What feminist theology is (not) like?
The paper reflects on so-called feminist theology. First it deals with its reception by classical theology and reports a form of openness to new perspectives the latter (besides some objections) voices. Then I address the inevitable tension that develops between the two interpretative paradigms should the concepts of “man” and “God” be brought into play. The case study for that part is a self-portrait of a feminist theologian who calls herself a resident alien. What the analysis ultimately shows is a radical difference between the resident alien of postmodernism and the biblical outsider: the prophet; in particular, the way the difference in question resides in a given concept of language. My claim is that the constructionist theories of meaning postmodernism spreads postulate not so much the arbitrariness of sense as the false alternative between biblical God and the truth of the particular.

Postcolonialism in Poland – a feminist proposition
In this article I try to introduce the feminist postcolonial theory in the analysis of several recent texts and projects which have been discussed in Poland and where the postcolonial, situated knowledge can be observed as one allowing the analysis of Polish peasantry, as an important element of the feminist art criticism or as a way of discussing Poland as semi-peripheric in its relation to “the West”. I discuss the debates over the music project R.U.T.A. and theater piece In the name of Jakub S., I also argue, that the application of postcolonial theory could transform the exhibition Gender Check into a genuinely feminist project. Postcolonialism is discussed here as theory directly indebted in the legacy of Karl Marx, theorist which seems irreplaceable in the contemporary cultural studies. The arguments for the last thesis is supported with references to some already historical materialist and decolonial feminist theories.

The diaspora, memory and identity – the films by Ann Hui
The aim of this article is to present the works of Ann Hui, one of the most eminent film directors of the Hong Kong New Wave. In her fi lms Hui focuses on such issues as memory, ethnic minorities, intercultural communication, and the impact of political factors on the characters’ everyday life. These problems are often addressed from a subjective or even autobiographical perspective, like in her most significant work, Song of the Exile, to which I devote most of my analysis. The film is a perfect illustration of a basic feature of the Hong Kong cinema of the late 20th century, namely, a particular attitude to time, a nostalgia best expressed by a notion of déjà disparu, or a “conviction that all that is new and unique nowadays has already come and gone, and there’s nothing left but clichés and the scraps of memories of the things that never existed” (Ackbar Abbas). The longing for the past that stems from a sense of loss and necessity to reconcile with the passing of things appears to be a characteristic feature not only of Chinese fi lm art, but of Chinese culture as such.

Consumers of culture. On the specific modes of soap opera’s interpretations on former socialist agrocooperatives milieus
This paper discusses the reception of two popular TV series among socially excluded Polish women living in rural areas. It is based on the fi ndings of research project that I conducted from November of 2011 to March of 2012. I have conducted four focus groups combined with a projection of random episodes of two TV series: “M jak miłość” (“M as love”), the most popular soap opera in Poland, and an American program “Modern Family”, which breaks some social stereotypes.
The main objective of the project was to fi nd out how socially excluded women decode social and ideological messages included in the TV series. According to Stuart Hall’s ‘encoding/decoding model’, I was focused on their common interpretation patterns. The main question was: are they able to understand the meanings of simple cultural symbols (e.g. a mustache, white briefs) or recognize popular actors and brands placed in a movie to the same extent as urban people? One other general question, which arises here, is if this popular culture is so popular?

Gender and musical cultures – ethnomusicological and historical research in the perspective of cultural studies
This article’s aim is to show the importance of the usage of gender category in the analyses of musical cultures. In order to do that, the author shows how crucial gender is in ethnomusicological theories, as well as in social hierarchy theories. All that to see gender as a part of the person’s identity, and also as a part of the whole experience of one’s life in the society. By closely analyzing circumstances that influence the life of a musician or any other individual we can understand their actions, their place in the musical culture, the reasons their work was seen the way it was. And those circumstances include gender experience. Gender, as one of many elements of social hierarchy, is to be seen as a factor that cannot be overlooked or ignored.

Almost every time the gendered perspective on a particular issue (so often called obliquely the woman’s voice) appears in the media, it is immediately confronted by the almost formulaic expression “feminism today,” which suggests instantaneously that feminism is, in fact, a matter of the past, and that if one needs to return to this phenomenon, then it requires some explanation. Such interconnections between gender, women and feminism are a constant simplifi cation. The article seeks to elaborate this problem of generalization expressed by such formulas as “feminism today.”
“Feminism today” is a particular notion, which indeed refers to the long political, social, economic and cultural struggles and transformations for equality between the sexes, but also implies the need for its up-dating. Feminism seems to be constantly asked to supply footnotes as to why the contemporary world might still need it, as though equality had been undeniably achieved.

FRAGMENT
W dyskusjach nad społeczno-regulacyjną koncepcją kultury Profesora Jerzego Kmity spotykam się nie tak rzadko z zarzutami osób spoza grona jego uczniów i współpracowników, że Profesor przedstawiał ludzki podmiot nazbyt podporządkowany regułom kultury, „zniewolony” kulturowymi normami i dyrektywami, mało spontaniczny, z twórczą inicjatywą tylko w granicach określonych przez kulturę, pozbawiony zindywidualizowanej ekspresji itp. Ocena taka jest zbyt jednostronna i nietrafna. Najczęściej wynika z następujących metodologicznych błędów: (1) nie dość konsekwentnie respektowanego przez moich adwersarzy faktu, że nauki społeczne skupiają się na wspólnotowych, a więc zestandaryzowanych kulturowo aspektach ludzkiej świadomości i praktyki, stąd mija się z celem indywidualistyczna interpretacja ludzkich motywów, wyborów i działań; (2) mieszania podmiotowych, subiektywno-kulturowych pobudek i ludzkich działań ze zobiektywizowanymi determinantami funkcjonalnymi, a więc z poziomem zazwyczaj nieuświadamianym przez podmioty kulturowe; (3) imputowania własnych sensów i celów przedstawicielom badanych kultur już nie tylko na poziomie etnocentrycznym, ale na poziomie zindywidualizowanym i spersonalizowanym (adaptacyjnym). Przynajmniej trzy wymienione cechy rzeczonej koncepcji świadczą o tym, iż bynajmniej nie była ona i nie jest wypreparowana z podmiotowej, subiektywnej i świadomej perspektywy przedstawicieli i uczestników określonych kultur. Pragnę bliżej naświetlić ów relatywistyczny aspekt omawianej koncepcji zarówno pod kątem oryginalności jego źródeł, jak i ze względu na jego epistemologiczne podstawy, albowiem relatywizm poznawczy, etyczny oraz historyczny zawsze był postawą badawczą, której Profesor wymagał od swoich uczniów.

Antropologia hipernowoczesności / interdyscyplinarność

Review: Nie-miejsca. Wprowadzenie do antropologii hipernowoczesności Marca Augé,  Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2010

O szkole frankfurckiej i błysku utopii „fantasmagorii krytycznej”

Review: Tomasz Majewski Dialektyczne feerie. Szkoła frankfurcka i kultura popularna, Wydawnictwo Officyna, Łódź 2011