About Professor Krzysztof Gawlikowski (1940-2021)
Krzysztof Gawlikowski was born in 1940. He was fascinated with Asia since childhood and his early interests became his life-long passion.
Krzysztof Gawlikowski graduated from the University of Warsaw with a degree in psychology. He went to China for the very first time in 1964. Two years later, the outbreak of the Chinese Cultural Revolution forced him to return to Poland. For many years he was Researcher at the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN). When the martial law was imposed in Poland in December 1981, Professor Gawlikowski was abroad, and he continued living in Italy until 1995. After returning to Poland, he devoted all his efforts to the popularization of Asian cultures and history. In 1997, he founded Towarzystwo Azji i Pacyfiku (the Asia and Pacific Society) and a year later, he published the first issue of the journal “Azja-Pacyfik” (Asia-Pacific).
Professor Gawlikowski had been involved with SWPS University since its inception. Gradually, he was introducing classes on the Asia-Pacific region to the curriculum. In 2003, he established the Center for East Asian Civilization (currently the Department of Asian Studies), which launched its own undergraduate “Asian Studies: China and East Asia” program in 2012. The interdisciplinary and innovative character of this study program was the result of Professor Gawlikowski’s long-standing ambitions of educating experts who would specialize in the current and practical knowledge on the culture, society, politics, and the economy of the whole Asian region.
Professor Gawlikowski was a rare example of an academic with very broad scientific interests and high cultural sensitivity. He moved with ease between both, the historical and the current aspects of sinology, political science, sociology and cross-cultural psychology. One of his greatest professional achievements is co-authorship of the monumental publication Science and Civilisation in China (Cambridge 1994), edited by Joseph Needham, where Professor Gawlikowski wrote about his favorite research topic: Chinese strategic thought of the Warring States Period, in particular Sunzi’s The Art of War (Sunzi bingfa).
Professor Gawlikowski was a fountain of knowledge not only about China, but also about many other countries of Asia, in particular Myanmar, which had enticed him when he was still a student. Professor Gawlikowski strongly believed that the Eurocentric view of the world must be rejected, and that it was necessary to educate Poles in both, the foundations of Asian civilizations, and the current issues of the region. Professor Gawlikowski was actively engaged in numerous Asia-focused publishing and educational initiatives, also beyond SWPS University. He was a tireless educator, a charismatic speaker, and a well-loved academic teacher. He remained professionally active until the last days of his life. We have lost a true ambassador of Asian civilizations in Poland.
Oriental Languages Center
In the academic year 2002/2003, for the very first time SWPS University offered its students courses in two oriental languages, Chinese and Burmese, including an introduction to the culture and mentality of these countries, as befitted the social sciences profile of the University. The teaching program was also significantly extended to include courses on the foundations of the East Asian civilization and the societies of the region, comparative studies of the Confucian-Buddhist and the Western civilizations, classical Chinese social and political schools of thought, and the history of East Asia, including the transitions taking place in the 20th century. In the academic year 2005/2006, the Department launched classes on East Asian political systems and international relations. The program focused on a variety of practical competencies indispensable in cooperation with Asians, such as respect for tradition, the specific culture of negotiation, and ways of building lasting relationships.
From 2005 to 2009, CCAW run a Chinese Language School as part of SWPS University’s Language School. The Chinese Language School offered a three-year program, including selected topics about China and the region. The School was open to the general public and students of SWPS University.
Conferences and Symposia
In 2006, the Center began organizing conferences, seminars, and debates on contemporary issues of China, Japan and other countries of the East-Asia Region. The events organized to date have attracted researchers and analysts from various research centers in Poland, while speakers have included renowned specialists from Poland and other countries. Since 2007, the “Asia-Pacific: Society-Politics-Economy” journal, established in 1998, has been published under the auspices of SWPS University.
Launch of the full-time Study Program
In 2012, under the scientific supervision of CCAW, SWPS University launched a three-year full-time undergraduate program called Asian Studies: China and East Asia. First graduates obtained their diplomas in 2015.
Since 2014, CCAW has been organizing a series of educational events called “Asian Debates”, at the Warsaw Public Library, on Koszykowa Street. The events are part of a series titled International Debates, offered by the library.
In 2020, the founder of the Department of Asian Studies, Professor Krzysztof Gawlikowski, handed over the leadership of the Department to Associate Professor Marcin Jacoby.