinkers — The Forgotten Histories of Philosophy

Niedocenieni myśliciele – zapomniane historie filozofii

Author(s): Andrzej J. Noras / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: Karl Groos; Hans Leisegang; Willy Moog;history of philosophy;

The book constitutes a presentation of the views of thinkers who, for no readily apparent reasons, have been forgotten, sidelined in some way. This is particularly incomprehensible since each of them is an author of an extremely interesting history of philosophy which constitutes an attempt at capturing its events through the perspective of their given aspect event. Each aims at a different view of philosophy, accentuating a different facet. Each is interested in a typology of philosophy, but understands it in a different way. Karl Groos is a thinker known not only for the history of philosophy analysed in this book, but also for being interested in the theory of play, understood as “exercising out” (Einübung). Published in 1924, Groos’s history of philosophy is entitled Der Aufbau der Systeme and its main intention is to introduce order into the multiplicity of philosophical doctrines. Groos is primarily interested in the mystery of the logical architecture of systems, the formal aspect of their structure. Hans Leisegang is a thinker who deserves special attention and who twice in his life experienced the power of totalitarianism. For the first time it happens when he does not acknowledge Hitler as the Chancellor of Germany, and for the second time when he refuses to submit to the Soviet power. The first time, his insubordination is punished by prison and the loss of his professorship in Jena. The second time, he is forced to leave Jena and move to Berlin to the newly-found Freie Universität Berlin. Leisegang, differently to Groos, but similarly to Moog, writes several histories of philosophy, three of which are intended to popularize the field. It is the fourth one which sparks particular interest. The book Denkformen is published for the first time in 1928 and for the second in 1951. The work is built on an assumption that human thought employs a limited number of thought structures which recur/repeat themselves in history of philosophy and, at the same time, usurp the absolute rule — which is connected with accepting Dilthey’s stance. Leisegang reduces all kinds of thinking in the history of philosophy to four thought forms which are: (1) the form of thought-circles (Denkform des Gedankenkreises), (2) the form of circle of circles (Denkform der Kreis von Kreisen), (3) the form of conceptual pyramid (die Begriffspyramide), and (4) The Euklidean-mathematical thought-form (die euklidisch-mathematische Denkform). The last philosopher to be analysed in the book is Willy Moog, Karl Groos’s student. Out of all the thinkers discussed here, his contribution to the study of German philosophical thought is the greatest, and its material expression is embodied in three important books from the field of German philosophy. The first constitutes an in-depth study of psychologism and was compiled out of parts of the author’s habilitation thesis (Logik, Psychologie und Psychologismus. Wissenschaftssystematische Untersuchungen. Halle a. S. 1919). The second book is the history of the newest German philosophy Die deutsche Philosophie des 20. Jahrhunderts in ihren Hauptrichtungen und Grundproblemen. Stuttgart 1922), while the third one analyses philosophy of Hegel and the followers who draw upon his thought – Hegel und die Hegelsche Schule (München 1930). In 1932, Moog publishes a book which constitutes a perspective of the history of philosophy which is alternative to the ones proposed by his teacher Karl Groos and Hans Leisegang. The work is entitled Das Leben der Philosophen (Berlin 1932), and its subject are the philosophers’ lives, where the author tries to show the connection between a thinker’s biography and the views which he voiced. The work does not intent to relativise the views of a given philosopher, but it attempts to demonstrate that a philosophical system constitutes an expression of the most inner nature of its creator, and in this sense, what is individual is captured in its objective meaning and transposed onto the plane of that which is above the individual.

Jewish (un)masculinities. On pre‑war writings of Adolf Rudnicki

Żydowskie (nie)męskości. O przedwojennej twórczości Adolfa Rudnickiego

Author(s): Gaweł Janik / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: Adolf Rudnicki; inter-war literary output; Jews;masculinity;

