Wystawa WKAiA 2026

Our Faculty is the largest academic center in Poland dedicated to the study of Asian and African cultures. We are interested in all important aspects of culture: from language, literature, religion, history, and customs to art – from ancient times to the present day. Our mission is to build bridges between societies with different cultures. The Faculty’s origins date back to 1932, when the Institute of Oriental Studies was established at the University of Warsaw, transformed in 2008 into the Faculty of Oriental Studies, which has been operating under its current name since October 2025.

 In dialogue with Asia and Africa – science that connects worlds

 We conduct research in many disciplines: linguistics, literary studies, history, cultural and religious studies, philosophy, art history, archaeology, and political science. We cooperate with research centers, cultural institutions, and social organizations in Poland and around the world.

Our research is organized in the following area studies specializations: Arabic and Islamic studies, Egyptology, Iranian studies, Hebrew studies, Indology, Japanese studies, Korean studies, Mongolian studies, Tibetan studies, Sinology, culture of Ancient Near East, and African studies. The School of Eastern Languages offers courses in over 30 languages, also for people from outside the University of Warsaw.

We also offer interdisciplinary Master’s degree programs in “Intercultural Communication: Asia and Africa” and an English-language program in “Religions of Asia and Africa: Buddhism, Islam and Others,” which presents religious systems in a broad social and cultural context.

The Kaian tea pavilion, “Nostalgic Hermitage,” is a unique place, donated in 2004 to the Department of Japanese Studies and the University Library by Kazuko Takashima, Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Osaka. For twenty years, it has served as a space for education and meetings, allowing visitors to experience the idea of ichigo ichie – a one-of-a-kind encounter.

Research team that prepared the exhibition

Faculty of Asian and African Cultures, University of Warsaw

Assoc. Prof., Dr. Iwona Kordzińska-Nawrocka – coordinator

Assoc. Prof., Dr. Paulina Lewicka;

Dr. Habil. Jacek Woźniak;

Dr. Izabela Romańczuk; Prof., Dr. Hanna Rubinkowska-Anioł;

 Prof., Dr. Katarzyna Marciniak, Dr. Stanisław Kania;

Dr. Habil. Roman Marcinkowski, Dr. Jakub Pogonowski;

 Prof., Dr.  Kamil Kuraszkiewicz, Dr. Daniel Takács;

Dr. Lidia Tuwalska-Napiórkowska, Dr. Marta Dudzik-Rudkowska, Dr. Anna Piątek, Dr. Maria Piekarska-Baronet;

Dr. Stanisław A. Jaśkowski, Dr. Mirosław Michalak;

 Prof., Dr. Agata S. Nalborczyk;

Dr. Kamila Kozioł;

Albert Kozik, MA;

Dr. Anna Sulimowicz-Keruth, Paulina Koniuch, MA, Dr. Jan Rogala;

 Prof., Dr.  Małgorzata Sandowicz

CURATORIAL TEAM:

Center for Cooperation and Dialogue, University of Warsaw

Dr. habil. Aleksandra Jakóbczyk-Gola, Iga Walaszczyk – curators

Michał Krawczyk, Joanna Rahman (Atilla Media) – exhibition graphics

Kaja Nosal (ONTO Studio) – graphic design

Krzysztof Smosarski – organization

Research Centre of Cultures and Art of Asia and Africa

The Centre was established in 2022 and it serves as a platform for collaboration among researchers working on the art and culture of Asia and Africa. It brings together representatives of diverse academic communities and research traditions, promoting an interdisciplinary approach and comparative analyses. We organize seminars, lectures, and scholarly events, as well as initiate research projects carried out in cooperation with national and international institutions. One outcome of these activities is the monograph Art of Communication and Communication through Art in Asia and Africa, which documents the discussions held during a conference devoted to art and communication in regions ranging from Africa to the Far East.

Research team:

Prof., Dr Hanna Rubinkowska-Anioł

Dr Nagmeldin Karamalla-Gaiballa

Dr Marta Widy-Behiesse

Research Centre of Buddhist Studies

The Centre draws on the tradition of the Warsaw School of Buddhology, the roots of which date back to the 1930s. We conduct research on Buddhist literature in Sanskrit, Pali and Tibetan, we work with Nepalese and Himalayan manuscripts, and we study Indian and Buddhist philosophy. The Centre employs the approaches of philological, historical and religious studies, researching both canonical texts and their reception in Asian cultures. The results of our work are published, among others, in the Studia Buddhica series, which documents the development of Buddhology at the University of Warsaw.

Research team

Prof. Dr.  Katarzyna Marciniak 

Dr Stanisław Jan Kania

Prof. Marek Mejor (prof. em.)

Research Centre for Judaic Studies

At the Centre, we are working on the first complete Polish edition of the Mishnah—the fundamental collection of rabbinic law. This is one of the most ambitious philological projects undertaken by the Faculty. Thanks to many years of grants, we have already completed five of the six sections, published successively since 2013. In 2025, we began preparing the volume that will conclude the series. The project is a pioneering undertaking for Jewish studies in Poland, providing access to sources that have not been available in the domestic academic community and involving Polish researchers in international cooperation on classical Jewish texts.

Research team

Dr habil. Roman Marcinkowski

Dr Jakub Pogonowski

African culture – studies and popularisation

The Chair of African Languages and Cultures is a space where science meets passion and cooperation, creating a living network of knowledge about modern, multilingual Africa. The Chair continues the rich traditions of African studies in Warsaw, dating back to the 1960s. We combine modern research with openness to the linguistic and cultural diversity of the continent. Our curricula cover the languages and cultures of East, West and North-East Africa – including Swahili, Hausa and Amharic – as well as contemporary African literature and culture.

Students acquire language skills as well as knowledge about African societies, history and art. We offer bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes, cooperate on a regular basis with universities around the world, and actively participate in international research projects. We also organise interesting student projects. An important aspect is the presentation of African culture through the language of theatre. During the African Art course, which is part of the third year of the bachelor’s programme, we run an innovative project in which students write a dramatic text based on African cultural texts and then prepare a performance based on it. Students also record podcasts and radio plays based on the stories, legends and myths of the peoples of Africa.

As part of the Research University Excellence Initiative programme, we have obtained funding to launch a new English-language master’s programme in African Studies, which will begin in the 2022/23 academic year. Thanks to this project, the Department awards research grants to students for queries, field research and interdisciplinary projects.

Another important task of the Chair is to popularise knowledge and research achievements. Thanks to the University of Warsaw Press, the international journal Studies in African Languages and Cultures (SALC) is successfully published here. The journal is published once a year in print and open access. SALC serves as a scientific forum, presenting research results in the fields of linguistics, literary studies, history and cultural studies of Africa. The journal has an international reach, connecting scholars from Africa and Europe, supporting global dialogue and the development of contemporary African studies.

M-PESA, or ‘mobile money’ (pesa in Swahili: ‘money’), was launched in Kenya on 6 March 2007 as a solution for people without a bank account. Thanks to it, even a simple telephone became a wallet for millions of people to send and storemoney and make payments, often without the internet, and for many it was their first real access to financial services (in Europe, mobile payments were usually only an addition to banking). Today, M-PESA also operates in Tanzania, Mozambique, DR Congo, Lesotho, Ghana and Egypt, among others, and according to M-PESA Africa, it has over 60 million customers in eight African countries.

