​The Middle East and Central Asia Unit was established in April 2018 within the Department of Political Studies. The research covers a region, which has it center in the Middle East and Central Asia, while reaching out farther to North Africa, Europe or Far East - as long as it focuses on local Muslim communities. The staff consists of five employees - two associate professors, two assistant professors and one reserach assistant. On this website we present our academic activities (also previous to 2018), while some of our activity is available at the Department of Political Studies website.

CURRENTLY WORKING ON:

Prof. Katarzyna Górak-Sosnowska is carrying out her projects:

• EMPATHY: Let's Empower, Participate and teach Each Other to Hype Empathy. Challenging Discourse about Islam and Muslims in Poland, (European Commission: Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, 2022-2023)
  
• Navigating Social Worlds: Toolbox for Social Inquiry (Erasmus+ 2023-2021)
• Managing spoiled identity: the case of Polish female converts to Islam, (National Scinence Centre OPUS, 2022-2018)

• SensiClass: Tackling Sensitive Topics in a Classroom (Erasmus+ 2019-2022 led by University of Tartu)
• University administration towards academic excellence (funded by Ministry of Education and Science led by Nicolaus Copernicus University)

Dr Monika Krukowska iis finishing her monograh on China’s economic and political engagement in Africa, which is supposed to be her habilitation thesis. In 2021 the project How to become a superpower? A strategic game under the supervision of dr M. Krukowska will begin, financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

Prof. Joanna Modrzejewska-Leśniewska is working on a monograph which will be published this year Opium w Afganistanie.

Aleksandra Tołczyk works on her PhD and supports the project EMPATHY: Let's Empower, Participate and teach Each Other to Hype Empathy. Challenging Discourse about Islam and Muslims in Poland.