THUS 2025 projects

The main component of the summer program is an active participation in the selected humanities and social sciences research project offered by the staff members of the Nicolaus Copernicus University, please see the topics and their descriptions below. Interested students are welcome to contact possible advisors for more details concerning the foreseen projects and discuss the dates that the project could be undertaken.

The Russian bifurcation case – an illusory dream of enemies or a hidden reality?

Research description and goals:
The aim of the research project is to examine what stage of development Russia is at after the start of a full-scale war with Ukraine on February 24, 2022. It is assumed that the following hypothesis is highly probable: Russia is probably at one of two stages of bifurcation: 1/ reactive or 2/ forced cohabitation between attractors and repellors. There are no signs that this was the Zugzwang stage. The research will focus on the relationship between the leader of the nation and individual parts of the ruling class and segments of the social masses, the amount of resources at its disposal and the ability of the Kremlin camp to make adequate decisions. Examples of project topics include the level of autonomy of regions from the Kremlin's decision-making centre, the scope of resources held by the ruling class and the nation's leader, and the potential for primitive rebellions in particular segments of the social masses. It is also worth examining the relations between Russia and friendly countries - to what extent they increase the level of balance of the Russian political regime. On the other hand, it is worth examining the extent to which non-friendly states can increase Russia's level of bifurcation. A necessary condition for participation in the project is the ability to speak Russian.

Research tasks:
The research tasks are, firstly, the operationalisation of individual stages of bifurcation in relation to the relationship between the leader of the nation and the ruling class, the masses and the external actors. The next stage is the identification and selection of primary sources. The third stage is the creation, calibration and testing of research tools. The fourth stage is the interpretation of sources in order to determine arguments and counter-arguments in favour or against the research hypothesis. The last stage is to formulate conclusions.

Attention – to apply to this project, knowledge of the Russian language is required!

Supervisor:	prof. dr hab. Roman Bäcker (backer[at]umk.pl)
Time:	July 2025

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Belligerent Russia

The project examines Russia as a revisionist power that seeks to revise the world order. Its desire for expansion, its demand for an exceptional status on the international stage, and its refusal to renounce violence in its relations with its neighbours did not emerge in a vacuum. Russia's aggressive nature is rooted, on the one hand, in its strategic culture and, on the other, in the West's appeasement. The misreading of the Kremlin's imperial instincts and the hope that it would become part of the liberal and democratic world through cooperation and trade have proved to be a fatal mistake.
The program will focus on Russia's international strategy, the domestic roots of its belligerence and future trends.

Key areas include:

1. Russian world politics/world order views
2. The domestic factors behind Russia's international strategy
3. Ideas, institutions and processes of foreign policy-making in Russia
4. Prospects for Russia's future (and international security)

Supervisor:	dr Agnieszka Bryc (a.bryc[at]umk.pl)
Time:	July 2025

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Social and language adaptation of minorities and immigrants in contemporary Poland

The main aim of the project is to determine and characterize the strategies of language and social adaptation of the chosen national group.

Since the status of minorities is granted only to those ethnic and national groups whose ancestors have lived in Poland for at least 100 years, their cases will be the subject of the analysis of long-term adaptation. In turn, immigrants, especially temporary ones, undertake actions aimed at linguistic and social adaptation in the short-term perspective.

Therefore, the most valuable in our research will be examples of nationalities represented both among minorities and immigrant groups, which enable us to characterize the relationships between old and new diaspora, too.

In the context of research on short-term adaptation strategies, research will include, among others: NCU international students. The research will include, among others, the participation of students in sociolinguistic interviews. Basic knowledge of Ukrainian, Russian or Polish will be helpful, but the assistance of the project supervisor and the Polish student will also allow people who only speak English to participate fully in the project. It is also possible to choose a different immigrant-minority community according to the interests of the participants.

Research goals

1. Analysis of values and stances in the field of language and social adaptation of immigrant and minority communities.
2. Characteristics of the factors determining their conscious activities (strategies) of adaptation.
3. Comparison of the situation of a small, relatively isolated community and all representatives of a given nationality in Poland.

Research tasks

1. Getting acquainted with the legal status of minorities and immigrants in Poland.
2. Preliminary analysis of the possibilities to maintain cultural heritage and mother tongue.
3. A query in social media and the press of the given minority group in terms of detecting attitudes towards the Polish language, bi- and multilingualism, contacts with Poles and family language policy.
4. Selection of qualitative research methods and preparation of semi-structured interview scenarios.
5. Interviews with the members of the chosen minority (immigrant group).
6. Analysis of values and stances as well as strategies towards language and social integration with Polish society and the integration processes between old and new diaspora.
7. Preparing of the report/final presentation of the project results. If the participants are interested, it is possible to prepare a co-authored publication after the end of the project.

