Quick Facts
Biography
Zdzisław Wąsik (born 3 May 1947) is a Polish linguist and semiotician, rector and professor ordinarius at the Philological School of Higher Education in Wrocław and professor ordinarius at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.
Educational career
He received his master's title in German (1971) and doctoral degree (1976) in comparative Indo-European linguistics from the University of Wrocław. Subsequently, he habilitated in general linguistics at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań in 1986 and gained his scientific title of Professor of Humanistic Sciences from the President of the Republic of Poland in 1997.
Professional experience
Between 1972 and 1999, he used to work, from Teaching Assistant to Professor, at the University of Wrocław:
- in the Department of General Linguistcs (1972–1976, and 1981–1999),
- Interfaculty Studies of Culture (1976–1980),
- and the Institute of Culturology (1980–1981).
At the same time, from 1982 to 1984, he was a grantee of the Fulbright Fellowship for Senior Scholars: in the Department of Linguistics at the State University of New York in Buffalo (5 months), and the Research Center for Language and Semiotic Studies at the Indiana University in Bloomington (12 months).
Furthermore, he received stipends under the Oxford Hospitality Scheme (1987): in the Trinity College (6 weeks), and as International Research Exchange Scholar (1991): in the Brown University English Language Program, Providence, Rhode Island (1 month); Department of Linguistics and Semiotics Rice University, Houston, Texas (2 months), Department of Linguistics at the University of Southern California and the Department of Linguistics at the University of California, Los Angeles (2 months).
In 1999, he moved to the first position at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, and in 2009 at the Philological School of Higher Education in Wrocław.
Academic positions
In his first position, he served for 14 years (1984–1999) as Head of the Department of General Linguistics at the University of Wrocław and, between 2002 and 2010, as Head of the Department of Semiotics in the School of English at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.
In the second position additionally, he directed the Department of English Linguistics in the Institute of English Philology of the Pedagogical School of Higher Education in Opole (currently Opole University) (1991–1992), Department of Linguistics of the State Vocational School of Higher Education in Wałbrzych (2000–2004), Department of English of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (2001–2006).
Starting from 2002, he was as appointed to the position of Rector in the Philological School of Higher Education in Wrocław, and in 2009 he created there for himself the Department of Linguistic Semiotics and Communicology as an independent research entity.
Editorial activity
He was Editor of Studia Linguistica. Acta Universitatis Wratislaviensis (1984–1999), as well as President and Member of the Editorial Board of the Treaties of Language Commission (Rozprawy Komisji Językowej) in the Wrocław Scientific Society (1997–1999).
At present, he conducts three editorial series, two national – Philologica Wratislaviensia: Acta et Studia, since 2007, Philologica Wratislaviensia: Studia Iberica et Latinoamericana, since 2012, (Philological of Higher Education in Wrocław Publishing), and one international – Philologica Wratislaviensia: From Grammar to Discourse, since 2008, (Peter Lang Verlag).
Teaching duties
His didactic experience has been enriched through a long-lasting cooperation with the universities in Opole (1987–2008), in Poznań (1996 until now) and Toruń (2001–2007) and lately also with three vocational schools of higher education in Silesia, in Wałbrzych (2000–2004, 2010–2012), Jelenia Góra (2002–2012), and Wrocław (2002 until now), and a Teachers’ Training College in Wrocław (1993–1997).
Scientific accomplishments
He is the author of 5 books, above 24 collective editorials and above 100 articles, entering the scope of general and comparative Indo-European linguistics, history and methodology of science as well as semiotics and theory of communication.
His investigative works constitute a creative contribution to the following domains:
- the typology of Indo-European syntax: a functional analysis of question exponents in Indo-European languages and a description of interrogative intonation in Polish against the comparative background;
- the epistemology of linguistics: the elaboration of an individual conception of science as a set of mutually concatenated ontological and gnoseological perspectives;
- the questions of sign and meaning in nature and culture: the conception of a typology of semiotic objects based on the characteristics of the multipolarity of the linguistic sign,
- the historiography and methodology of linguistics: the display of the knowledge about the development of general linguistics in the history of language sciences in Poland,
- the theoretical foundations of “external” linguistics: the elaboration of an ecological matrix for the requirements of an external description of languages, on the basis of which several works have been launched in Poland dealing with the issues of the situational description of selected minority languages,
- the theory of discourse: a sociolinguistic typology of discourses in the sciences of language and culture in accordance with the domains of human life-world as well as a proposal to distinguish an (inter)discursive competence in the everyday life of communication participants.
