Collaboration between UWr and American SIUC
On June 2nd, the Rector of the University of Wrocław, professor Robert Olkiewicz, along with a group of Vice-Rectors, held a meeting with a delegation from the Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) of the United States.
We hosted representatives from the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at UWr, including the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Professor Joddy Murray, the Director of the School of Communication Studies, Professor Sandy Penseneau-Conway, the Head of the Philosophy Program, the School of History and Philosophy, Professor Kenneth Stikkers, as well as Professor Randall Auxier and Bill Hellriegel, the Director of the Center for English as a Second Language.
The meeting was attended by, among others, the Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, professor Magdalena Ratajczak, and the Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Law, Administration, and Economics, professor Bartłomiej Krzan. Additionally, present were the Deputy Director of the Institute of English Studies for Research, professor Wojciech Drąg, and the Head of the International Office, Mrs. Urszula Broda. The Institute of Philosophy was represented by its Director, Professor Ilona Błocian, as well as Professor Paweł Korobczak and Doctor Paweł Wróblewski.
The presence of representatives from multiple fields of study was not coincidental. Collaboration between UWr and the American university on various fronts is planned as part of a future bilateral agreement. The agreement between our university and SIUC will initially involve units from three faculties of UWr – the Faculty of Social Sciences, the Faculty of Law, Administration, and Economics, and the Faculty of Letters – while also providing the opportunity for other faculties to joint the collaboration later.
– We anticipate that the cooperation will result, among other things, in the possibility of mobility and exchanges of staff members and students – emphasized professor Magdalena Ratajczak.
Additionally, a project has been initiated to establish a research and educational center as part of the structure of the Faculty of Social Sciences, aimed at monitoring the collaboration between the two universities.
The context of the June 2nd meeting was an interdisciplinary conference organized by the Institute of Philosophy at the University of Wrocław in collaboration with Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. It was attended by academic staff from ten different academic institutions (SIUC, UWr, UW, SWPS, Vytautas Magnus University in Vilnius, University of South Bohemia, Charles University in Prague, University of Calabria, University of Bologna, University of Hamburg).
– This marks the beginning of interdisciplinary dialogue and international exchange – said Professor Randall Auxier.
The conference will serve as a foundation for the future activities of the center. The Institute of Philosophy has already initiated the collaboration, conducting a series of meetings, lectures, and seminars, such as “American Philosophy and Culture”, “American Literature and Philosophy”, “Dark Communication” (in collaboration with the Wrocław Academic Center – the lectures were open to everyone). During these events, we hosted Professor R. Shusterman, Professor R. Auxier, and most recently, Professor K. Stikkers. As part of the collaboration, two volumes of works are being created: “Living According to Nature” (Brill) and “Thought and image” (“Analiza I Egzystencja”; red. I. Błocian, K. Morawski). The collaboration thus yields results in terms of mutual understanding of research areas, the formation of teams, evaluative reinforcement, and the encounter of work specifics, personalities, and cultures.
Translated by Ilona Mutke (student of English Studies at the University of Wrocław) as part of the translation practice.
