The essay presents an analysis of the collective work Polskie nauki społeczne w kontekście relacji władzy i zależności międzynarodowych (lit. The Polish social sciences in the context of power relations and international dependencies). The reviewer sees it as the next stage of a research programme undertaken by Tomasz Zarycki and his colleagues, the thematic axis of which has for many years been the functioning of elites in contemporary Poland, and in particular the intelligentsia as the group responsible for the emergence of meaning constellations creating a discursive space for Polish society. The authors of the work’s chapters address the academic world and the mechanisms for producing knowledge in the Polish social sciences. Although belonging to the sociology of science, the work steps significantly beyond this area, constituting a statement on the specificity of the functioning of Poland’s intellectual elites from the 19th century and through the years of communism to the present day. It bears the hallmarks of a study in historical sociology, but it is the contemporaneity of the Polish social sciences that provides its centre of gravity. The interesting theoretical framework laid out here reveals the diverse consequences of Poland’s semi-peripheral positioning in global hierarchies pertaining to science, innovation, and also economic standing. The social sciences have been treated as a special area because of their substantial role in creating the symbolic universe formatting the Polish cultural canon, and the analyses of specific disciplines not only demonstrate their semi-peripheral place in global academic space, but also their close relations with the sphere of Polish politics and public debate. The theses put forward invite discussion concerning the state of the humanities in Poland, offering a wealth of fresh material for academia’s self-reflection.
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