General principles

The East-Central European School in the Humanities was founded in 1996 in the framework of Polish-Ukrainian university cooperation. Its long-term goal is to create a network of co-organizers, which would include also Baltic States, Belarus (depending on the political situation), Bulgaria and other countries of Eastern and Central Europe.

The uniqueness of the idea of the School lies in its program range that includes the entire cultural heritage of the Region, with particular emphasis on Mediterranean traditions as roots of its culture. Great importance is being attached to enabling the students to attain a perception of their own identity within the context of the ethnic, religious and historical traditions of the region.

The purpose of the School is to disseminate modern theories and methodologies in the humanities and, primarily, to support the development of a new generation of scholars in disciplines particularly neglected in East- Central Europe (mainly in the areas of the former Soviet Union) and fundamental for the revival of the humanities. This task entails training specialists in paleography and editorial techniques, archive studies, classical languages, Hebrew, Old Russian, etc. The essential goal is to create an international and interdisciplinary community, capable of effective scholarly cooperation, and thus to eliminate the existing vacuum that risks becoming filled with an ideology of primitive nationalism and ethnocentric delusions.