Research team:

Hausa: Prof. Nina Pawlak, Dr Izabela Will, Dr. Sabina Brakoniecka

Swahili: Prof. Beata Wójtowicz (Head of the Chair), Prof. Iwona Kraska-Szlenk, Dr. Izabela Romańczuk, John Martin Okoth, MA

Africa in research

Projects carried out by staff and doctoral students show Africa as a space of dynamic linguistic, cultural and social change. At the Department of African Languages and Cultures, we view this continent and its inhabitants through the prism of experiences related to the specificity of their language, especially in terms of its impact on culture. Thanks to this research, we can trace the individual features of linguistic cultural behaviour and analyse their reflection in structures and usage. The projects are carried out in international cooperation with researchers from universities in Tanzania, Nigeria and Egypt. We often host them at our Faculty, where they give lectures and classes. Their presence enriches the study programme, introduces authentic research perspectives and promotes direct intercultural dialogue.

The Department conducts large-scale cognitive research on cultural conceptualisations in the Swahili language and comparative perspectives. The project aims to analyse various forms of cultural conceptualisation (metaphors, metonymies, imagery patterns, cultural frames and scripts, keywords, etc.) reflected and preserved in the Swahili language and literature, as well as in the socio-cultural behaviour of the language’s users. Another project carried out at the Department: Digital Transformations and Narrative Innovations: Contemporary Swahili Literature by Tanzanian Novelists explores how digitisation is changing contemporary Swahili literature created by Tanzanian novelists: from independent publishing and the activities of the UWARIDI collective to narrative innovations, gender and intersectional perspectives, and the role of social media and digital humanities in the circulation of texts. These projects are funded by the National Science Centre.

The second group of research is related to archaeology and the material layer of culture. Thanks to funding from the Research University Excellence Initiative programme, the Archaeo-Oriental Studies project is being implemented. As part of this project, ethnographic research is being conducted using gender methodology among the Ethiopian diaspora in Egypt and the concept of yilunta, an Ethiopian mechanism of social control. In cooperation with the Department of Egyptology, it is also conducting a research project entitled Early Islamic Tradition in Ethiopia – ethno-archaeological research on the settlement of Negash, founded around 615 CE by Muslim migrants in northern Ethiopia.  And in our latest project, we are conducting research on the linguistic landscape of African cities. It concerns language policies and the presence of particular languages in urban spaces.

What does Nollywood look like in numbers? Nigeria produces approximately 2,500 films per year, and Nollywood is sometimes considered the second largest film industry in the world in terms of the number of productions.

The women who stopped the war come from Liberia? Leymah Gbowee and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for their non-violent struggle for women’s rights and their contribution to ending the civil war.

Research team

Amharic: Prof., Dr. Hanna Rubinkowska-Anioł, Dr. Zuzanna Augustyniak, Dr. Marcin Krawczuk, Dr. Ewa Wołk-Sore

Architecture and Medicine

At the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, we conduct interdisciplinary projects that combine research on material culture, intellectual culture, and linguistic heritage. Our research projects address, among other topics, historical Arab–Muslim defensive architecture as well as medical culture in the Islamic world. These endeavors are united by a thorough anthropological reflection on other cultures, the search for similarities and differences, and the identification of features unique to a given community.

In collaboration with the Centre for Mediterranean Archaeology, a project is being carried out that examines the symbolism and function of gates that were part of city fortifications constructed during the Fatimid dynasty’s rule in North Africa and the Near East (909-1171). These gates are among the most spectacular examples of medieval Arab defensive architecture. The Archaeo-Oriental Studies program analyzes both the structures themselves and the source texts describing their histories. The first stage of fieldwork is focused on architectural and archaeological studies of the gates of Cairo, where one can admire the best-preserved examples of this type of structure. The field research also includes the Tunisian city of al-Mahdiyya, where the oldest, albeit heavily rebuilt, Fatimid gate is located. The work will result in a comprehensive study summarizing the interdisciplinary project and discussing both the architectural form of the gates and the ideological and political context of their construction.

Since 2020, the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies has also been working on a project devoted to medieval medical textbooks written in Arabic. From 2020 to 2024, we conducted a research grant funded by the National Science Center: Medicine Without Physicians. A Critical Edition of a Self-Treatment Manual from Fourteenth-Century Cairo, with an Introduction, Translation, and Commentary. The aim of the project was to analyze a medieval Arabic-language medical guide entitled The Wealth of Information for the Intelligent Person on What to Use When the Doctor Is not around. Written in the form of a simplified compendium by a Cairo physician known as Ibn al-Akfani (d. 1348), the manual was addressed to people who were unable or unwilling to make use of the services provided by physicians. As part of the project, the information contained in the text regarding the state of knowledge, belief systems, and ways of thinking about health and disease characteristic of educated residents of Near Eastern, Arab-Muslim cities was critically examined. Defining these aspects of medical culture constitutes an attempt, even if only partial, to gain insight into the traditions and practices of so-called domestic or home-based medicine.

Home, city, and art

The projects carried out at the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies are not limited solely to history; they also present the Arab world in its contemporary form, which is often extremely difficult and fraught with controversy. Places constantly affected by various military actions and filled with tension and unrest require even the smallest signs of stability, as well as spaces in which thoughts and opinions can be expressed. Such a sense of security is usually provided by the family home. Street art, in turn, allows for the often anonymous communication of emotions, political convictions, and opposition to injustice and evil.

Since 2023, the Department has been carrying out a research project entitled The Family Home as a Microcosm: A Study of Domestic Space in Palestinian Villages. As part of the associated scholarly and research activities, fieldwork was conducted in Palestine/Israel in 2023, made possible by financial support from a University of Warsaw Microgrant. The research encompassed, among other locations, Beit Sahour, Ramallah, Hebron, the ruins of the village of Lifta, the refugee camps of Aida, Shuʿfat, Jenin, and Dheisheh, as well as Bedouin communities in the An-Naqab/Negev Desert. Visits to these sites enabled an examination of the survival strategies employed by Palestinian communities living under extremely hostile and repressive conditions characteristic of the landscape of the Occupied Territories. The findings demonstrate the crucial importance of creating even minimal forms of secure living conditions and highlight the central role of the family home in the formation and resilience of community life.

In March 2024, members of the Student Research Group for Eastern Cultures conducted field research in Libya as part of a long-term project devoted to graffiti within the linguistic landscape of Arab cities. Their research activities included, among other tasks, the photographic documentation of murals in Tripoli and Misrata, with particular attention to works created during the events of the so-called Arab Spring in 2011. The collected material was subsequently used to identify and interpret elements of meaning embedded in the graffiti. The project sought to address political, social, and cultural issues from a bottom-up perspective, offering insight into the views expressed by Libyans in murals, as well as into their personal emotions and senses of linguistic, national, and religious identity. Libyan graffiti has constituted a visual representation of rebellion, affirmation, acceptance of prevailing circumstances, or social dissent. The implementation of the project was made possible by financial support from the Faculty of Asian and African Studies of the University of Warsaw and the Universitatis Varsoviensis Foundation.