The monograph is meant as a kind of a complete guide to pre‑war writings of Adolf Rudnicki. The author has taken into consideration all literary works written by Rudnicki that were published at that time, including both books and short stories published in the press, as well as fragments of a drama which has never been published in full. The present work begins with a chapter entitled “From the history of reception”, in which the author reconstructs pre‑war literary criticism of the works written by Rudnicki that were published at that time. On the basis of almost forty reviews, a broad picture has been created that shows how the writing of Rudnicki was interpreted and evaluated in the period under consideration. The aim of the author has been to confront the opinions of the researchers who claim that Rudnicki became critics’ favourite from the very moment of his literary debut, with source texts, and thus with original critical reviews published in pre‑war press. The analysis of the reception has allowed to throw doubt on the frequently repeated thesis whereby Rudnicki enjoyed a remarkable favour of reviewers. Chapter two discusses the idea of “Jewishness” of the pre‑war works of the writer. It demonstrates a long way that the author came, starting with his early texts, in which the Jewish themes are not taken up at all, or they are not explicit on the surface of the texts, up to a symbolic return to the reality of shtetl in the novel Lato [Summer]. Also, the aim of the author has been to look upon transformations in the writer’s worldview. Initially, his attitude was clearly assimilative. Before the outbreak of the Second World War, in turn, he took the side of the critics of assimilation. It has also become necessary to reconstruct the writer’s biography with a special emphasis on the orthodox family in which he was raised. Drawing on the category offered for reflection upon the Polish‑Jewish relations in 1980s by Artur Sandauer, the author of the present study has attempted to present Rudnicki as a writer‑allosemite. The third chapter is the author’s attempt to read Rudnicki’s pre‑war prose from the perspective of research on masculinity. The specificity of Rudnicki’s works, i.e. the world of men presented in them, from which women were almost completely excluded, has not been noticed for many years, and consequently has not been properly described. What is more, masculinity in Rudnicki’s texts often turns out to be exceptionally non‑masculine, effeminate, as well as homosexual. Thus, the present work becomes an attempt to read, in German Ritz’s words, the “secret signs” present in the writer’s inter‑war literary output, which makes it possible to read it as also homosexual, and thus to include Rudnicki among such writers such as Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz or Witold Gombrowicz.

An idea subject to the purposes of propaganda. The Slavic Committee in Poland in 1945–1953 in the context of the neo‑Slavic movement

Idea w służbie propagandy. Komitet Słowiański w Polsce 1945–1953 na tle ruchu nowosłowiańskiego

Author(s): Marcela Gruszczyk / Language(s): Polish

After the Second World War, the cooperation of Slavic people was treated by the communist authorities as the basic determinant of the internal and external policy of the country. It was seen as a guarantee of peace and safety in post‑war Europe. Moreover, according to the recommendations of the Soviet Union, it was supposed to serve the purpose of the Sovietization of the society. Additionally, it was supposed to convince the society about the value of an alliance with the Soviet Union in the eyes of the Slavic nations. The Slavic Committee was the main organization responsible for promoting the idea of Slavic unity. Since it had acquired mass appeal, its activities were supported by Polish‑ Slavic Friendship Societies – mainly by the Polish‑ Soviet Friendship Society. Missing and incomplete data in archival materials makes it impossible to identify the father of the idea of establishing the Slavic Committee in Poland. The only thing that is clear is the fact that the work on its establishment began in June 1945. With an initial focus on national structures, the work was initiated by Warsaw intellectuals, and inspired by communist authorities. Almost at the same time in Kraków, the centre of Slavic studies in Poland, a group of scholars associated with a Jagiellonian University professor – Henryk Batowski – took steps which led to the creation of the first local branch of the association. During his visit in Poland in July 1945, Aleksandr Gundorov, a Soviet activist, recommended the creation of the Polish Committee. He was invited by the Provisional Government of National Unity to take part in the commemoration of the 535th (five hundred thirty fifth) anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald. The most intense period of the operations of the Slavic Committee was between 1945 and 1949, when the committee conducted cultural and educational activities on a great scale. Special attention was accorded to conducting and celebrating public holidays, and historical anniversaries important for Slavs. The committee also organized – with great attention to detail – exhibitions, artistic performances, radio shows, and lectures promoting other Slavic countries. During that time the committee had been heavily involved in the Sorb issue. The involvement was motivated by a broad attention to the problem of the Polish society, and the nation’s strong support in reference to the requirements of the Sorbs. Apart from the element of the strengthening of Slavic unity, it was also a great moment to highlight and explain the defeat of the Third Reich. It is worthwhile to mention that the Committee had its own press organ – Życie Słowiańskie (Eng. Slavic Life) magazine. The monthly appeared between 1946 and 1953. a total of 84 issues were edited and published. An issue contained about 60 pages. Henryk Batowski was the first editor of the magazine. He held this function between 1946 and 1951. Jerzy Woźnicki was the second and, at the same time, the last edit‑ The magazine consisted of two parts. The first one contained articles about the history of Slavic countries (for example, the Soviet Union, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia). The content published in the second part was related to Poland. It had the form of short information materials, grouped into regular sections. They included: Kronika polityczna, kulturalna i gospodarcza (Eng. The Political, Cultural and Economic Chronicle) and Przegląd książek i czasopism słowiańskich (Eng. An Overview of Slavic Books and Magazines). Reports on the current activity of the Committee were also printed. Sometimes sports news and information on arts was provided. Texts were mainly written by the members of the Committee management. Officially, the editorial team of the magazine was supposed to make sure that the annual number of published materials on individual Slavic countries was similar. However, most of the published texts were in fact related to the Soviet Union and the Polish‑ Russian cultural cooperation. These were typical propaganda articles, full of lofty slogans praising the alliance with the Soviet Union. In the early 1950s the international cultural exchange has been severely limited. Until that point these activities were in the scope of the Slavic Committee. However, mainly as a result of a Soviet‑Yugoslav conflict they were shifted to the Committee of International Cultural Collaboration (established in June 1950). The Soviet‑Yugoslav conflict ruined the conception of Slavic unity.

