BOOK STUDIES RESEARCH TEAM

The research tasks of the team focus on the book, its evolution, the use of books in education, and the promotion of reading.
Head: Dr Wanda Matras-Mastalerz

Collaborators and persons appointed to carry out specific tasks: Prof. Grzegorz Nieć, PhD, DLitt — historian, book studies scholar, bibliophile; Dr Magdalena Koziak-Podsiadło — PhD in Art, specialist in visual arts, book design and illustration; Dr Lidia Ippoldt — PhD in Humanities, certified fairy-tale therapy and bibliotherapy teacher; Dr Marcin Kania — photographer, book and cover designer, Deputy Director of the Main Library of UKEN.

Areas of interest:
The research tasks carried out in response to the needs of contemporary book studies and in line with the team’s potential include the following areas:

1. The book, its evolution throughout history, and all aspects of its contemporary functioning.

• The cultural, aesthetic, anthropological, and social dimensions of the book.
• The reception and utility of the book, as well as its use in pedagogy, psychology, sociology, medicine, speech therapy, and art.

2. The use of books in education, play, and therapy in work with children, young people, adults, and seniors.

• Research, lectures, and workshops aimed at popularising fairy-tale therapy, bibliotherapy, and art therapy, including work with students with special educational needs, people with disabilities, people with chronic illnesses, and others.
• The book as a story of recovery for people experiencing crisis.
• The book as a tool supporting human health and mental resilience. The educational, therapeutic, and socialising function of reading.

3. Promoting various forms of reading, fostering reading habits and interests, and developing sensitivity to book aesthetics.

• The use of modern forms of books in work with readers, including multisensory books, e-books, audiobooks, tactile books, picture books, easy-to-read literature, kamishibai cards, and others.
• Providing prosocial, altruistic, and empathetic models of behaviour through literary characters, based on selected texts from children’s and young adult literature.
• The book in convergence culture. The place and role of the book in the encounter between “old” and “new” media.