Faculty of “Artes Liberales” at the University of Warsaw
The Faculty of “Artes Liberales” at the University of Warsaw is a forum for interdisciplinary research in the humanities and social sciences. The Faculty’s identity stems from the centuries-old tradition of artes liberals (liberal arts), based on the idea of the unity of sciences in the pursuit of beauty and goodness, which is one of the foundations of European intellectual culture. The classical model of artes liberales, established in antiquity and consolidated in the Middle Ages, comprised seven disciplines: the trivium (grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic) and the quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy). Its aim was to develop critical thinking, interpretation and argumentation skills, rather than to prepare students for a specific profession.
This tradition is the starting point for reflection and research practice, and the Anglo-Saxon liberal arts model is the framework for organising research and interdisciplinary studies. The Faculty has established teams and implemented projects that transcend the boundaries of individual disciplines, adapted to the realities of a research university. The history of the Faculty dates back to the early 1990s and is inextricably linked to the work of Prof. Jerzy Axer. It was on his initiative that the Centre for Research on Ancient Tradition (OBTA) was established at the University of Warsaw in 1991, The Centre hosted a research community bringing together scholars representing various disciplines in the humanities (including philology, history, philosophy, literary studies, and cultural studies). Very quickly, the Centre became a place for research on cultural continuity, the presence and reinterpretation of ancient heritage in European culture, and the dialogue between antiquity and contemporaneity.
The founding of the Artes Liberales Institute for Interdisciplinary Research (IBI AL) in 2008 enabled the implementation of increasingly complex research projects combining different perspectives and methods, as well as the creation of teams involving researchers from foreign hubs. The natural culmination of this long-term process was the establishment of the Faculty of “Artes Liberales” in 2012. Taking over the achievements of earlier structures, the Faculty gained a permanent foothold at the University of Warsaw, and the appointment of Prof. Jerzy Axer as its first dean emphasised the continuity of this initiative.
Today, the Faculty brings together over a hundred researchers of different generations and specialisations, exploring the heritage of antiquity, history, philosophy and the history of ideas, as well as literature, languages, European cultures, and contemporary social and political processes. The national and international projects make the Faculty of “Artes Liberales” a space for ongoing scientific cooperation and dialogue between different research traditions and disciplines in the humanities and social sciences.
Research and Teaching: an Integrated Single Process
Interdisciplinary thinking forms the common basis for research and teaching at the Faculty of “Artes Liberales”. The diversity of topics and perspectives does not lead to fragmentation, but rather to joint work on questions that transcend the boundaries of individual disciplines. Research and didactics form a single space for practicing knowledge: team reflection, exchange of methods and description languages, and responsible reflection on the past and present world. In this approach, teaching is part of the research process, and research is a field of cooperation in which students are also involved.
Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, University of Warsaw
Dr Ivan Dimitrijević
Dr Michał Kucharski
Kalina Rzeźnik, MA
Centre for Cooperation and Dialogue, University of Warsaw
Dr Aleksandra Jakóbczyk-Gola – curator
Iga Walaszczyk – curator
Michał Krawczyk (Atilla Media) – exhibition graphics
Joanna Rahman (Atilla Media) – exhibition graphics
Kaja Nosal (ONTO Studio) – graphic design
Krzysztof Smosarski – organization
FROM THE TOP. 1 Faculty building at 69 Nowy Świat Street (source: Wikimedia Commons) 2 White Villa, Faculty building at 72 Dobra Street (photo: M. Kaźmierczak)