Volume 69, Issue 2

2024

Publication date: 17.06.2024

Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Issue content

Articles

Dezinformacja na temat COVID-19 w mediach społecznościowych a kryzys epistemiczny. Przegląd problemów

Jarosław Barański, Jacek Smereka

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 69, Issue 2, 2024, pp. 9 - 32

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.013.19818

The text considers several critical issues related to the role of false information in the COVID-19 pandemic. It mainly focuses on social media, which often resemble echo chambers responsible for disseminating disinformation. In these echo chambers, users close themselves off from arguments and justifications different from their own, often with a strong tendency towards polarization of views and attitudes. A particular case of echo chambers is the conspiracy mentality propagated in social media, promoting conspirational beliefs about COVID-19, which, besides offering an alternative understanding of reality, deepens distrust towards epistemic authorities and methods of producing scientific knowledge. This indicates an epistemic crisis as a consequence of the pandemic, which must be addressed in order to rebuild and protect epistemic trust. The authors conclude that the consequence of this crisis is a regression of cognitive abilities, which may, in a feedback loop, exacerbate the epistemic crisis.

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Orientaliści i orientalistyka w międzywojennym Wilnie (1920–1939)

Zbigniew Landowski

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 69, Issue 2, 2024, pp. 33 - 68

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.014.19819

In interwar Poland, academic Oriental studies developed in three distinct centres, although the Orientalist community remained decentralized. In Vilnius, several scholars in this field were active and conducted both research and instruction of Oriental languages. Among them were Poles, Jews, Karaites and Tatars. Professionally, they were also diverse, including linguists, biblical scholars, Palestinologists, museologists, lecturers, and rabbis. Their academic pursuits encompassed religious studies, Semitic studies (with a focus on Hebrew), Ancient Eastern philology, Sanskrit, Ottoman Turkish studies, Turkish dialectology, Karaim studies, and ethnographic studies of the Polish Orient. In terms of education, they were involved in both school and university instruction, teaching Hebrew, Arabic, Turkish, and Karaim. Noteworthy figures among these scholars in Vilnius included: Antoni Cichoński, Zofia Dubińska, Aleksander Dubiński, Dawid Neiger, Paweł Nowicki, Jan Otrębski, Seraja Szapszał, Jakub Szynkiewicz, Franciszek Tyczkowski, Bolesław Wilanowski, Ali Ismaił Woronowicz, Ananiasz Zajączkowski, and Włodzimierz Zajączkowski, along with Władysław Zimnicki. However, the research on Jewish, Tatar (Quranic) and Karaim education in Vilnius remains scant.

Beyond scholarly and pedagogical pursuits, Orientalist activities in Vilnius extended to numerous institutions, including the Jewish Library, the Karaim and Tatar Museum, and various associations (including the Polish Oriental Society). Moreover, the city served as a hub for many periodicals, such as “Myśl Karaimska,” “Rocznik Tatarski,” “Życie Tatarskie,” as well as many Jewish magazines. Vilnius also hosted two Congresses of Polish Orientalists (in 1932 and 1937).

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Italian and Polish Mathematicians Face Racial Persecution and Emigration: Backgrounds, Individual Fates and Global Aspects

Erika Luciano

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 69, Issue 2, 2024, pp. 69 - 92

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.015.19820

This paper provides a new analytical perspective on the socio-cultural interactions involving members of two main Italian research communities – the School of Mathematical Logic and the Italian School of Algebraic Geometry – and some of their Polish colleagues (Samuel Dickstein, Wiesław Jezierski, Alfred Rosenblatt et al.). I shall argue that the intricate network of relationships between Giuseppe Peano, Corrado Segre and their protégés paved the way for an intensification of scientific exchanges between Italy and Poland in the 1930s. The climax manifested in visits by Tullio Levi-Civita and Mauro Picone to Warsaw and Krakow. Simultaneously, this network fostered instances of remarkable cross-solidarity when Polish and Italian mathematicians faced a period of severe anti-Semitic persecution and migration. An appendix containing unpublished letters documents Rosenblatt’s role in assisting aspiring Italian refugees in securing positions in Peru.