Supervisor:	dr hab. Michał Głuszkowski, prof. UMK (micglu[at]umk.pl)
Time:	July 2025

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The 2nd half of the 20th century in social memory

The beginning of the historical and political second half of the 20th century is slightly earlier than pure mathematics would suggest because in 1945, when World War II ended. It is more difficult to define its end precisely, but it oscillates around 1989, when political changes began in Central and Eastern Europe and the Berlin Wall was demolished.

Thus, the second half of the 20th century, understood here as the years 1945-89, was associated with the division of Europe and the world into two military camps and two economic blocs. Normal life was going on both sides of the Iron Curtain, there were also events important for the region, individual towns and villages or families.

Our aim is to compare the picture of these events in the collective memory in Poland and the country(ies) of the origin of the project participants. If these are the countries of the former socialist bloc, the result will be a comparative study of the memory of communism, and in the case of students from Western countries – a comparison of events and phenomena living in collective memory in the then separated social realities.

The project will be based on a qualitative methodology. On the material of semi-structured interviews conducted (online) simultaneously by Polish and foreign project participants with their relatives or friends representing generations who remember the 2nd half of the 20th century from their own experience. The final analysis aims to compare the events reported as important by the informants with the most important points on the timeline according to historical studies.

Research goals

1. To compare social memory about the 2nd half of the 20th century in Poland and the countries of origin of the project participants on the example of individual stories.
2. To gain a different perspective on past events from the interviews by forcing the narrative about them to be directed to an external audience (a foreigner).
3. To locate the events which were significant in the lives of selected informants on a timeline formed by "great history" events determined on the basis of official historical works.

Research tasks

1. A query covering official historical works devoted to the period of the second half of the 20th century in order to determine the most important events in Poland and the countries of origin of the project participants.
2. Selection of criteria that students should follow when selecting informants.
3. Preparation of scenarios of the semi-structured interviews.
4. Interviews with the selected informants. The interviews will be conducted by the student from the informant’s country with the possible participation of one other team member (or the supervisor). The presence of the foreigner and the questions asked by him/her (directly or translated) will encourage informants to formulate their thoughts more easily and to look at their own history from an external perspective, which will distinguish our project from numerous studies in the field of oral history.
5. Analysis of the collected material in two stages: a) the national one and b) the international comparison.
6. Work on the research report – a presentation or an article.

Supervisor:	dr hab. Michał Głuszkowski, prof. UMK (micglu[at]umk.pl)
Time:	July 2025

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Why Russia cannot win the war in Ukraine?

On the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 24 February  2022, President Vladimir Putin presented two main goals of Russia: “to demilitarise and denazify Ukraine.” In practical terms, this meant that Russia aimed at the total defeat of Ukrainian armed forces, at the establishment of a puppet pro-Russian government and effectively at the turning of Ukraine into a Russian satellite state. President Putin expected to take control of Ukraine within 10 days. Despite their quantitative and qualitative superiority, Russian armed forces failed to achieve those aims, and the short, lightning war was turned into a prolonged war of attrition.

Research goals To address the question of why Russia, despite its much bigger military capability, larger population and economy, as well as stronger international position, proved unable to defeat Ukraine in military and political terms.

Research tasks

1. To analyze Russia's grand/national strategy.
2. To establish and analyze major weaknesses and strengths of the Russian armed forces.
3. To analyze the domestic situation of Russia.

Supervisor:	dr hab. Paweł Hanczewski, prof. UMK (ph[at]umk.pl)
Time:	July 2025

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War in Ukraine – limited or total war?

From the perspective of military science/art, one of the main consequences of the First World War was the birth of a new kind of war known as 'total war,' that is, a war that is unrestricted in terms of the resources or personnel employed, the territory or nations involved, or the objectives pursued. Total war starkly contrasts the concept of 'limited war,' defined as a war fought with limited means for limited objectives. The climax of total war came with the Second World War, but despite terrible human and material losses, it did not mark the end of total wars, either international or domestic, outside of Europe. One of the most important questions about the ongoing war in Ukraine concerns its nature – is it a total or limited war? The question's significance goes far beyond our times; it is the question of what kind of war the future might bring.