Not only pharaohs

Egyptology at the University of Warsaw has a tradition dating back over 90 years. Since 1934, when Antoni Śmieszek became the first professor of the Egyptology Seminar at the Institute of Oriental Studies, successive generations of researchers and students have been exploring the mysteries of one of the world’s oldest civilisations – today as part of the Faculty of Asian and African Cultures.

Egyptology is not just an academic study of the languages and culture of ancient Egypt. Starting in the spirit of traditional 19th and 20th century Oriental studies, the Department of Egyptology has expanded its activities to new areas – from archaeology and epigraphy to studies on the reception of Egyptian culture and contacts with other cultures, becoming an important centre for training specialists who conduct their own research and participate in international research projects.

Today, the Department’s staff combine a classical philological approach with modern scientific methods. Their interests cover all periods in the history of Pharaonic Egypt and such diverse aspects of this culture as administration, architecture, writing, religion, royal power and everyday life. Studies – both at the first and second cycle – are interdisciplinary in nature, although the main focus remains on the study of Egyptian culture and languages.

Field research is a very important part of our activity. We conduct work in Saqqara – one of the most important places in Egypt, listed among the UNESCO World Heritage sites. This research covers the cemetery of courtiers from the end of the 3rd millennium BC and the burials of the citizens of Memphis from the end of the 1st millennium BC. The richly decorated tombs of courtiers from the Old Kingdom – such as Merefnebef, Nyankhnefertem, Ikhi and Mehtjetji – are not only magnificent works of art and craftsmanship, but they also preserved inscriptions and reliefs telling the story of Egypt’s complex and turbulent history – as well as evidence of the climatic changes taking place at that time. The burials of the Upper Necropolis, dating back two millennia later, are a valuable source of information about Egyptian society in the last centuries of Pharaonic history.

Egyptian culture did not develop in isolation. Therefore, in cooperation with other units of the Faculty, we also conduct research outside Egypt, for example in Negash (Ethiopia), expanding our knowledge of the history not only of Africa, but of all humanity – surprisingly similar to what can be seen in the modern world.

Did you know that…

Egyptians used perfumes in the form of scented cones of fat? Reliefs and paintings show small cones worn on the head – scented lumps of fat which slowly melted under the heat, releasing a pleasant fragrance.

Egyptians knew a prototype of a pregnancy test? According to sources, women urinated on barley and wheat grains. Their germination was supposed to confirm pregnancy, and to indicate the sex of the child. Modern research suggests that hormones may indeed influence this process.

RESEARCH TEAM:

 Prof. Dr. Kamil Kuraszkiewicz

Dr. Edyta Kopp

Dr. Dániel Takács

Israel – the language and cultural practices 

At the Department of Hebrew Studies at the Faculty of Asian and African Cultures of the University of Warsaw, we focus on language through researching both Modern Hebrew and its historical phases, as well as the endangered varieties of Modern Aramaic. We also take interest in the history of the Jewish community, and current events and cultural texts related to the Jewish community and Israel. While we engage in analysing the literary sources in Hebrew, it is the people, i.e. the heroes of the community who have left their mark on history, who are of utmost importance to us.

The Department of Hebrew Studies provides high-quality language instruction. We teach Hebrew with passion and efficiency, and publish our own materials, including a monograph on Hebrew grammar and self-study manuals. In 2025, the international Warsaw Ulpan-Hebrew Summer School and a course in Yiddish were launched. Throughout history, significant literary works and historical sources have been produced in Hebrew. Their accessibility to Polish readers is ensured by Warsaw-based researchers of ancient texts and translators of Hebrew associated with the Department of Hebrew Studies, who translate not only contemporary texts but also those composed in historical forms of the language. Research on biblical literature, Hebrew epigraphy and targums, i.e. translations and paraphrases of the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic, is being conducted as part of the ‘Aramaic Bible’ publishing project. We also analyse the latest literature in Hebrew, such as the symbols of the contemporary iconosphere, especially the image of Judas.

Hebrew studies in Warsaw extend beyond modern Hebrew to research on Semitic and Jewish languages more broadly. Supported by the Excellence Initiative Research University grant, a project documenting a Christian dialect of Hawdiyan from north-eastern Iraq, an endangered variety of Modern Aramaic, was carried out.

Our research interests span beyond language to include the spiritual heritage of Polish Jews. A prominent example of research in this area is the biography of Ozjasz Thon, a Kraków rabbi and member of the Second Polish Republic’s Sejm. Another project relating to the same historical period, examines the development of Jewish religious thought in Poland through the pedagogical legacy of the tzaddik Kalonymus Shapira.

The cultural studies conducted at the Department include an analysis of modern Israeli collective memory within transnational frameworks. Two monographs exemplify this approach: the first analysing media narratives about Poland in the context of Israeli leisure tourism, and the second devoted to Israeli forests as a recurring, localised form of  environmental commemoration.

Did you know?

Did you know that…

According to the Jewish calendar, we are currently in the year 5786? Tradition holds that the world was created in 3761 BCE, and the years are represented by Hebrew letters. Hence, the current year is written as תשפ”ו (the initial letter encoding the thousands is omitted; the full version is ה’תשפ”ו).

The two greatest commentators of the Mishna in the 20^th century, Chanoch Albeck and Pinhas Kehati, were born on Polish lands? Albeck was born in Łowicz, whereas Kehati in Volhynia. 

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem was founded in 1925, before the State of Israel was established? Albert Einstein delivered the inaugural lecture.

INDIA – MANY PATHS, ONE SHARED JOURNEY

The Chair of South Asian Studies is an academic centre that has been operating continuously for 73 years. It is devoted to the study of the languages, literatures, and cultures of South Asia (i.e.  India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives). The Chair brings together specialists researching four major cultural spheres and their linguistic domains: Sanskrit, Hindi, Bengali, and Tamil. Since 2008, the Chair of South Asian Studies has also been participating in an international research group (Warsaw–Prague–Milan–Kraków–Cagliari), which maintains close academic and scholarly cooperation in areas of shared interest and meets at annual seminars. It also produces regular publications and monographs.

DID YOU KNOW THAT:

 The oldest Sanskrit text is the Rigveda—a collection of 1,028 hymns composed around the 13^th century BCE? The hymns describe the Soma ritual, among other themes, which involved drinking a sacrificial beverage made from an unknown plant believed to grant access to superhuman knowledge. These hymns were transmitted exclusively orally for centuries, which contributed to the extraordinary precision of their language and to the development of reflection on the relationship between mind and speech.

Sanskrit – when the word becomes the world

 The Sanskrit Studies team’s research interests include the earliest layers of Indian thought, classical Indian philosophy, and the rich tradition of Sanskrit literature, poetics, and aesthetics. These studies present Sanskrit as both the language of canonical texts and a tool for the precise description of the relationships between language, cognition, and the lived experience of the world. Professor Joanna Jurewicz is conducting a project funded by the National Science Centre (NCN) from 2023 to 2027 entitled Philosophy and Embodiment: Cognitive Analysis of the Maitrayāṇī Upaniṣad, which is dedicated to analysing the relationships between the mind, embodiment, and cognition in the Upaniṣadic tradition. Under her supervision, a Polish translation of the so-called “battle books” of the Mahābhārata was also produced and published in five volumes—one of the most significant translation projects in Polish Indian studies, opening up the classical epic to contemporary philosophical and cultural interpretations.

