Publishing house

Oficyna Naukowa, Warsaw

CO-EDITORS

Dorota Bazuń

Mariusz Kwiatkowski
pedagogue and sociologist, Poland, University of Zielona Góra, visiting scholar at the Charles University in 2023 

We invite you to co-create an interdisciplinary publication devoted to the issues of stigmatization, stigma reduction and respect for „people on the move”.

A sharp increase in migration movements seeking asylum from war, violence, hunger, poverty, lack of water is our current reality and the near future. Neither societies, nor international and non-governmental organizations, nor governments are prepared for this change. Social researchers also lack the sociological imagination to adequately respond to these challenges.

One of the key measures of this unpreparedness is the growing stigmatization of 'people on the move’ as a source of threats to citizens’ security, social order, traditional values, etc. Stigma towards immigrants and refugees becomes a fuel for political struggle and a tool for exercising power.

In this situation, we attempt to portray social ideas and practices that, through support provided to vulnerable migrants and refugees, are aimed at transforming stigma into respect. A collection of concepts, reflections, analyses, reports from field research in which anti-stigma potentials, infrastructure of respect and paths of change are sought and presented, can be our joint contribution to the discussion on one of the key problems of today.

We strive to include both ordinary citizens and activists and decision-makers in the discussion. This is the result of our research on the impact of academic research and discussion on solving the so-called migration crisis. We published the conclusions from this research in an article with the telling title „Helpless academy”(Bazuń, Kwiatkowski 2017). Now we know that this is not a crisis, but a permanent element of the new reality. We also know that without adopting a transformative paradigm, social scientists may still feel helpless in the face of stigmatizing discourse.

The proposed title, ‘Respect on the Move’, refers to the collective term for people who are looking for a place for themselves, moving to areas they consider safer and happier, and to their need for respect. It also refers to the title of a series of publications in which we outlined the concept of 'creating knowledge on the move’. This is a concept that may be useful in research on 'people on the move’. We also invite you to discover and develop it. The excellent Polish scientific publishing house („Oficyna Naukowa”), which published the above-mentioned series, now also gives us space to present our position on important issues.

Literature

BAZUŃ, Dorota, KWIATKOWSKI Mariusz, 2017, Helpless Academy? Academic Debate vs. Refugee Dispute, Rocznik Pedagogiczny 40. Bezradna akademia? Debata akademicka a spór o uchodźców – Rocznik Pedagogiczny – Czasopisma PAN

BAZUŃ, Dorota, KWIATKOWSKI Mariusz, 2023, Learning on the Move: Social Education Handbook for Students, Warszawa: Oficyna Naukowa. (PDF / Researchgate.net)

BAZUŃ, Dorota, KWIATKOWSKI Mariusz, 2023, Teaching on the Move: Social Education Toolkit for Teachers, Warszawa: Oficyna Naukowa. (PDF / Researchgate.net)

KWIATKOWSKI, Mariusz, 2023, Mobile Social Education and Bridging Solidarity, in.: ROY, Alastair, GUHLAN, Sinan Tankut, BAZUŃ, Dorota, KWIATKOWSKI Mariusz, 2023, Knowledge on the Move: Studies on Mobile Social Education, Knowledge on the Move: Studies on Mobile Social Education, Warszawa: Oficyna Naukowa, p. 57-76. (PDF / Researchgate.net)

ROY, Alastair, GUHLAN, Sinan Tankut, BAZUŃ, Dorota, KWIATKOWSKI Mariusz, 2023, Knowledge on the Move: Studies on Mobile Social Education, Knowledge on the Move: Studies on Mobile Social Education, Warszawa: Oficyna Naukowa. (PDF)