Abstract
Changes of university should not be a result of administrators’ and
university managers’ decisions (as a top-down approach), but of initiatives
caused by academic community. These engaged initiatives may take a different
forms – associations, foundations, membership in academic committees, as well
as different kinds of new social movements.
An example of such a social movement are Obywatele Nauki (the Citizens
of Science). Its members are young (usually post-docs), as well as more
experienced scholars, who – despite the fact of achieving scientific and academic
success – are working for the common good and the good of the university seen
as an important social institution. Thus the Citizens of Science propose and
encourage other scholars to seek constructive and parallel solutions, that, on the
one hand, will respect the cultural, social, economic roots building the identity of the university, and, on the other hand, that will have will to use the vitality of
young academic.
There are three main possibilities of interpretation of the activity of the
movement. First of all, these are the modern conceptions of social movements
(Gorlach, Mooney 2008; Krzeminski 2013; Sztompka 2010; Żuk 2001; Touraine
2010, 2011, 2013), analyzing measures in the dimension of macro, meso and
microstructure. Another important interpretation path is a reference to the history
of Social Solidarity Movement (Touraine 2010, 2011, 2013; Ost 2007;
Staniszkis 2010; Koczanowicz 2009). The third possibility of interpretive is
theory of performative democracy (Matynia 2008; Austin 1993; Searl 1980,
1987), which is a particular dimension of public life, what creates an alternative
to the undemocratic, unjust practices of power.
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