Keep the Cultural Studies on the list of registered disciplines of science in Poland

A Petition to keep the Cultural Studies on the list of registered disciplines of science in Poland. (abbreviated version)

To the Minister of Science and Higher Education
of the Republic of Poland,
Mr Jarosław Gowin

Dear Sir,

we received the information concerning the planned erasure of Cultural Studies from the list of registered disciplines of science with much hesitation and doubt. We share the concerns expressed by the Polish Association of Cultural Studies (Polskie Towarzystwo Kulturoznawcze, PTK) and various intellectuals representing academic and cultural institutions in Poland, who also signed the petition issued by the PTK.

We support the students and graduates, alumni, faculties and stuff of the Cultural Studies Departments in Poland. We cooperated with some of them, we publish in the journals they edit and/ or participate in conferences, projects and events they organize both: in Poland and internationally.

We understand, that the erasure of Cultural Studies from the list of acknowledged disciplines does not immediately imply the closure of Cultural Studies departments, however we know, that it does imply serious damage to the development of this discipline and the scholars and students working within the field. The Cultural Studies in Poland have a long tradition of almost 50 years, they combine elements of the German Kulturwissenschaften and the British/US Cultural Studies with Polish developments in cultural theory and practice. On the map of human sciences, the Cultural Studies in Poland are one of the most important.

Recognizing the importance of the Cultural Studies developed in Poland, we support the Polish scholars, and therefore we demand they stay within the register of scholarly disciplines in Your country.

Yours sincerely

(contact: ptk@ptk.org.pl | http://www.ptk.org.pl)