DEPARTMENT FOR RESEARCH ON SOCIAL PROBLEMS AND SOCIAL WORK
The research work of the department focuses on social problems, how to solve them, limit their negative effects and counteract them through social work, among others.
Selected areas of our research work include:
- the sociology of social problems (social insecurity, hidden social problems, individual and social resourcefulness, marginalisation, social exclusion, poverty and the culture of poverty, new types of pathological phenomena, manifestations of pathologisation in interpersonal relations)
- the sociology and theory of social work (activities in social work for women and children, models of social work for the family, community methods of social work, welfare professions and new challenges in social work)
- social assistance, social services, welfare professions
- the social economy
- the sociology of old age: social practice for the benefit of elderly people, analysis of multiple approaches to the essence (nature) of old age, intergenerational relations, the dilemmas of caring for the elderly
- the sociology of the family: the contemporary role of the mother, family and extra-family roles of women, dysfunctions in the family, family solidarity
- homelessness and social housing
- the sociology of health, disease and disability
- the social orphanage, the way migrant families function, ‘Euro-orphanhood’, experiencing time, loneliness and a sense of loneliness, stigma and stigmatisation
- the sociology of mental health, psychotherapy, the work of psychotherapists in Poland, social work and other support areas
- social rights, civic activity, public sphere, social work in emergency situations
- the status and faces of mediation in Polish society (mediation, mediators, mediation competences and powers; opinions, employee and academic mediation, agreement building and conflict resolution, agreement building tools, tools and procedures for non-imperative interventions).
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY OF CIVILISATION
The scientific profile of the department is reflected in its name – we focus primarily on the assessment, description and explanation of civilisation changes characteristic of the diverse spaces of modern times that surround us. Moreover, members of the department are also interested in other perspectives of sociological analyses.
Selected areas of our research work are as follows:
- multiculturalism, traditional cultures, tradition, cultural heritage, post-secularism
- consequences of the dominant culture of consumer capitalism and the dynamic development of modern information technologies;
- manifestations of normative dysregulation within the global anomie;
- areas of new addictions;
- post-humanism, animal studies;
- visual sociology, the sociology of art;
- the sociology of youth, youth culture, generation and the theory of generations;
- the sociology of education, cultural education, critical pedagogy, gender and agency;
- thanatology;
- social inequalities;
- public services, digital transformation.
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY OF INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIAL RELATIONS
Our research interests primarily focus on individuals – their identity and agency. Secondly, we deal with close social relationships – their complexity and dynamics. Thirdly, we are interested in everyday life, including the issues of free time and the boundaries between work and family life. Fourthly, an important area of interest is the relationship between the sphere of the body, emotions, expectations and social and cultural conditions. In our research, we mainly use qualitative research methods and techniques.
Selected areas of our research work include:
- sensory knowledge, embodied knowledge, the sociology of the body
- the sociology of mental health, the sociology of emotions
- the psychopathology and psychology of eating and eating disorders
- relations between generations, family lifestyle, responsibility and coercion in relationships
- the formation and development of heterosexual intimate relationships, family roles, family relationships
- free time, work-life balance and border areas
- the sociology of everyday life and social imagination
- gender studies, queer studies
- the sociology of childhood and childhood studies, children’s agency and participation in social life
- dead body studies, Holocaust studies, historical sociology
- creativity, innovation and communication in organisations and employee relations.
DEPARTMENT OF STUDIES ON SOCIAL DYNAMICS
The research interests of the department include the growing complexity of social life and social changes caused by internal and external social factors (migration, new technologies, climate change, and so on). In particular, research conducted by the department’s employees covers two main topics: a) the dynamics of social phenomena in the areas of economic relations and development, and social attitudes towards emerging problems (such as migration, integration and populism); and b) local, regional and national public policies concerning the environment, public services and the functioning of modern cities.
Selected areas of our research work are as follows:
- social wellbeing; unconditional basic income; social stratification and class analysis
- Florian Znaniecki’s methodology in contemporary social sciences
- participatory methods in local public policies
- migration and social mobility
- citizenship, activism and social movements; critical theory of society; the sociology of knowledge
- social memory
- local development
- the sociology of culture
- environmental sociology: flood risk; adaptation to climate change; protection of biodiversity
- urban studies.
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL PRACTICES RESEARCH AND THEORY
Research work at the department is conducted from the perspective of the theory of social practices. Research areas are therefore considered as social practices – activities rooted in the social order, embodied and materialised, referring to various forms of knowledge and at the same time co-creating, transforming and reproducing this order.
Selected areas of our research work are as follows:
- art
- living, eating, hospitality and hosting
- intimate relationships
- fashion
- sports and fans
- materiality and visuality
- consumerism, media and commodification
- mobility and bordering
- city and activism.
LABORATORY OF SOCIOLOGY OF SOCIAL CHANGE
Selected areas of our research work are as follows:
- quality of life – programmes for assessing, monitoring and forecasting quality of life (QoL) indicators
- civic competences – theoretical studies on changes in political culture and civic competences
- the influence of the local government system on the development of the subjectivity of local and regional communities – theoretical and empirical studies on changes in urban communities
- the theoretical foundations of sociology – studies on the relationships between theoretical research in sociology and selected models for applying sociological knowledge
- Florian Znaniecki’s scientific heritage – studies on selected aspects of the work entitled Chłop polski w Europie i Ameryce [The Polish Peasant in Europe and America]
- social aspects of water consumption
- economic sociology – studies and empirical research in the field of economic sociology with particular emphasis on the issues of business elites in Poland
- issues of the sociology of religion and the intersection of sociology and biology – studies of the sociological theory of evolution as applied to modern religions.
