Jagiellonian University Press

A Sociological Agora

Master Lectures from Poland

KAJA GADOWSKA, EDITOR

In the midst of the pandemic, the Jagiellonian University organized a series of lectures—presented virtually and open to the general public—in which eminent Polish scholars addressed the most crucial and tenacious issues of our times. The format encompassed a lecture followed by an online discussion with all interested attendees; it created a space for sharing ideas, views, and experiences drawn from various academic disciplines and social milieux. This book presents the highlights of this lecture series, featuring recognized experts in sociology, jurisprudence, history, social work, and political science.

KAJA GADOWSKA is director of the Institute of Sociology at the Jagiellonian University, vice president of the European Sociological Association, and a member of the Board of the Polish Sociological Association.

Reading the Past, Understanding the Present

AGNIESZKA ORSZULAK AND AGNIESZKA ROMANOWSKA, EDITORS

Reading the Past, Understanding the Present is a collection of essays by students from nine European universities who took part in a strategic partnership aiming to promote historical understanding of the crises plaguing Europe and the world today. The authors examine early modern theater, the works of William Shakespeare in particular, and consider how it speaks to various local and global issues. This book offers new insight into the relationship between the past as represented in the works of Shakespeare and complex contemporary issues such as the migrant crisis, racial diversity, democracy, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

AGNIESZKA ROMANOWSKA teaches history of English literature and culture at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Her main field of research is literary and theatrical reception of Shakespeare in Poland and literary translation.

AGNIESZKA ORSZULAK studies English literature at the Institute of English Studies and translation at the Chair for Translation Studies and Intercultural Communication at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Her academic interests include early modern English literature, contemporary historical fiction, and literary translation.

$50.00 / £42.00 cloth 978-83-233-5010-1 $49.00 / £40.00 e-book 978-83-233-7245-5 $45.00 / £38.00 paper 978-83-233-5001-9 $44.00 / £36.00 e-book 978-83-233-7235-6

Places and Spaces of Crime in Popular Imagination

ŠÁRKA BUBÍKOVÁ AND OLGA ROEBUCK, EDITORS

Places and Spaces of Crime in Popular Imagination ventures into the realms of genre literature to explore its rendering of locations and spaces. It features varied theoretical frameworks and a broad focus, exploring genres such as crime fiction, the spy novel, the academic mystery, crime comics, and crime film—ensuring detailed insight into a wide range of popular genres. Instead of a geographical approach, this book employs a broad analysis of various functions of individual spaces in relation to crime.

ŠÁRKA BUBÍKOVÁ is associate professor of the history of British and American literature at the University of Pardubice. She is coauthor of Literary Childhoods: Growing Up in British and American Literature (2008).

OLGA ROEBUCK is assistant professor in the Department of English and American Studies at the University of Pardubice.

$40.00 / £34.00 paper 978-83-233-4980-8 $39.00 / £32.00 e-book 978-83-233-7214-1

FEBRUARY 118 pages / 6.22" x 9.25"

LITERARY STUDIES

Muhammad and the Origin of Islam in the Byzantine-Slavic Literary Context

A Bibliographical History

ZOFIA A. BRZOZOWSKA, MIROSŁAW J. LESZKA, AND TERESA WOLIŃSKA

Translated by Katarzyna Gucio and Katarzyna Szuster-Tardi

This bibliographic dictionary, compiled by an interdisciplinary team of Byzantinists and Paleoslavists, features an overview of medieval texts from the Eastern Orthodox world that discuss Muhammad, the Arabs, and the birth of Islam. It includes works written in Church Slavonic between the ninth and the mid-sixteenth centuries. These texts shed new light on interreligious polemics in the Middle Ages, previous studies of which have typically focused on texts written in Greek, Latin, or Middle Eastern languages.

ZOFIA A. BRZOZOWSKA is employed in the Department of Slavic Philology, Faculty of Philology, University of Łódź.

MIROSŁAW J. LESZKA is full professor in the Department of Byzantine History, Faculty of Philosophy and History, University of Łódź.

TERESA WOLIŃSKA is associate professor in the Department of Byzantine History, Faculty of Philosophy and History, University of Łódź.

$50.00 / £42.00 paper 978-83-233-4943-3 $49.00 / £40.00 e-book 978-83-233-7190-8

FEBRUARY 384 pages / 6.61" x 9.45" / 2 b&w illustrations

Microbial Biotechnology in the Laboratory and Practice

Theory, Exercises, and Specialist Laboratories

JERZY DŁUGOŃSKI, EDITOR

This book examines fundamental issues in microbial biotechnology, such as microorganism culturing and uses in industry and environmental protection. It details modern analytical techniques, known as omics, as well as digital techniques used to record adverse changes in the environment resulting from the harmful activity of bacteria and fungi. An interdisciplinary collection drawing on vast experience, it will be useful not only for PhD students and students of biotechnology and microbiology but also practitioners in areas such as environmental protection, ecological biotechnology, and urban revitalization.

JERZY DŁUGOŃSKI is professor of biological sciences at the University of Łódź, where he previously was the deputy director of the Institute of Microbiology, Biotechnology, and Immunology. He specializes in microbial biotechnology, industrial microbiology, and mycology. His books include Microbial Biodegradation: From Omics to Function and Application.

$60.00 / £50.00 paper 978-83-233-4984-6 $59.00 / £50.00 e-book 978-83-233-7215-8

FEBRUARY 580 pages / 6.61" x 9.45" / 77 b&w and 99 color illustrations

Think Locally, Act Globally

Polish Farmers in the Global Era of Sustainability and Resilience

KRZYSZTOF GORLACH AND ZBIGNIEW DRĄG, EDITORS

With Anna Jastrzębiec-Witowska and David Ritter

This book explores the vast changes that have affected family farm owners in Poland since the end of World War II. It focuses on how the agricultural sector has been affected by globalization, emphasizing the principles of sustainable development. The book highlights the effects of postcommunist transformations and Poland’s accession to the European Union, noting regional variations and issues such as food safety and security, technological innovation, and the potential for sociopolitical mobilization.

KRZYSZTOF GORLACH is full professor at the Institute of Sociology of the Jagiellonian University.

ZBIGNIEW DRĄG is an assistant professor at the Institute of Sociology of the Jagiellonian University.

ANNA JASTRZĘBIEC-WITOWSKA is an expert in rural sociology and sustainable food systems who has worked with international NGOs and local governments.

DAVID RITTER was a policy analyst at the nonprofit organization Public Citizen in Washington, DC and currently works as an editor with Polish scholars on English-language academic projects.

$70.00 / £58.00 cloth 978-83-233-4949-5 $69.00 / £58.00 e-book 978-83-233-7195-3

FEBRUARY 710 pages / 6.7" x 9.45" / 202 b&w charts, 13 color illustrations, 23 b&w figures