University of Silesia in Katowice

The Institute of History researches national histories, specifically the history of ancient Rome, medieval Poland, the early modern Polish Republic and later the interwar period, World War II, and the People’s Republic of Poland. Our researchers cooperate closely with the most important European research centres working on the above-listed issues, such as the leading universities and Academies of Sciences of Belarus, Lithuania, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and – in Western Europe – similar institutes in Austria, Germany, Sweden, Iceland, Norway, and Spain. Studies on the history of historiography, as well as the history of the Greco-Roman world, with particular emphasis on numismatic sources, are by their very nature also of a transnational dimension. Within this general framework, several more minor issues constitute separate entities. In the field of ancient history, three topics deserve a quick mention: 1. The world of ancient Rome in the light of numismatic sources (social, political and ideological aspects); 2. The wars of ancient Rome – weapons, strategy, tactics; 3. Medicine in ancient Rome; 4. The Nag Hammadi Codes and the Gnostics. For mediaevalists, the following should be of note: 1. The Viking World – politics and culture; 2. “Polish” medieval knighthood: from the knight to the nobleman and Polish noble families; 3. Courts of queens and princesses – favourites and their surroundings; 4. The “Jagiellonian” world – the history of Poland and Lithuania in the Middle Ages; 4. History of Upper Silesia in the Middle Ages. Researchers of early modern times focus on the following topics: The House of Habsburg and the House of Vasa political relations and ideology; 2. Nunciature in the Republic of Poland – politics and economy; 3. The Sobieski family in the history of the Republic of Poland, the Reich, and France; 4. Political and social elites of the Republic of Poland in the Stanislavian era. Research on the 19th century has its distinct specificity related to the issue of the partitions. The only broader pan-European theme undertaken by the relevant team concerns the history of the Napoleonic Wars: 1. Polish lands in the face of Napoleon and the formation of the Duchy of Warsaw. Poland-related topics are also noteworthy: 1. Church and religion in Silesia; 2. The history of the Paulines in the Polish lands in the 19th century; 3. Prussian authorities and elites in the Silesian lands; 3. Upper Silesia and Cieszyn Silesia on the way to independence; 4. Everyday life of Silesia at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries; Attitudes of Poles towards the partitioning powers: Russians, Prussians, and Austrians. The research is complemented by a research topic pursued by another team: Polish historiography in the face of the main problems of the Republic of Poland, the Polish territories under partitions and the Second Polish Republic. The Metahistorical Research Team investigates the following topics: 1. The idea of the Intermarium in the historiography of the 19th and 20th centuries; 2. Anglo-American philosophy of history. Many topics undertaken by the research staff of the Institute of History focus on the 20th century. We can mention here: 1. Silesians in the Wehrmacht; 2. Social and political conflicts in the Polish People’s Republic; 3. Labour camps in Upper Silesia; 4. The history of Silesian Solidarity; 5. Scouting of the Second Republic of Poland; 6. The history of the Vilnius Voivodeship in the years 1919-1939; 7. Silesian Uprisings – between Poland and Germany 8. Polish political thought in the times of the Second Polish Republic 9. Silesian bar in the years 1919-1939. The researchers of the 20th century in our institute also combine Poland-related issues with a broader political context, such as 1. The history of Polish diasporas in the East; 2. Terrorism and security – radical movements in Europe and the world; 3. The idea of Slavophilism – the history and present times; 4. The world of former Yugoslavia. The topics above do not exhaust the interests of the historians from the Institute of History. Many themes are combined into broad chronological problems, e.g. shaping social elites in the 15th-19th century. They are also presented in a comprehensive interdisciplinary spectrum, which is required, e.g. by research on the history and meaning of Scandinavian sagas.