Born on July 3, 1939 in Kowel, Poland

1963 Graduated from the Institute of Geography at the University of Warsaw

Academic degrees and titles:

  • Ph.D. in Earth Sciences – University of Warsaw 1973
  • Dr. Habilitation – University of Warsaw – 1984
  • Honorary doctorate from the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico (UAEM), Toluca – 1985
  • Titular Professor – 1992

Research interests:

A geographer by education, a Latin Americanist by vocation. His interests initially focused on the development of rural areas and plantations in Latin America and developed into the role of space in Latin American culture, identity, regional processes and intercultural dialog. He also dealt with Polish-Latin American relations and the history of Latin American studies in the world.

Awards received:

  • Corresponding member of the Geographical Society of Lima – since 1970.
  • Medal for the 20th anniversary of the Republic of Cuba – 1977.
  • Order of Merit of the Republic of Peru – 1998.
  • Commemorative Gold Medal of the University of Economics in Bratislava – 2000.
  • Order of the Cruzeiro do Sul of the Republic of Brazil – 2002.
  • Medal of the University of Chile – 2003.
  • Posthumous Diploma of the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico, Toluca – 2014.

Employment:

  • Since 1963 he worked at the University of Warsaw.
  • In 1969-72 and 1974-79 he was delegated to scientific and research institutions in Cuba: the Cuban Academy of Sciences (Academia de Ciencias de Cuba) and the University of Havana (Universidad de la Habana).

Positions and functions at the University of Warsaw:

Since 1982, he has held managerial positions at various hierarchical levels, but always related substantively to his regional interests.

  • Head of the Department of Latin American Regional Studies, WGiSR UW - 1988-1991.
  • Director of the Center for Latin American Studies CESLA, University of Warsaw - 1988-2009.
  • Director of the Institute of the Americas and Europe, University of Warsaw - 2002-2009.
  • Editor of the journal Actas Latinoamericanas de Varsovia - 1984-1995.
  • Editor of the journal América Latina – 1994-2002.
  • Editor of the journal Revista del CESLA – 2000 - 2009.
  • Coordinator of the international scientific program "Space in Latin American Culture" - 1986-2009.
  • Coordinator of the international program SPUB-KBN "Interregional Dialog Central and Eastern Europe - Latin America - 1999-2002.
  • Coordinator of the international program MSN-KBN "Latin America in Intercultural Dialog" - 2003-2007

Education:

  • Master's degrees promoted – 45
  • Doctorates promoted – 5

Positions and functions in the international scientific movement:

  • President of the Federación Internacional de Estudios sobre América Latina y el Caribe (FIEALC) – 1993-1995
  • President of the European Council for Social Studies on Latin America – CEISAL, term of office 2001-2004 (Vice-President 1995-2001)
  • President of the Organizing Committee of the 50th International Congress of Americanists, Warsaw 2000
  • Member of the Standing Committee of the International Congresses of Americanists – 2000-2009
  • Member of the Editorial and Scientific Advisory Boards of the following academic journals:
  • Journal of Latin American Studies, Cambridge University– 1977-2009
  • Afroméxico - Asociación Mexicana de Estudios Afromexicanos – 1996-2009
  • Revista de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de Puerto Rico – 1995 -2009 Revista de Investigaciones Histórico Sociales de la Universidad Veracruzana – 1995 -2009 Projeções.Revista dos Estudos Polono-Brasileiros, Curitiba – 1998 -2009

Important research projects

  • 1965-1966: Land use and socio-economic organization of rural areas in Mayabeque (Cuba); team investigation, coordination (Cuban Academy of Sciences): maps and studies
  • 1970-1972: Influence of sugar cane plantations on demography and settlement networks in Cuba; individual, (Cuba-Poland): book
  • 1973-1978: Geographical terminology in regional research on Latin America; team, coordination (Institute of Geography, University of Warsaw): book
  • 1974-1979: Geographical background of social and economic integration in the Caribbean; team, coordination (A.N. Cuba): maps, book, articles
  • 1981-1984: Typological studies on the Dynamics of Plantation-based Agriculture; individual (WGiSR UW): book
  • 1984-1986: Local Problems of Rural Areas in Las Huastecas, Mexico; team, Polish-Mexican, coordination (WGiSR UW - Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México): various publications
  • 1984-1989: Latin America - Space and Society. Social Aspects of Spatial Concentration of Population in Latin America: team; international, coordination (Geography and Regional Studies, uiniversity of Warsaw): book
  • 1986-1990: Comparative Studies of Local Communities and Regional Development in Latin America; team, coordination: various publications
  • 1987-1990: Cooperativization of Cuba's Agriculture in the Process of Organizing its Rural Space; Polish-Cuban team, coordination 1987-89 (WGiSR UW, Universidad de La Habana): book and various articles
  • 1991 -2009: Relations between Poland and Latin America; CESLA UW, team, coordination: 10 books
  • 1993-1997: Polish Presence in Latin America; team, coordination: 10 books
  • 1995-2001: Interregional Dialog Central Eastern Europe - Latin America: Culture, Politics, Economy; team, international, coordination (in cooperation with UNESCO) CESLA UW: 15 books and various other publications
  • 1995-2009: Space in Latin America's Culture; team, coordination (CESLA UW - WGiSR UW - CEISAL): 10 books and various other publications
  • 2001-2002: Ignacy Domeyko – Heritage and Projections; team, international, CESLA UW, coordination: 4 books
  • 2002-2009: Latin America in Intercultural Dialog; CESLA UW, team, international, coordination
  • 2002-2009: Latin American Studies Worldwide: Evolution and Current Status (1492-2003), CESLA-UW, individual

Most relevant international experience:

  • 1965-1966: Scholarship from the Government of Cuba
  • 1969-1971: Contract professor at the Cuban Academy of Sciences and the Universidad de La Habana
  • 1973-1974: Scholarship from the Spanish government
  • 1974-1979: Contract professor at the Cuban Academy of Sciences; visiting professor at the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México
  • 1980: Field research in the Peruvian Amazon region (3 months)
  • 1981: Visiting professor at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (3 months)
  • 1981-1982: Head of the Polish-Mexican research team: "Regional Processes in the State of Mexico" (field research in 1981)
  • 1985-1986: Head of the Polish-Mexican research team: “Rural and Agriculture Structure in Las Huastecas Region, Mexico" (field research in 1985)
  • 1987, 1989: Visiting professor at the Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Argentina
  • 1997: Visiting professor at the Pontificia Universidade Católica de São Paulo
  • 1998, 1999: Visiting professor at the Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
  • between 1965 and 1989: several field studies in Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Bulgaria, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Spain and Venezuela
  • between 1965 and 2002 he deepened his international experience through official travel, participation in congresses and conferences and co-organization of academic events in: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Jamajca, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, USA and Venezuela, as well as Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Spain, Holland, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Russia (and USSR), Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland, Sweden, Marroco and Israel.

Publications

  • Total: ca. 330, including:
    • o books: 39 (authorship, co-authorship, editorship)
    • books published abroad: 6
    • articles, essays, papers: ca. 190
    • articles and essays abroad: ca. 40
    • other: ca. 100