TY - JOUR
TI - Orientalists and Oriental Studies in Interwar Vilnius (1920–1939)
AU - Landowski, Zbigniew
TI - Orientalists and Oriental Studies in Interwar Vilnius (1920–1939)
AB - 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).
VL - 2024
IS - Volume 69, Issue 2
PY - 2024
SN - 0023-589X
C1 - 2657-4020
SP - 33
EP - 68
DO - 10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.014.19819
UR - https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/kwartalnik-historii-nauki-i-techniki/article/orientalisci-i-orientalistyka-w-miedzywojennym-wilnie-1920-1939
KW - history of Oriental studies in Vilnius (Second Polish Republic) 1921–1939
KW - Vilnius
KW - Oriental studies
KW - Hebrew studies
KW - Indology
KW - Sanskrit
KW - Turkology
KW - Karaim studies
KW - didactics
KW - Polish Oriental Society
KW - Society of Friends of Science in Vilnius
KW - Stefan Batory University
KW - School of Political Sciences in Vilnius
KW - Faculty of Theology of Stefan Batory University