Trzy seminaria i Dziobak. O wspólnotach badawczych Stefana Żółkiewskiego

Scientific works by Stefan Żółkiewski are classified predominantly as sociology of literature. The article aims to analyse those themes in the scholar’s thought which are not encompassed by this simplification. While Żółkiewski’s early approach was influenced by “strong” methodologies (Vienna neopositivism) and literary research perspectives (Russian formalism and Prague structuralism), in his later books he increasingly used themes from literary studies to analyse the system of culture treated as a whole. This transition was possible because Żółkiewski adopted ideas of American anthropologists as well as semiotic anthropology, which nevertheless remained “at the service” of Marxist – or more generally leftist – thought. Yet Żółkiewski’s impact on the changes in the Polish culture studies was not limited only to his scholarly achievements. What proved even more important was his influence on his circle of students. These included i.a. Andrzej Mencwel, Jan Kordys or Maryla Hopfinger. Drawing on treatises of the above-mentioned scholars and archival materials, and using methodology based on the principles of spoken and putative history, the text describes one of the back roads of the Polish cultural studies, which was developed during three seminars.