South India – the region where the heart of the subcontinent beats

 The focus of Warsaw Tamil Studies is on the literature and religious traditions of southern India, conducting research into the region’s rich cultural heritage as expressed in the Tamil language, one of the world’s oldest literary languages. A central place is occupied by Tamil Vaiṣṇavism, particularly the religious poetry composed between the 6^th and 9^th centuries. Through their praise of the god Viṣṇu, the poets articulated profound theological reflections on the nature of the deity, the soul, and its relationship to matter and the sensory world. These texts are now a vital source for the study of South Indian forms of religiosity, philosophy, and aesthetics. However, research on Tamil Hinduism reveals a much broader spectrum of beliefs than its classical, text-based forms. A notable area of study is folk Hinduism and village deity cults. Among these, Mariamman occupies a special place. She is the Tamil goddess of smallpox and the protector of health, fertility, and the community. She embodies the region’s vibrant, local, and religious traditions.

 RESEARCH TEAM:

Sanskrit:

Prof. Piotr Balcerowicz,

Prof. Joanna Jurewicz,

Dr. Monika Nowakowska,

Dr. Anna Trynkowska

Tamil:

Dr. Karolina Kłoszewska,

Akshaya Venkateswaran, M.A.,

Dr. habil. Jacek Woźniak

PHOTOS:

Top photo – An evening in Kathmandu, Nepal ( photo: J. Jurewicz)

1. Ganesha – wall painting in a temple in Thanjavur (photo: J. Woźniak); 2. Goddess Saraswati (photo: M. Kaźmierczak); 3. In Srirangam (photo: J. Woźniak); 4. Shri Rama Pattabhishekam (‘Coronation of Lord Rama’), a work from the Thanjavur school of painting (photo: J. Woźniak)

 INDIA – MANY PATHS, ONE SHARED JOURNEY

 Indian Studies is a narrative of diversity that interweaves rather than fragments. The languages, texts, and traditions of the Indian subcontinent create an intricate network of connections between the local and the global, and between the past and the present. Research conducted at the Chair of South Asian Studies at the University of Warsaw portrays India as a polyphonic space—dynamic and continually negotiating its identity through literature, language, and cultural memory.

DID YOU KNOW THAT:

 Words such as jungle, shampoo, pyjamas, bungalow, jute, khaki, curry, mango, and maharaja originate from Indian languages and entered Polish via other European languages, such as Portuguese, French, and English?

Hindi – a multitude of voices woven into a single linguistic fabric.

Spoken by more than half a billion people in India, Hindi is used across most of North and Central India. This region is deeply heterogeneous in cultural, religious, and social terms. The South Asian Studies faculty working on Hindi is a team of scholars with complementary interests in philology, the history of ideas, and cultural studies.

In their research, the Hindi language and literature function as an archive of collective memory, a tool for shaping and contesting community, and an arena for conflicts of value. Their analyses cover medieval devotional songs and epic narratives, such as the Rāmāyaṇa, as well as colonial-period literature and contemporary texts depicting experiences of crisis, migration, and violence in the region’s cities. The team also conducts research into the Rajput warrior ethos, the emergence of modern Hindi prose, and the role of Urdu in the literary representations of urban experiences and conflicts in Pakistan.

Bengal – local patriotism and a cosmopolitan spirit

The Bengal region, which encompasses eastern India and Bangladesh, has cultivated a strong cultural identity centred on the Bengali language for centuries. Bengali is the sixth most widely spoken language in the world. It is the homeland of Rabindranath Tagore, the only Indian Nobel Prize winner in literature, whose work symbolizes the dialogue between tradition and modernity. Although Bengal was profoundly shaped by British colonisation, it was also among the first regions to reinterpret Western ideas, from European literary genres to social and political concepts. Bengali Studies research focuses on literature, intellectual thought and reform movements, presenting Bengal as a place where local patriotism coexists with a cosmopolitan openness to the wider world.

RESEARCH TEAM:

Bengali:

Dr. Abdul Awal,

Jan Klonowski, M.A.,

Dr. Weronika Rokicka,

Dr. Anna Trynkowska,

Akshaya Venkateswaran, M.A.

Hindi:

Prof. Danuta Stasik,

Dr. Monika Nowakowska,

Dr. Aleksandra Turek,

Akshaya Venkateswaran, M.A.,

Dr. Jakub Wilanowski-Hilchen,

Dr. Justyna Wiśniewska-Singh

PHOTOS:

Top photo – In the Red Fort, Delhi (photo: M. Nowakowska)Traveller from India in Poznań, 1934, National Digital Archives, author unknown, licence CC; 2. In Kolkata, West Bengal (photo: Chaitanya Maheshwari); 3. Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi (photo: J. Wiśniewska-Singh); 4. Prof. D. Stasik receives the Grierson Award from the President of India in 2009

Persia/Iran—change and continuity, language, religions, empires

The Department of Iranian Studies focuses on cultural and anthropological research. This includes, among other topics, studies of the Shiʿi clergy in post-revolutionary Iran; the literature and culture of Ismaili peoples of Tajikistan; the faith and culture of the Yezidis; and emotions in Iranian culture. A special place is occupied by cultural studies of Persian literature, both classical and modern. Research projects conducted at the Department of Iranian Studies include, among others, studies of Middle Persian texts from late antiquity, medieval Persian epic literature, as well as the modern novel—especially the literary output of the twentieth-century writer Simin Daneshvar. The Warsaw center of Iranian studies has been and continues to be associated with outstanding translators of Persian literature.

At our Department, we also conduct research on the history of Iran and the rest of the Persian-speaking world. Currently, this research focuses on early modern Persian diplomacy, early Iranian parliamentarism, twentieth-century intellectual history, and Iranian society during the Pahlavi period as seen through documents of the SAVAK security agency. The Department of Iranian Studies is carrying out a research project funded by the National Science Centre entitled The Protocols of the First Parliament of Iran, 1906–1908: Translation and Linguistic-Literary and Historical Analysis. The first parliament was established in Iran as a result of the Constitutional Movement in 1906, with the aim of limiting the power of the shah and the influence of foreign powers. The project includes a linguistic, literary, and historical analysis of the protocols, including their style, language, and political and social background. It is difficult to overestimate the historical significance of this parliament for the formation of a modern community in Iran.

The Department has also completed an NSC-funded project entitled Georgian Yezidis: The Specificity of the Diaspora and Its Relations with the Iraqi Homeland. As a result of this project, the first monograph in English on the Yezidi diaspora in Georgia has been published. The book presents accounts of the history of Yezidi migration from Iraq to the South Caucasus, religious festivals and practices, cultural activities, and ethnic identity. It also includes a list of Yezidi tribes living in Georgia and a map of their distribution. Two members of the Department of Iranian Studies are co-founders of the first academic journal in the field of Yazidi studies, the International Journal of Yezidi Studies.