Research goals To analyze the nature of the Russo-Ukrainian war as a total or limited war.

Research tasks

1. To analyze military aspects of the war.
2. To analyze the economic and social aspects of the war in Ukraine and Russia.
3. To analyze Russian policies towards the Ukrainian population in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.

Supervisor:	dr hab. Paweł Hanczewski, prof. UMK (ph[at]umk.pl)
Time:	July 2025

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Editing Contemporary Literary Discourses across Cultures (Selected Approaches)

This project aims to describe, analyse and assess editorial practices and their outcomes within the development of major contemporary literary discourses, as manifested across various cultural backgrounds. The scope of the research will comprise editorial solutions found in the major publications dealing with contemporary discourses on myths and fairy tales, present-day postcolonial criticism and selected theme theory (e.g. revenge). The theoretical framework will be based on Gérard Genette’s notions of peritext and epitext, as described in his Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation (original publication, 1987; 1997 – English translation) and subsequently developed, adapted or revised by other scholars, preferably within the cultures of the project participants. Another significant text, The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst (1992; 1997), will underlie the editorial considerations of the project. The third theoretical source, Black Riders: The Visible Language of Modernism (1993), by Jerome McGann, will further add to the conceptual framework of the project.

Research goals:

1. To describe selected editorial practices and their outcomes in creating and disseminating contemporary literary discourses across publishing practices in different cultures (depending on the participants’ backgrounds).
2. To critically assess the interconnectedness between paratextual (typographical, peritextual and epitextual) and textual aspects of the material forms of selected discourses (contemporary theories of myths, contemporary postcolonialism, approaches to fairy-tale criticism, theme theories, e.g. revenge), based on examples found in various cultures.
3. To identify and interpret the loci of tangency between editing and sense conveyance based on selected discursive practices in different cultures, as represented by the project participants.

Research tasks:

1. Selection of material forms of contemporary discourses on the basis of the cultural and editorial contexts represented by the project participants.
2. Interpretation and critical assessment of the materiality of selected discursive forms and their impact on meaning conveyance, as seen in various cultural backgrounds.
3. Interpretation of the interdependence of meaning and editing, based on selected discursive publications (postcolonialism, mythical discourse, theme theory (e.g. revenge).
4. Comparison of epitextual and peritextual qualities of the publications conveying contemporary approaches to selected contemporary discourses and themes (myths, postcolonialism, fairy tales, revenge).
5. Preparation and presentation of individual projects by the students.
6. Preparation and publication of research outcomes – co-authored by the students engaged in the project (optional).

The best-prepared reports will be published on the Laboratory for Research on Collective Memory in Post-Communist Europe POSTCOMER website.

Supervisor:	dr Grzegorz Koneczniak (gregorex[at]umk.pl)
Time:	July 2025

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Under narrative rule – master narratives in the interdisciplinary environment

In scientific papers reaching for narrative methods, you can come across a plethora of notions defining one narrative that imposes a specific position of members of society towards their life course, role in their social group, or the significance of historical and personal events. Such narrative can be sustained and nourished by political power, educational system, social norms and cultural heritage; at the same time, though it can be discussed, negotiated, and modified – this process leads to the emergence of an alternative narrative. The notions that describe such narrative include: „grand narrative”, “cultural script”, or “dominant discourse”, amongst others, yet in my project, I refer to a master narrative framework introduced and developed by Moin Syed and Kate McLean. I am the first author (in collaboration with Mariusz Zięba) of an article presenting the results of the identification and classification of Polish biographical master narratives on the basis of both cultural products and personal stories. During the summer school I want to trace the contemporary career of ‘master narrative’ term in various disciplines as well as to resolve the tasks of identifying another master narratives referring to the topics selected by students. Due to the relatively short duration of the project, we will prefer the research problems of episodical or structural master narratives with the analyses conducted on specific limited material (press discourse, memoirs of a given social group, literary works, exhibitions, digital corpora, online forums, vlogs, interviews, political speeches, sermons).

I cordially invite the representatives of narrative psychology, sociology, cultural and literary studies, and all who deal with the themes of life stories or nation-building narratives to join the project.

Research goals:

1. Comparing the functioning of ‘master narrative’ term in various disciplines and national scientific traditions.
2. Identifying and classifying the master and alternative narratives regarding subjects selected by students (events of life or national stories, social role or others).
3. Comparative analysis of results achieved by project members.

