Sociology in Poland

Sociology in Poland has been developing, as has sociology throughout Europe, since the mid-19th century. Polish sociology is today a vibrant science, with its own experts and currents of thought. As early as in 1917 a Polish scholar, Jan Stanisław Bystroń, wrote that Polish sociology is — as any other national sociology — a notable and separate field.

"Is the term 'Polish sociology' justified, as science is universal and does not know state or national borders? Academics of a given nationality deal with some problems more often When we turn our attention to Polish sociological theories, one cannot fail to notice ... that they were evoked by other needs and other problems that a different theoretical answer than in Western science" — Jan Stanisław Bystroń, 1917

Although Poland did not exist as an independent state in the 19th century (due to the Partitions of Poland), some Polish scholars published work that fit into the newly-created sociological thought. In the Interbellum, sociology became popularized in the Second Polish Republic through the works of scholars such as Florian Znaniecki. Much Polish sociology is substantially influenced by Marxism (see Marxist sociology). Both Marxist and Jewish sociologists, however, have been subjected to persecution at different stages in Poland's history. Zygmunt Bauman, a Polish-born sociologist and perhaps one of the most renowned theorists working today, was forced to flee to England in 1971 due to an anti-Semitic government campaign.