His doctoral dissertation on the structural typology of interrogative utterances on the basis of contemporary Indo-European languages was acknowledged and cited in Germany and Yugoslavia.
He is best known in Poland as the author of two books on the semiotic paradigm of linguistics (Semiotyczny paradygmat językoznawstwa, 1987), systemic and ecological properties of language in interdisciplinary investigative approaches (Systemowe i ekologiczne właściwości języka w interdyscyplinarnych podejściach badawczych, 1987), and abroad, he is mostly cited as the author of Epistemological Perspectives on Linguistic Semiotics (Peter Lang 2003) and co-editor of Hard-Science Linguistics (with Victor Huse Yngve, Continuum Books 2004.
Popularizing his scientific achievements, he has delivered 120 conference papers, including 92 at the international forum, as well as 42 guest lectures in Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Finland, France, Italy, Korea, Kosovo, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United States.
Supervisor and reviewer
He has supervised 12 and reviewed 12 doctoral dissertations. He gave 5 opinions about the scientific work for the habilitation degree and 3 for the title (and position) of professor as well as 20 reviews for the edition of scientific articles, dissertations and professorial monographs. At present he has 4 doctoral students admitted to the Ph.D. program.
Professional memberships
He acted as Secretary (for 15 years), and then President of the Language Commission of the Wrocław Scientific Society (for 6 years).
He is a Member of the Polish Society of Linguistics, International Association for Semiotic Studies (representative of Poland in the Executive Committee), Polish Fulbright Alumni Association, and Romanian Association of Semiotic Studies (ROASS).
As a semiotician, he took part in 5 Semiotic Congresses (Barcelona–Perpignan 1989, Berkeley 1994, Dresden 1999, Helsinki–Imatra 2007, La Coruña 2009) and in 10 Summer Schools of the International Semiotics Institute (ISI) at Imatra, Finland (1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012).
In 2010, he was asked to direct the Symposium: “Semiotics Now” and 2011 years he organized and directed individually the Symposium: “Applied Semiotics: Constructivism and Identity Formation” as a part of International Summer School for Semiotic and Structural Studies in Imatra.
Moreover, cooperating with the ROASS, he was endowed with memberships in scientific committees as well as co-organizational duties at three international conferences in Romania.
Apart from this, since 2007 he became (nominated) foreign Member of the Romanian Association of Semiotic Studies in Bacău, since 2009 – (nominated) Member of the I.C.I. Bureau and since 2011 – director of the I.C.I. Regional Coordinators for Europe, since 2011 – (nominated) foreign Member of the Semiotic Society of America, since 2012 – Honorary Member of the Semiotic Society of Finland. Since 2012 he became (nominated) Member of the Scientific Council of Philological Sciences of the Wroclaw Branch of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Honorary distinctions
In recognition of his scientific work, he has earned, apart from numerous Rector’s Awards, two ministerial distinctions, namely, the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technique Prize for outstanding achievements in his doctoral dissertation (1979), Minister of National Education Prize for outstanding achievements in his habilitation (1988).
He has been also honored by the Oxford Alumni Card, being affiliated since 2005 as Friend, and since 2010 as Associate.
In recognition of his proposal of the division of academic disciplines in relation to linguistics, he was granted the International Journal of Arts & Sciences Best Conference Paper Award at Orlando, Florida, 2009.
Moreover, in the year 2005, he was elected as Fellow of the International Communicology Institute on the recommendation of the Director Richard Leo Lanigan from the United States of America. Besides, his Department of Linguistic Semiotics and Communicology was officially certified as a Research Group Affiliate as of 1 November 2009. In turn, on 15th November 2009 he was appointed as Member of the I.C.I. Bureau, and in Autumn of 2011 as Director of Regional-Continental Coordinators for Europe.
For his organizational and educational achievements, he was lately distinguished by the President of the Republic of Poland with the Silver Cross of Merit (2008) and subsequently the Golden Cross of Merit (2011).