Did you know that…

High-heeled shoes were invented by Persian cavalrymen to keep their feet stable in the stirrups. This custom was adopted by French elites in the 17th century.

Persians of late antiquity were outstanding sailors and navigators who traveled across the Indian Ocean as far as China—could it be that they were the first to use the compass?

Our Team:

Dr. Piotr Bachtin – Literature

Dr. Zuzanna Błajet – Linguistics, Cultural Research

Dr. Stanisław Jaśkowski – History

Dr. Mirosław Michalak – Literature and Culture, History

Urszula Pytkowska-Jakimczyk, MA – History

Dr Artur Rodziewicz – Religion and Culture, Anthropology

Dr. Magdalena Rodziewicz – Religion and Culture, Anthropology

Dr Sylwia Surdykowska-Konieczny – Religion and Culture,  Psychology

Hedieh Yazdanpanah, MA – Academic Teacher of Persian

PHOTOS:

Top: 1. Field Research in Iran 2. Mausoleum of Imam Reza in Mashhad, Iran

Bottom: Somewhere in Khorasan, Iran

THE CRADLE OF JAPANESE STUDIES IN POLAND

Our Department explores Japan through its language, art, history, religions, and everyday cultural practices—viewing them as interconnected elements of a single civilization. For decades, it has been a leading centre for Japanese studies in Poland, offering a multifaceted analysis of the Japanese world: from ancient rituals to contemporary popular culture.

Japanese Language

Japanese is one of the most complex linguistic systems. It combines logographic writing, in which a single character corresponds to an entire word or morpheme (the smallest unit of meaning), with syllabic scripts, where each sign represents one syllable. The language is also characterised by elaborate honorific forms and a strong grounding in social context. Our research focuses on how Japanese is acquired as a foreign language.

History of Japan

From legendary beginnings to technological modernity, Japan’s history is a story of openness to cultural exchange while preserving native traditions. Historical studies encompass both the earliest periods and the modern era. Understanding the role of the emperor is essential, as it reveals the importance of continuity in the life of the state, society, and cultural identity.

Performing Arts and Aesthetics

Culture manifests itself through action, and Japanese culture is exceptionally performative. From the tea ceremony and martial arts to theatre, painting, and religious rituals, our scholars examine practices in which gesture, space, and aesthetics create a framework of cultural meaning. This perspective allows us to analyse both everyday rituals and traditional or contemporary arts. The Japanese person—homo performaticus—expresses cultural meanings through performance shaped by aesthetics and the art of living.

Religions and Philosophy

The values of Japanese culture are rooted in religious traditions: harmony and affirmation of the present in Shintō; acceptance of impermanence and sensitivity to suffering in Buddhism; honour and self‑sacrifice in the samurai ethos. These influences are visible in karesansui gardens—“dry landscapes” designed for meditation—as well as in calligraphy and arts connected with mindfulness practices.

Japanese Social and Everyday Culture

This sphere combines everyday discipline with care for social relations and the aesthetics of behaviour and gesture. Our research includes historical and contemporary rituals, cuisine as an element of national identity, and the phenomenon of popular culture—anime, manga, and games—which today significantly shapes global perceptions of Japan.

Literary Culture

Our research also covers literature from the 10th century to the present—from Heian‑period court tales and classical poetry to the 20th‑century avant‑garde (Ōe Kenzaburō, Abe Kōbō, Mishima Yukio) and the works of 21st‑century women writers such as Shōno Yoriko and Itō Hiromi. We analyse how emotions, narratives, and conceptions of the human being have evolved in these texts.

DID YOU KNOW THAT:

• The first emoji were created in Japan in 1999. Kurita Shigetaka designed 176 pixel‑based symbols inspired by manga, kanji, and everyday life. Emoji and kaomoji are not just signs—they express the aesthetics of kawaii and visual emotion. Today Unicode contains over 2,700 emoji, and it all began with a heart.
• The international emergency exit sign—the “running man”—was designed in Japan in 1979 after a tragedy in the Osaka subway. Today, it is recognised worldwide as an ISO standard.

RESEARCH TEAM

Language

Prof. Romuald Huszcza

Dr. Marta Trojanowska

Dr. Shinobu Kaiho‑Przybylska

Seiji Arai, MA

History and Society

Prof. Ewa Pałasz‑Rutkowska

Dr. Katarzyna Starecka

Dr. Jędrzej Greń

 Performing Arts, Aesthetics, Traditional Arts

Dr. Iga Rutkowska

Urszula Mach‑Bryson, MA

Yoko Fujii‑Karpoluk, MA

 Religions and Philosophy

Prof. Agnieszka Kozyra

Everyday, Culinary, and Popular Culture

Prof., Dr.  Iwona Kordzińska‑Nawrocka

Dr. Monika Nawrocka

Literary Culture

Dr. Anna Zalewska

Tomasz Dymowski, MA

 Photos

1. Top photo: Visit of Their Majesties Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko to the University of Warsaw, 2002
2. Hōchōshiki—the knife ritual (fish‑cutting ceremony) of the Shijō school, performed by Dr. Monika Nawrocka (photo: M. Komorowski)

WE STUDY JAPAN INTERDISCIPLINARILY

Japanese studies projects carried out at the Faculty of Asian and African Studies, University of Warsaw, combine the humanities and social sciences. These initiatives build international partnerships, expand access to Japanese sources, and support the development of Japanese studies in Poland—from literary research to contemporary political and cultural analyses.

NAWA Grant “Towards EXPO 2025”

An interdisciplinary project coordinated by the Department of Japanese Studies, involving the organization of academic events as part of Poland’s participation in EXPO 2025 in Osaka. It is carried out by a team of UW researchers representing natural sciences, hydrology, geophysics, law and administration, economics, political science, international studies, and cultural studies. The project addresses broadly understood security, sustainable development in the era of climate change, and intercultural dialogue. It fosters the exchange of experience, deepens Polish‑Japanese academic cooperation, and identifies new areas of joint research in response to global challenges.

NPRH Grant – Genji monogatari, The Tale of Genji

The project includes the first Polish translation of Genji monogatari (The Tale of Genji)—the world’s oldest novel, written in the early 11th century—and research on Japan’s court culture. The translation is accompanied by a monograph on the aesthetics, customs, and society of the Heian period (794–1185), when the imperial court reached its cultural peak and elite life centred on aesthetics, literature, religion, and ritual. The author, Murasaki Shikibu (c. 973–c. 1014), was a lady‑in‑waiting and one of the most educated women of her time. She knew classical Chinese, although women were formally forbidden to study it, which made her an exceptional figure. Her work is considered groundbreaking, anticipating European concepts of the novel by centuries.

The Japan Foundation Grant – Japanese Studies Program

This project examines relations between the Polish Socialist Party and the Japanese government during the Russo‑Japanese War (1904–1905), one of the most fascinating episodes in the history of Polish‑Japanese contacts. At that time, representatives of the Polish opposition, led by Józef Piłsudski, held talks in Tokyo with the General Staff, presenting a plan for cooperation against the Russian Empire. The project analyses Japanese and Polish archives, correspondence, and diplomatic materials. It sheds light on how global conflicts created opportunities for Polish independence aspirations and how Japan viewed Poles as potential allies in early 20th‑century geopolitical dynamics.