Roman Law in the scholarly output of the Marceli Chlamtacz

Prawo Rzymskie w pracach Marcelego Chlamtacza

Author(s): Grzegorz Nancka / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: Roman law; Marceli Chlamtacz; history of Roman law

This dissertation aims to answer the question of whether Marceli Chlamtacz may be considered a scholar who made a significant contribution to the development of Roman Law studies and if so, why he is not as well remembered as other Polish Romanists of his time. The dissertation presents not just the silhouette of Marceli Chlamtacz, but also – most importantly – his scientific output. Furthermore, an attempt has been made in the dissertation to determine whether Marceli Chlamtacz treated research into Roman Law as a dogmatic analysis of specific legal institutions detached from his times, or whether he considered it as a means to understand and shape the law of his own times. The dissertation presents also Chlamtacz’s scientific relations with other Roman Law scholars. The dissertation encompasses an introduction, four chapters, and a conclusion. The first chapter presents a biography of Marceli Chlamtacz. It illustrates not just his road to earning his professorship in Roman Law, but also describes the period of his life that was devoted to the city of Lviv, whose devoted citizen he was. This chapter furthermore presents an analysis of his didactic activity and outlines the thematic scope of his lectures and issues discussed therein. The second chapter concentrates on Marceli Chlamtacz’s academic output in the field of property law. This part of the dissertation discusses his work on traditio in Roman law, based on which he was granted his venia docendi in Roman Law. Moreover, it presents a detailed analysis of Chlamtacz’s works on profits, focusing not just on his own output, but also on its reviews. The chapter closes with an analysis of the scholar’s other works, less closely related to Roman Law. The third chapter encompasses an analysis of Marceli Chlamtacz’s works on liabilities and obligations. It focuses on his habilitation lecture on contractual penalty, and his dissertations on guarantees, real contracts and means of redress. It also discusses his shorter works, such as entries published in Encyklopedia Podręczna Prawa Prywatnego [Compact Encyclopaedia of Private Law], as well as other articles. This chapter furthermore includes an analysis of reviews of M. Chlamtacz’s works. Chapter four offers an analysis of reviews and review articles by Marceli Chlamtacz. These works have been divided into thematic categories encompassing the history of Roman Law, procedure and personal law, property law, law of liabilities and obligations, inheritance law, and other works.

The faces of contemporary propaganda. The case of the Chinese-Taiwan information war

Oblicza współczesnej propagandy. Przypadek chińsko-tajwańskiej wojny informacyjnej

Author(s): Robert Rajczyk / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: Propaganda; People's Republic of China; Taiwan;information war;

The book „Contemporary propaganda. The case of the Chinese-Taiwan information war” depicts the oldest propaganda conflict in the world. The first three chapters of the monograph relate to the theory of propaganda in international communication. The next ones review the role of mass as well as social media in creating contemporary propaganda narratives. In the fourth chapter, Taiwan’s propaganda activities are analyzed, taking into account the specific situation of this non-recognized state. The last chapter consists of the analysis of the propaganda activities of the People’s Republic of China in relation to the Taiwanese issue. The research on the narratives and propaganda actions of both countries presents their strategic goals, directions, and adapted methods and techniques. The particular attention was focused on the role of traditional media as well as on the new media. The analysis shows that while the propaganda strategies and actions of both countries are determined by the changing political and economic conditions of both entities, they are also mutually dependent. The Taiwan’s propaganda aim is to create its own image as the „only one Chinese democracy” and to develop favourable economic and cultural relations. On the other hand, continental China promotes the idea of one China (one China policy), and the propaganda activities are focused on strengthening the country’s political and economic position in the world. The future of Taiwanese propaganda will be shaped primarily on the basis of new media focused on the important role of the e-image of the state and the intensive protection of its own information sphere. The future of Chinese propaganda will be related to the development of the international broadcasting of information programmes by the state-financed television stations having a global reach, and the expansion of state-supported Chinese private capital to dominate ownership in media organizations that operate in the media markets within the areas of the political and economic interests of the People’s Republic of China.

