Ośrodek Badań nad Tradycją Antyczną

PhD Studies

The Faculty of "Artes Liberales" conducts tuition free, stationary four-years doctoral studies in the Humanities (cultural studies and literary studies, open also to other disciplines). Within the curriculum, we intend to create modules linked to the research work of the Faculty's laboratories and other units (each of the modules planned will be activated on the condition that there are at least five newly assumed doctoral students willing to access it. It is also possible to carry out a doctoral dissertation within other research endeavours of the Faculty). The Centre for Studies on the Classical Tradition (OBTA) has developed the module:

The Reception of Classical Antiquity in Children’s and Young Adults’ Culture

Doctoral students will work on their projects in relation to the activities of OBTA, at the Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, University of Warsaw. They will explore mechanisms of the reception of ancient works and figures, observing social, political, and cultural transformations as reflected in the mirror of Antiquity, in various regions of the world across the ages.

We will pay particular attention to contemporary children’s and young adults’ culture. Doctoral students will be able to prepare their dissertations in relation to the first ERC Consolidator Grant accorded in the Polish Humanities, to the project Our Mythical Childhood... The Reception of Classical Antiquity in Children’s and Young Adults’ Culture in Response to Regional and Global Challenges (http://en.uw.edu.pl/11th-erc-grant/).

Academic work in such an environment offers a chance to consult with specialists, an opportunity for development and interesting scholarly contacts in Poland and abroad – from the United States, to European and African countries, and as far as Australia. The doctoral students will have also the possibility to join selected tasks related to the preparation of international conferences, gaining valuable organizational skills and experiences. Additionally, within the project, the doctoral students will be invited to prepare entries to the survey of works belonging to children’s and young adults' culture inspired by Classical Antiquity. The entries, signed by their authors and available online, will constitute an element of the students’ portfolios and a testimony to their scholarly achievements. Many cultural texts that are the subject of our interest have never been before analyzed by scholars, or even described in an accessible manner. Working with such texts is a challenge for those who are willing to go where no Google search has gone before. Our previous experiences show that precisely such challenges reinforce University as a Community:

2012–2013 The project Our Mythical Childhood... The Classics and Children’s Literature Between East & West supported by a Harvard University Loeb Classical Library Foundation Grant. Publication prepared as a result of our collaboration can be consulted at: www.al.uw.edu.pl/omc_catalogue;
2014–2017 The project Chasing Mythical Beasts... The Reception of Creatures from Graeco-Roman Mythology in Children’s & Young Adults’ Culture as a Transformation Marker supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Alumni Award for Innovative Networking Initiatives. Materials can be consulted at: http://mythicalbeasts.obta.al.uw.edu.pl/.

The goal of this module is also an increased awareness of doctoral students that making cultural legacy better known is part of the mission of humanists. When access to information becomes progressively easier, capacity to use properly the potential offered by new media becomes crucial. We are seeking attractive means of communication with various circles of cultural recipients, avoiding simplification and superficiality.

During the implementation of the module, doctoral students will gain wide competencies, valuable in future academic work, as well as in other area of professional life, in activities connected to animation and popularization of culture. They will become its conscious participants and creators.

More information at: http://sd.al.uw.edu.pl/.

Our doctoral students at: OBTAmates.