DID YOU KNOW THAT:

• The Emperor of Japan symbolizes the continuity of the state dating back to the 7th century, and according to tradition—to 660 BCE. The current emperor, Naruhito, is the 126th ruler of the world’s only unbroken dynasty and has no family surname. Once regarded as divine, he now serves as a symbol of national unity.

Research Team:

NAWA grant: Dr. Katarzyna Starecka (head), Prof. Agnieszka Kozyra, Prof., Dr. Agata Bareja-Starzyńska

NPRH grant: Prof., Dr. Iwona Kordzińska-Nawrocka (head), Prof. Romuald Huszcza, Prof. Hideo Watanabe, Prof. Senri Sonoyama, Dr. Marta Trojanowska, Dr. Monika Nawrocka

Japan Foundation grant: Prof. Ewa Pałasz-Rutkowska

Photos

• Top photo: Illustration from Genji monogatari, Tosa school (photo: I. Kordzińska‑Nawrocka)
• Photo 1: Delegation of the University of Warsaw at a conference at Nichibunken, Kyoto, 7 July 2025
• Photo 2: Calligraphy—fragment of Genji monogatari, Tosa school (photo: I. Kordzińska‑Nawrocka)
• Photo 3: Painted shells for the kai‑awase matching game (photo: M. Kaźmierczak)
• Photo 4: Set of cards for the New Year’s utakaruta game (photo: M. Kaźmierczak)

The world of Korean Culture

We study varied forms and ways of expressions of Korean culture — from language and literature, through material culture, to religious, social, and aesthetic representations. Our research combines meticulous analysis of classical sources with an examination of contemporary cultural transformations, revealing how Korea interprets its past and narrates its story in a rapidly changing world.

Linguistic research conducted at the Department of Korean Studies focuses on the emotional and social dimensions of language. We analyse phraseology, metaphors, and other means of expression which reflect hierarchical relationships, ethical norms, and behavioral patterns of Korean culture. Idiom studies allow us to grasp how language captures communal experiences, obligations, and tensions between tradition and modernity.

Historical and cultural studies are also strongly developed, encompassing sepulchral culture, political myths, the reconstruction of ethnogenesis — the formation of a given nation, ethnic group, or cultural community — and the development of early Korean states. Material culture—fortifications, ancient technologies, and medical practices — are also analyzed. The importance of mushrooms in traditional medicine is also a focus of research: as elements that reveal everyday practices, understandings of nature, and ways of thinking about health in ancient societies. In traditional Korean medicine, mushrooms were considered „foods of longevity.” Some species were used exclusively in royal pharmacies.

In the area of ​​literature, we examine classical poetry and contemporary prose, including the work of Han Kang, a distinguished Nobel Prize winner recognized for her intense poetic prose, which grapples with historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life. The juxtaposition of traditional emotional patterns with modern narratives allows us to trace the transformation of Korean sensibilities and the ways in which identity is represented in literature.

The Department also conducts analyses of Korean art – from Buddhist iconography to 20th-century painting, and searches for a national style in the work of modernist artists. This is complemented by research on traditional and contemporary theatre, its social function, its connections with ritual, entertainment, and Western theatrical forms.

A significant area of ​​research relates to premodern culinary culture, including the history of cookbooks and dietary practices, which reflect the value system and structure of society.

The results of research conducted at the Department of Korean Studies at the University of Warsaw are available primarily in the „Coreana Varsoviensia” series, published by the University of Warsaw Press. This forum presents the latest findings on Korean language, literature, history, and culture, encompassing both monographs by Polish scholars and collective volumes devoted to selected topics. Coordinated by the Department of Korean Studies, the series showcases the diversity of Polish research on Korea and its deep roots in primary sources.

DID YOU KNOW THAT:

Korea created the world’s first movable metal type? In 1377, the Heungdeoksa Monastery in Cheongju printed Jikji, considered the oldest extant book printed with this tool. This technology has been developed in Korea since the 13th century, and Jikji is now inscribed on UNESCO’s „Memory of the World” list. 

Korea has one of the world’s best-known intangible heritage protection systems – older than the UNESCO program?  As early as the 1960s, the „Living Cultural Treasure” status was introduced. Its aim is to recognize individuals possessing exceptional skills in performing or recreating specific elements of intangible cultural heritage, i.e.: Korean traditional musical performance pansori, talchum mask dance, pottery, court music and many others.

RESEARCH TEAM:

Linguistics: Dr. Jeong-in Choi, Dr. Anna Paradowska

Literature: Prof., Dr.  Ewa Rynarzewska, Dr. Anna Diniejko-Wąs, Dr. Justyna Najbar-Miller

History, Legal, Customary, and Culinary Culture: Dr. Jakub Taylor, Dr. Kamila Kozioł

Performance Arts: Prof., Dr.  Ewa Rynarzewska

Painting and Film: Dr. Anna Piwowarska

Language Teaching: Hye Min Jeon, MA, Pan Sik Shin, MA, Seo Jaeseung, MA

Talking to the Gods

In the Ancient Near East, the first cities were founded, the earliest known religious system developed, and writing and bureaucracy emerged. The Department of Ancient Near Eastern Studies researches the cultures of Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and neighboring regions, with a special focus on their religions, administrative systems, and daily lives of their inhabitants.

DID YOU KNOW? Between the seventh and first centuries BCE, Babylonians conducted daily astronomical observations, which they recorded in the so-called Astronomical Diaries. This was probably the longest-running scholarly project in history. Besides the positions of celestial bodies, the Diaries also document river levels, weather phenomena, staple food prices, and major historical events, offering invaluable material for the study of climate and economic history.

One of the research projects conducted in the Department of the Ancient Near East focuses on material aspects of prayers. It investigates tablets inscribed with prayers, which were presented at the feet of divine statues since as early as the III millennium BCE. Rulers, scribes, and common Mesopotamians appear among the senders petitioning gods for health and success. Extant letters from the gods to humans demonstrate that these pleas were not left unanswered.

Research on Anatolian religions conducted in the Department has revealed a political program aimed at fostering a shared religious identity. The reconstruction of spring festivals in northern Anatolian towns has pinpointed similarities between local festivals and those of the capital. It has shown that local and central traditions were integrated in an effort to strengthen the unity of the state.

The Hittites built their cities amid the harsh mountainous landscapes. Apart from preserving around 2,000 place names, Hittite cuneiform tablets provide insights into the workings of temples, palaces, and public institutions. Research conducted in the Department reveals the daily lives of the inhabitants of one of the most important civilizations of Asia Minor.

Research in the Department focuses further on Babylonian temples, which served as bustling business enterprises. An archive of Eanna of Uruk, one of the most important cultic centers of Babylonia, provides insight into a temple’s bookkeeping and planning systems. Like other Mesopotamian temples, Eanna served both religious and economic roles.