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Polska szkoła archeologii śródziemnomorskiej w audycjach Polskiego Radia (1971–1980). Nowe źródła w studiach nad historią dyscypliny i jej społeczną recepcją

Sebastian Siembora

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 69, Issue 2, 2024, pp. 93 - 124

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.016.19821

The article provides an overview of radio programs dedicated to Mediterranean archaeology broadcast on Polish Radio during the 1970s and 1980s. This analysis represents the first such endeavor in Polish literature and aligns with the public archaeology trend, which examines the political, cultural, and economic dimensions of archaeological practice and its societal reception. By exploring this category of sources, the text offers a historical perspective on radio broadcasts, presenting them as a novel and previously untapped resource for studying the history of archaeology.

Drawing from these sources, the article discusses the dissemination of knowledge concerning the activities of Polish researchers, the media portrayal of the archaeological profession, and the unique phenomenon of the Polish School of Mediterranean Archaeology in the context of Polish scientific history. It delves into the distinctive features and historical background surrounding its establishment. Additionally, attention is given to Kazimierz Michałowski, the visionary behind this initiative, and the strategies he employed to promote public awareness of the research conducted within the Polish School of Mediterranean Archaeology.

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Niedokończona twierdza – plan Christiana Dahlkego z 1746 r. dotyczący ufortyfikowania klasztoru OO. Dominikanów na Górze Różańcowej w Podkamieniu

Maciej Trąbski

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 69, Issue 2, 2024, pp. 125 - 151

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.017.19822

The article discusses the unrealized 18th-c. proposal to fortify the Dominican Monastery on Mount Rosary in Pidkamin, situated in the southern region of the then-Volhynian Province. The author of this project was Christian Dahlke, a military engineer and colonel of the Crown Artillery. While researchers have been familiar with the plan, it has yet to receive a thorough analysis regarding the author’s proposed solutions, particularly in comparison to fortification concepts prevalent during that era. Given the military context of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the mid-18th c., a closer examination of this plan is warranted, as it provides insight into potential advancements in military engineering of the time.

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REVIEWS

Magdalena Bernacka, Piotr Czaja, Czytelnio polska, cześć ci, cześć. Dorobek polskich słuchaczy Akademii Górniczej w Leoben, Wydawnictwa AGH, Kraków 2021, ss. 520

Elżbieta Orman

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 69, Issue 2, 2024, pp. 155 - 167

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.018.19823

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Andrzej Manecki, Ludzie nauk o Ziemi i Kosmosie z wydarzeniami lat minionych w tle. Utrwalanie pamięci, Wydawnictwo Mineralogiczne Mineralpress, Kraków 2023, ss. 446

Zbigniew J. Wójcik

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 69, Issue 2, 2024, pp. 159 - 167

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.019.19824

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OBITUARIES

Profesor Wanda Grębecka (1932–2023) i jej związki z „Kwartalnikiem Historii Nauki i Techniki”

Anna Trojanowska

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 69, Issue 2, 2024, pp. 171 - 176

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.020.19825

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Editorial Page PDF Table of Contents PDF

Słowa kluczowe: COVID-19 pandemic, disinformation, social media, echo chambers, conspiracy mentality, epistemic crisis, history of Oriental studies in Vilnius (Second Polish Republic) 1921–1939, Vilnius, Oriental studies, Hebrew studies, Indology, Sanskrit, Turkology, Karaim studies, didactics, Polish Oriental Society, Society of Friends of Science in Vilnius, Stefan Batory University, School of Political Sciences in Vilnius, Faculty of Theology of Stefan Batory University, international relationships, Italian mathematics, persecution, history of archaeology, public archaeology, Polish School of Mediterranean Archaeology, radio broadcast, Kazimierz Michałowski, Faras, monastery in Pidkamin, fortress, military engineering, Christian Dahlke