Research tasks:

1. Gaining knowledge about the master narrative framework (the notions of master narrative, alternative narrative, master narrative’s content and process, the ways of identifying master narratives, and their various types).
2. Discussion about the utility and applicability of the master narrative notion.
3. Selection of the main topic of research interests, data collection and analysis.
4. Presentation of results (the answers to questions: does master narrative regarding the selected topic exist? Is it homogenous? How did you identify? Can an alternative narrative be found too? What does the relation of the master and alternative narrative tell us about the dynamic of the master narrative process?

Supervisor:	dr Magdalena Kowalska (mkowalska[at]umk.pl)
Time:	July 2025

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The EU Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) – selected aspects

The European Union's security architecture is currently co-created on several levels by various decision-making centres. The countries themselves play a crucial role, so the first level is governmental. The second level is the cooperation of these countries on the supranational institutional level within the EU. The third is trans-Atlantic cooperation within the framework of a specialised international organisation, NATO. Interestingly, analysis of the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) in the current stage of development brings together all these three levels. The EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), of which PESCO is a part, is not a military alliance but rather a ‘post-national’ global security actor. Yet, in security terms, it is hard to see how the EU as a post-national security actor differs fundamentally from other multilateral institutions designed to provide security and defence for a group of states through the promise of reciprocal military support (and some element of joint planning), whether for offensive or defensive purposes. CSDP members are looking for the same fundamental benefits from cooperation as members of other types of cooperative bodies, namely more security (conceived as greater capacity for action and greater credibility of promises, threats and deterrents) at a lower cost. However, cooperation related to the CSDP (Eilstrup-Sangiovanni, 2014) had not been carried out to the full extent. This situation has been changing significantly beginning in December 2017, when the EU Council decided to initiate permanent structured cooperation (PESCO) in the field of security and defence.

Research goals

1. Analysis of the participation of a selected EU Member State in CSDP defence projects
2. Identification of the role of individual EU agencies in activities supporting cooperation between EU member states
3. To analyse selected forms of financing the EU defence policy
4. The importance of permanent structural cooperation in the field of defence (PESCO)

Research task Development of a methodology to address the research objectives and analysis of source documents and materials provided by the mentor on the topic.

Supervisor:	dr Michał Piechowicz (piechowicz[at]umk.pl)
Time:	July 2025

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Institutional Framework of a Stateless Society: An Economic Analysis

Austro-libertarianism is an economic-political theory modeling the institutional framework of a stateless society (or minimal state society) in which the main mechanism of order generation is the free market. Austro-libertarianism is predominantly a deductive theory which proceeds from a few basic theorems concerning human action, self-ownership, labor-mixing acquisition and voluntary transfer to as detailed as possible a reconstruction of the institutional structure of the so-called free society. The present project is a part of a multiannual research program devoted to the task of conducting the abovementioned reconstruction. Working with a group of PhD candidates, post-doc researchers and renowned professors from all around the world, our partially formal and partially informal research team has already published results on such topics as, inter alia, transfers involving property titles, mere promises, blackmail, bribery, threats, proceeds of crime, mistakes etc. and various conflicts of interests (e.g. easements, accession, abortion). The present research project invites students to join this broader program in order to learn, gain research experience and possibly contribute to philosophical, legal and economic analyses of various institutions of a stateless society such as, for example, forms of common property, private production of health care, private production of defense and security (private prisons, private policing, private army, private adjudication, private law production), spontaneous emergence of extralegal cultural and social order, non-physical forms of torts and crimes and many others (also of students’ own educated choosing).

Research goals
To answer a battery of research questions centered around the main query of whether and why given institutions would develop in a stateless society (as modeled by the austro-libertarian theory) both in terms of their justice and economic efficiency, where the said institutions include, inter alia:

1. defense and security institutions;
2. health care institutions;
3. insurance institutions;
4. judicial institutions;
5. property institutions;
6. contract institutions;
7. tort law institutions;
8. criminal law institutions;
9. extralegal social institutions etc.

Research task

1. literature review
2. choice of specific institutions/topics to be studied
3. formulating specific research objectives, problems, hypotheses regarding the chosen topics
4. analytic work: formulating arguments, drawing analogies, applying first principles to specific topics
5. synthetizing work: peer discussion, literature update, formulating conclusions
6. developing & publishing research results: writing reports, posters, notes, research papers

Supervisor:	dr hab. Łukasz Dominiak, prof. UMK (cogito1[at]umk.pl)
Time:	July 2025

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