This project investigates the institutionalization of Marxist sociology in Poland between 1944 and 1956, focusing on the intellectual and political practices of Nina Assorodobraj-Kula, Julian Hochfeld, and Adam Schaff. It explores how Marxist intellectuals shaped emerging academic structures and positioned themselves through polemical interventions.
The study adopts a socio-historical perspective, analyzing how these key figures contributed to legitimizing Marxism as a scholarly approach during a period of political upheaval and academic transformation. By tracing their theoretical work, institutional roles, and strategic engagements in ideological debates, the project offers insights into the tensions between dogmatic Marxism and socialist humanism, the struggle for symbolic recognition, and the redefinition of sociology in the postwar context.
The research methodology combines discourse analysis with archival research and interviews. It draws on journals such as Kuźnica, Myśl Współczesna, and Odrodzenie, personal archives, and materials from state and academic institutions.
The project offers an alternative perspective to post-1989 anti-communist narratives by analyzing Marxist interventions as nuanced responses to historical change. It contributes to broader discussions on intellectual history, knowledge production, and academic transformation in Central and Eastern Europe.
The project is funded by the National Science Centre within the program Preludium under grant agreement 2024/53/N/HS6/04218.
