World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Edmund Wnuk-Lipiński

エドムント・ヴヌク=リピンスキ

Edmund Wnuk-Lipiński

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1944-05-04 (Sucha, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland)
Died
2015-01-04 (Warsaw, Poland) age 70
Nationality
Poland
Languages
Polish, English
Residence History
Warsaw, Poland → Vienna, Austria → Berlin, Germany → South Bend, Indiana, USA

Career

Occupations
Sociologist, Political scientist, Writer, Rector
Active Years
1972-2015
Affiliations
Polish Academy of Sciences, founder and first head of the Institute of Political Studies, Collegium Civitas, rector and faculty, College of Europe (Natolin campus), lecturer
Memberships
Polish National Council for Civil Service (member), National Council for European Integration (member)

Awards

Janusz A. Zajdel Award
1988
Work: Middle part of the Apostezjon trilogy
Organization: Organizers of the Zajdel Award / Polish science fiction fandom
Result: 受賞
Order of Polonia Restituta (Commander's Cross)
2001
Organization: Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland
Result: 受章

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Praca i wypoczynek w budżecie czasu (Balancing work and leisure)

1972 Sociology

A sociological study of the allocation of time between work and leisure.

time useworkleisure

Time budget – social structure – social policy

1980 Sociology

Collection discussing the relationships between time budgets, social structure, and social policy.

social structuresocial policytime use

Rozpad połowiczny (Half-life)

1992 Sociology / Fiction (social science fiction elements)

Contains essays/sketches on the sociology of systemic transformation; known as part of the Apostezjon trilogy.

systemic transformationsociologydystopia

The limits of freedom. The diary of Polish transformation

2002 Essay / Sociology

A reflective and analytical account of Poland's period of systemic transformation.

democratizationrecord of transformationpolicy analysis

The sociology of public life (Socjologia życia publicznego)

2005 Sociology

A textbook-like work on theory and practice of public life. Has a Russian translation.

publicnesscivil societydemocracy
Translations
  • Russian translation (Mysl Publishers, Moscow)

Apostezjon (trilogy)

Social science fiction / Dystopia

A pioneering set of social science fiction works in Poland; a dystopian trilogy dealing with regime, memory and power.

dystopiapowermemory

Bibliography

  • Praca i wypoczynek w budżecie czasu, 1972
  • Czas wolny – współczesność i perspektywy, 1975
  • Time budget – social structure – social policy, 1980
  • Equality and inequality under socialism – Poland and Hungary compared, 1983
  • Inequalities and Deprivations in Social Consciousness, 1987
  • Rozpad połowiczny (Half-life), 1992
  • Granice wolności. Pamiętnik polskiej transformacji, 2002
  • Socjologia życia publicznego, 2005
  • Democracy under stress. The global crisis and beyond, 2012

Translations of Works

  • Russian translation of Socjologia życia publicznego (Mysl Publishers)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Analytical, sociology-based proseCalm, observational narration in fiction with dystopian depictions
Recurring Motifs
power and surveillancesocial transformation and its effectsmemory and identity

Legacy

Edmund Wnuk-Lipiński was an important scholar in Polish sociology and political science and is also regarded as a pioneer of social science fiction. He left influence both through academic and educational contributions and through dystopian critique of social systems.

Academic Societies

  • Polish Sociological Association

Archives

  • Archives at the Polish Academy of Sciences and Collegium Civitas

In Popular Culture

  • The Apostezjon trilogy became an important reference point in Polish SF and influenced subsequent writers.

Trivia

  • Worked as both a scholar and a social science fiction author.
  • The middle part of the Apostezjon trilogy received the Janusz A. Zajdel Award in 1988.
  • Taught at and served as rector of Collegium Civitas in Warsaw.