The process of democratisation and its determinants. An analysis based on the example of the Czech Republic and Hungary (1999–2016)

Proces demokratyzacji i jego determinanty. Analiza na przykładzie Republiki Czeskiej i Węgier (1990-2016)

Author(s): Sebastian Kubas / Language(s): Polish

This study is concerned with an analysis of the democratisation processes in two Central European states: the Czech Republic and Hungary in the years 1990–2016. It consists of two parts, with the first one presenting a theoretical analysis of the phenomenon of democracy, the process of democratisation, and the determinants of this process, and the second one focusing on the empirical analysis of the democratisation processes in the Czech Republic and Hungary. Today democracy means that almost all adult citizens participate in the exercising of power. In substantive terms, democracy relies on freedom, equality, and majority rule. At the same time, it is also a regime that rests on specific principles and procedures (the procedural perspective). The process of consolidating democratic values and procedures goes through various stages. First, the erosion of a non-democratic regime involves the transfer of power from former elites to new political actors. Next, during the transition stage, the democratic institutional design is introduced into the political system. Finally, during the consolidation stage, the democratic principles of political life become well-established and democratic values accepted and internalized by the society. The most important determinants of the stage of erosion include: the heritage of the past and the influence of the surroundings. The transition is determined by: the structure of the state, national identity, political elites’ work on the constitution, the relationship between the organs of government, the party system, the electoral system, lustration, decentralisation of power to a system of local authorities, and external factors. The consolidation stage depends on institutional factors on the one hand. such as the final design of the constitution, a stable model of relations between the organs of government, the development of a pluralistic party system, and solidification of the electoral system, and on behavioural factors on the other, such as acceptance and internalisation of democratic values by the society. The process of democratization can be analysed and evaluated with the use of quantitative and qualitative indicators. This study employs indices used by Freedom House, The Economist Intelligence Unit, and The Bertelsmann Foundation.The erosion of the non-democratic regime in Czechoslovakia and Hungary was marked by the transfer of power from political elites to democratic actors. In Hungary, this process was accomplished by negotiations, leading to an agreement signed in the autumn of 1989; in Czechoslovakia, it resulted from the inefficient political elites surrendering the control of the country. The fall of the regime was non-violent. In the initial phase of democratisation, the Czechs could draw on richer experience and more substantial democratic achievements than the Hungarians.During the transition stage, various contributing factors not always influenced the Czech and Hungarian processes of democratisation in the same way. Differences can be seen in the case of such determinants as the structure of the state, national identity, or particular elements of the institutional design. While the Czechs formed their own state in 1992, after 1990 the Hungarians had to redefine their stance towards a several-million Hungarian diaspora in neighbouring countries. The Constitution of the Czech Republic was adopted in 1992, while the Hungarian communist Constitution of 1949 was amended in 1989 and 1990. Both states adopted the parliamentary cabinet system of government, but Hungary opted for the chancellor model. Multi-party systems emerged, but the electoral systems for parliaments were different – with proportional representation in the Czech Republic and mixed in Hungary. The process of lustration was more radical and effective in the Czech Republic. The impact of exogenous determinants was similar in both states because the situation was conducive to the promotion of democracy.The consolidation stage brought changes in the institutional design in both countries. In Hungary, a major restructuring took place after 2010, including the approval of the new Constitution in 2011. Its laws reflect the axiological stance of the legislator, based on conservative and national values rather than on liberal principles that were highlighted before. The party systems have remained pluralistic in both states, but the Czech one is more decentralised. This results in multi-party government coalitions and negatively influences the cabinet stability. In Hungary, the complicated electoral system has been simplified but the mixed formula has been retained. The democracy indices applied in the analysis – The Freedom House index, The Economist Intelligence Unit’s index, and The Bertelsmann Foundation’s index – unanimously indicate that the Czech Republic is more advanced than Hungary in its progress towards consolidated democracy.