Photos:

Fig. 1. Lamassu’s head, Nimrud

Fig. 2. Fragment of the review tablet of the “Festival of Rush”

Fig. 3 Frieze of glazed bricks

Team:

Prof. Piotr Taracha – Hittitology, Aegean archeology, Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology

Dr. Habil. Olga Drewnowska-Rymarz – Assyriology

Prof., Dr.  Małgorzata Sandowicz – Assyriology, Hebrew studies

Dr. Adam Kryszeń – Hittitology, Assyriology

Dr. Julia Giessler, Post-doc in the project WEAVE- UNISONO DigEanna: Digitalization of the Eanna archive (NCN 2023/05/Y/HS3/00149)

Dominika Lewandowska, MA – Hittitology, Assyriology

Łukasz Klima, MA – Assyriology

TURKIC STUDIES

The Section of Turkology conducts research on the cultures of the Turkic peoples—from the nomadic societies of the Great Steppe to Anatolia and Southeastern Europe. This field of study integrates linguistics, history, literature, folklore, and art. Turkic studies have been pursued at the University of Warsaw since the 1930s. Today, they encompass both classical research on Turkic languages and literature as well as analyses of contemporary social, cultural, and political transformations in Turkey and Azerbaijan.

The culture of the Turkic peoples has its roots in the vast expanse of the Great Steppe, extending from the borders of Manchuria to Southeastern Europe. Although it is most often associated primarily with Anatolia and the Ottoman Empire, its traces are also present in Poland, particularly in the heritage of the Tatars and the Polish-Lithuanian Karaims. It was scholars of Karaim origin who laid the foundations of Turkology in Warsaw, and their work initiated systematic research into the language, history, and culture of the Turkic peoples.

The cornerstone of Turkology at the University of Warsaw remains linguistics—research on both contemporary and historical Turkic languages, their structure, vocabulary, and development. Linguistic analysis is closely linked with an interest in folklore and the rich tradition of proverbs, songs, and narratives, which constitute an important source of knowledge about worldviews within Turkic communities.

An important area of our research is Turkish literature, ranging from Ottoman texts and the literature of the Tanzimat period to contemporary works, as well as studies in translation. Warsaw Turkology is associated with translators of Turkish literature into Polish, including the novels of Nobel Prize laureate Orhan Pamuk.

In parallel, we pursue historical analyses encompassing both the early history of the Turkic peoples and modern history, including Polish–Turkish relations.

Research on material and artistic culture focuses on symbolism, aesthetics, and craft traditions that have inspired European artists for centuries. Turkology at the University of Warsaw also broadens its perspective to include studies on Azerbaijan, its language, history, and culture.

DID YOU KNOW THAT:

Coffeehouses are a Turkish invention. The first ones opened in Istanbul in 1554 and quickly became places of debate, to the point that in the 17th century there were attempts to ban them. After John III Sobieski’s victory at Vienna, Europe was said to have discovered coffee thanks to the beans found in the Turkish camp. An enterprising Pole, Franciszek Kulczycki, then opened the first Viennese café.

There is a Polish village in Turkey. Polonezköy (Adampol) was founded in 1842 by Prince Adam Czartoryski for Polish emigrants who left Poland after the November Uprising. To this day, Polish traditions and the Polish language are cultivated there.

RESEARCH TEAM:

Language and Folklore – Dr. Kamila Stanek, Dr. Tuğba Karakayali, Anna Banasiak‑Greser, MA

Literature – Prof., Dr. Oztürk Emiroğlu, Dr. Anna Sulimowicz‑Keruth, Dorota Haftka‑Işık, MA

Polish‑Turkish Relations – Dr. Agnieszka Zastawna‑Templin

Material and Artistic Culture – Dr. Marzena Godzińska

Azerbaijan Studies – Dr. Shahla Kazimova

PHOTOS:

1. 1. Turkology at the University of Warsaw supports the Karaim community in their efforts to preserve their language and culture. (photo: A. Sulimowicz‑Keruth)
2. Craftsmen from Şəki in Azerbaijan create ceramics decorated with traditional motifs. (photo: S. Kazimova)
3. A journey back to the era of the “Magnificent Century” – the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul. (photo: A. Sulimowicz‑Keruth)

MONGOLIAN AND TIBETAN STUDIES

Mongolia and Tibet are among those Asian places that have captured the imagination of travelers, scholars, and artists for centuries. Some saw them as endless steppes and monasteries towering above the world, others as complex literary, spiritual, and political traditions. At the Department of Turkic, Mongolian and Tibetan Studies we study these cultures not through the prism of perceptions, but through languages, texts, artefacts, and contemporary social transformations.

 MONGOLIAN STUDIES

Mongolia is one of the few places in the world where, alongside a modern capital, there is still a functioning a nomadic lifestyle – with its own rhythm of time and seasons. Its culture combines the traditions of the Great Steppe with sophisticated writing and spiritual systems. Our research includes analysis of ancient chronicles, Buddhist texts, didactic literature and poetry, as well as administrative documents preserved in Polish archives, among others. Traditional writing systems are also at the heart of our research: from the classical Mongolian script to the Soyombo and the Square Zanabazar script. Our contemporary research also examines Mongolia’s relationship with the global economy and its role in international transport networks, conducted in collaboration with economists. We also analyze the role of the visual language of Mongolian culture in advertising and media. A separate field of study is the revival of Buddhism in Mongolia after the 1990s, described by us.

TIBETAN STUDIES

Tibet is a space where language, religion, and art have intertwined for centuries into a single, living story of the world, seen from the perspective of mountains, monasteries, and multigenerational tradition. It is also a culture that, despite dramatic political changes and migration, still maintains a remarkable continuity of its identity. In the Department, we study the culture of the Tibetan people, which is based on the classical Tibetan language, a rich religious, biographical, and social literature, and an exceptionally developed visual art.

We analyze texts concerning holy places, pilgrimage literature, poetry, philosophy, and religion, as well as traditional religious thangka paintings: painted on fabric, depicting Buddhas, bodhisattvas, mandalas, ritual scenes, and cosmologies. Contemporary art installations and film are equally important to us. Research on those topics encompasses both Tibetan culture in China and Tibetan communities in exile, allowing us to track changes in identity, religious practices, and worldviews.

DID YOU KNOW THAT:

A traditional Mongolian home, the yurt, can be assembled and disassembled in just over an hour. Its construction from easily connected components allows for quick setup and convenient transport.

The ancestors of Mongolian nomads are credited with inventing trousers, which made horseback riding easier, and the Mongolian national garment, the deel, is said to have inspired the Polish nobility’s delia cloak.

Tibetan medicine draws on remarkable plants and herbs that grow only in the harsh, high-altitude mountain passes and steep slopes of the Himalayas. Thanks to the extreme climate, their tissues contain exceptionally concentrated medicinal substances. It is this „mountain power of nature” that makes them valued by doctors and patients worldwide.

RESEARCH TEAM:

Mongolian Studies

Prof., Dr. Agata Bareja‑Starzyńska, Dr. Jan Rogala; Dr. Magdalena Szpindler, Byambaa Ragchaa, MA

Tibetan Studies

Prof., Dr.  Agata Bareja‑Starzyńska, Dr. habil. Thupten Kunga Chashab; Dr. Magdalena Szpindler; Paulina Koniuch, MA, Tenzin Tsenyi, MA

PHOTOS:

During the tsam ritual

From top: 1. A modern yurt (photo: A. Bareja Starzyńska), 2 .Monks in front of the Labrang Monastery (photo: A. Bareja Starzyńska), 3.       Ulaanbaatar (photo: A. Bareja Starzyńska), 4. Painting a thangka (photo: P. Koniuch)

Department for European Islam Studies

 The Department for European Islam Studies explores the presence of Muslim communities in Europe: their history, religiosity, legal status, community life, but also art, language and influence on local culture. Our research shows that Islam in Europe is not a new phenomenon, but a dynamic part of the continent’s history, contributing to its cultural landscape. We conduct interdisciplinary projects on various forms of Muslim presence in Europe – from medieval communities and local traditions to contemporary migration processes and social changes. This includes legal, religious, identity, artistic and cultural issues. The results of our research reveal the multidimensional relationships between Islam and European societies.

 Between 2016 and 2023, our Department carried out a project under the National Programme for the Development of Humanities devoted to the transfer of Arab-Muslim culture into Polish cultural heritage. The research allowed us to describe the historical mechanisms of the penetration of elements of Arab culture, from science and literature to arts and crafts and language, as well as the role of intercultural intermediaries, such as Polish Tatars, and the impact of their presence on the local landscape. The results of the project include a series of publications documenting Arab influences in the material and spiritual culture of Poland, as well as exhibitions at the Asia and Pacific Museum, presenting collections of Arab silver in Polish collections and the work of artists of Arab origin living in Poland.

Another important undertaking is a project by the National Science Centre analysing the activities of the Arab World Institute in Paris – a modern cultural institution that also serves as a tool of French cultural diplomacy. The research shows how the Arab World Institute in Paris (Institut du Monde Arabe, IMA) presents Arab-Muslim cultures, what visual and educational narratives it uses, and to what extent it uses soft power in its relations with Arab countries. The Institute itself was founded in 1987 by France and the Arab League countries to promote Arab culture. It is known for its modernist architecture, which combines oriental motifs with contemporary technology, such as a unique system regulating sunlight on the southern façade.

 Team:

Prof., Dr. Agata S. Nalborczyk

Dr. Marta Widy-Behiesse

Dr. Konrad Zasztowt

Do you know that:

The Muslim Religious Union in the Republic of Poland, established in 1925, is the second oldest Muslim organisation in Europe?

Poland was the fourth country in Europe to officially recognise Islam as a religion, after Austria in 1912, Hungary in 1914 and Finland in 1922?

Polish-Lithuanian Tatars translated the Qur’ran into Polish in the 16th century, but wrote the translation in the Arabic alphabet and called it Tefsir, meaning commentary? It was the third translation of the Qur’ran into a European language.

↑ 1. Covers of books published under the NPRH grant on the transfer of Arab culture to Polish culture 2. A poster advertising a temporary exhibition in front of the Arab World Institute building in Paris (photo: M. Widy-Behiesse)

↓ From the top: 1 Tatar Cemetery, Warsaw – the main gate (photo: A. Nalborczyk) 2 Tatar gravestones at the cemetery (mizar) in Kruszyniany (photo: A. Nalborczyk)

3 Mosque in Kruszyniany, the oldest mosque in Poland – 18th century (photo: A. Nalborczyk) 4 Mosque in Bohonik from the 19th century (photo: A. Nalborczyk)

How to read China?

Sinology at the University of Warsaw, developed since 1933, studies the language, ideas and narratives that have shaped China from ancient times to the present day. It combines a traditional philological approach with an analysis of social, cultural and political changes. This allows us to understand how classical texts and ancient systems influence today’s social life and thinking about the world.

Research conducted at the University of Warsaw’s Department of Sinology focuses on language as the key to understanding Chinese culture. Analysis of classical philosophical and literary texts allows us to reconstruct ancient systems of thought that continue to influence contemporary social practices. Translations of sources, commentaries and studies of the Chinese language form the basis for interpreting ideas that underpin political, moral and cultural life. At the same time, our Sinology programme includes research on contemporary literature and its links to the dynamic social changes in China and Taiwan. We analyse themes of consumption, modernisation, social mobility, crises of values and tensions between tradition and globalisation. Literature becomes a tool for describing reality, allowing us to capture the experiences of individuals in the face of rapid economic and cultural change. The Department’s interdisciplinary approach combines traditional philological craftsmanship with the study of contemporary forms of social life, making Sinology a bridge between old ideas and today’s historical processes. The conclusion drawn from the research is that without an understanding of the language and classical texts, it is difficult to describe contemporary China. Their analysis is not only of academic importance – it helps to build intercultural dialogue and better understand China’s global role in the 21st century

Team:

Prof.  Irena Kałużyńska

Prof. Lidia Kasarełło

Dr. habil. Józef Pawłowski

Sinology at the University of Warsaw also studies the religions, mythologies, folk traditions and ethnic diversity of China, revealing the multi-layered nature of this civilisation. It analyses both ancient rituals and belief systems as well as contemporary forms of culture and identity. This is complemented by research on historical contacts between China and Europe, which shows how intense and creative the cultural exchange between areas thousands of kilometres apart was.

In our research on beliefs, mythology and religious practices, we present a wealth of cosmological ideas that have permeated the daily lives of the Chinese people for centuries. Thanks to this, we know that rituals and traditional practices – from mourning rites to folk medicine and alchemy – have not disappeared but continue to adapt to new social realities. This allows us to better understand how ancient value systems function in contemporary culture and how they connect with new forms of religiosity and identity.

We also study China’s ethnic diversity, with a particular focus on communities operating at the intersection of different religious, cultural and political traditions. Some of our innovative research highlights the complex interregional nature of the religious and intellectual activities of Chinese Muslims. Followers of Islam, who come from various ethnic groups and communities, occupy a special place in Chinese history. We argue that the travels of Chinese Muslims and their social and religious activities at the intersection of various state organisations and cultural models defy clear-cut contemporary political classifications.

The research is complemented by studies on cultural exchange between China and Europe. Analyses of old travelogues and European interpretations of Chinese architecture show how knowledge about China influenced European culture and aesthetics – from gardens and musical buildings to natural sciences. This is demonstrated, for example, by studies on one of the first sinologists of Polish origin, Michał Boym (c. 1612–1659), author of the earliest description of Chinese flora. In 1656, this Polish Jesuit and traveller published Flora Sinensis, an illustrated atlas of plants, animals and medicines used in China. The work became the first modern ‘window on the nature of the Far East’, and its engravings and descriptions shaped European knowledge of Chinese botany and medicine. In my research, I emphasise that Sino-European contacts were two-way and shaped the mutual perceptions of both civilisations.

In this way, Sinology at the University of Warsaw presents China as a space for dialogue between traditions, religions, ethnicities and ideas – and as one of the key points of reference for understanding global cultural history.

Team:

Dr. Włodzimierz Cieciura

Dr. Zofia Jakubów

Dr. Ewa Paśnik-Tułowiecka

Dr. Małgorzata Religa

Albert Kozik, MA