Cezary Smuniewski, Karolina Kochańczyk-Bonińska, Konrad Majka
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Smuniewski C., Kochańczyk-Bonińska K., Majka K., The Project: “Implementation of the educational program »Politics – Religion – Security. Conflicts and attempts to resolve them« basing on international cooperation.” Presentation of the Content of the Training Module – Teaching Materials, “Polish Journal of Political Science”, 2022, Vol. 8, Issue 2, pp. 52–67, DOI: 10.58183/pjps.02122022.
ABSTRACT
The article is a presentation of the teaching materials which were one of the key elements for the preparation and implementation of the training module under the project: “Implementation of the educational programme »Politics – Religion – Security. Conflicts and attempts to resolve them« basing on international cooperation.” This publication is made up of the following parts: presentation of the main assumptions of the project; presentation of entities involved in the implementation of the project; description of ideas underlying the project and its objectives (“Issues”); discussion of the contents of twelve sets of teaching materials (textbooks) and academic documents (syllabuses) developed by project promoters. The educational program prepared by the authors has been dedicated to Polish students – project participants. The project has been aimed at preparing its participants for their future roles as employees or employers effectively functioning in the religiously and culturally diversified labour market. Having this objective in mind, twelve sets of teaching materials have been profiled, which address issues covering the time space from the Antiquity until the present. These issues are linked with: biblical texts; ancient Greek philosophy and tragedy; the legal and political situation of first Christians; the Church at the late Antiquity; the medieval project of uniting Europe; modern times and ideologies; modern sources of totalitarianism; the religious dimension of political ideologies; relations between the Church and nationalists; contemporary Catholic social teaching.
Keywords: identity, academic teaching project, teaching materials, religion, politics, security, multicultural society
Introduction
This article[I] is aimed at presenting the teaching materials which were one of the key elements for the preparation and implementation of the training module under the project: “Implementation of the educational programme »Politics – Religion – Security. Conflicts and attempts to resolve them« basing on international cooperation.[1] In the first part (Issues), discussed will be the objective and ideas underlying the project, the entities involves in its implementation and the means of its implementation. In the second part (Presentation of the teaching materials). presented will be the materials with the teaching content developed by the initiators and promoters of the project. The main source material are textbooks (12 volumes), academic documents (syllabuses) and documents associated with the project itself and developed for the purposes of the application for financing from EU funds. The methods used for the preparation of this text have been primarily the analysis and the synthesis.
Issues
The Faculty of Political Science and International Studies of the University of Warsaw has carried out a project “Implementation of the educational programme »Politics – Religion – Security. Conflicts and attempts to resolve them« basing on international cooperation.” Three entities collaborated in the implementation of the project: the abovementioned University of Warsaw,[II] Saint Nicolas Foundation[III] (project initiator and leader) and Centro Studi Medì[IV] from Genoa in northern Italy. The project was financed by the Centre For European Projects.[V]
As conceived by the initiators of the project (Cezary Smuniewski, Dariusz Karłowicz) and the team elaborating the entirety of the undertaking,[VI] its frontline idea was to introduce in Poland the Italian model of looking at international, national and regional security. In that model, the issue of societal multiculturalism is seen from the angle of religion as one of the most crucial factor contributing to the development of culture and determining various identities in the contemporary world. The authors of the project aspired to build a set of instruments, which would enable preparation of students for: (1) functioning in professional life set in multicultural societies; (2) comprehending their own identity set in history, philosophy, religion; (3) understanding other than one’s own identities in the world undergoing globalisation processes. Therefore, the aim was to elaborate an element for adjusting (supplementing) the educational system and program functioning in higher education institutions to the challenges of the labour market arising from the contemporary threats associated with the co-existence in this market of people representing diverse cultures and religions. The aim of the program was also to build students’ awareness as regards existence of relationships between cultural and religious identity and the legal system in a state. It was assumed that this awareness was a means to improve the quality of collaboration among people and eventually contributed to creating security at the local, regional and global level. The ultimate objective of the educational process was to build students’ competences as regards perception of what constitutes added value in the context of their functioning in the multicultural labour market.[2]
The educational program developed in the course of implementation of the project contains prototype instruments for collaboration of the higher education institutions with employers as regards preparation of students for functioning in the multicultural work environment. Those instruments may be used by various entities. Primarily, this concerns institutions participating in the process of educating a modern multicultural society and entities responsible for societal security (e.g. NGOs, universities, local government units). Thanks to cooperation with an Italian partner (Centro Studi Medì) – having experience in developing and implementing educational programs related to building security based on conscious management of the migration issue – a new solution adapted to the Polish realities was developed.[3]
The project’s objective was attained through preparation of a training module covering 12 subjects together with: first – academic documents (syllabuses) describing goals, educational results, program contents separately for each subject; and second – a set of teaching material for each of the 12 subjects.4 Six persons were directly engaged in developing the materials for students (Cezary Smuniewski, Dariusz Karłowicz, Karolina Kochańczyk-Bonińska, Konrad Majka, Tomasz Herbich, Adam Talarowski), each of whom prepared two sets containing teaching materials and a syllabus – one per semester.[VII] In this way, 12 academic documents and 12 sets of teaching materials[VIII] were prepared under the project. It is those that will be analysed further on.
The teaching materials and academic documents will be characterised according to a historical key. Therefore, the reflection shall start with the texts selected and elaborated by Cezary Smuniewski,[5] which deal with matters related to the Old and the New Testament. Following will be the materials authored by Dariusz Karłowicz,[6] aimed at acquainting students with the wisdom of Ancient Greek tragic playwrights and philosophers, and then the materials by Karolina Kochańczyk-Bonińska,[7] directed towards presenting selected areas of Patristic thought. At a further stage, reflected upon will be the materials devoted to medieval issues, prepared by Adam Talarowski.[8] At the subsequent stage of the analysis, analysed will be Tomasz Herbich’s[9] sets, which were intended by the author to cover the philosophical thought of the 19th and 20th centuries. Then go those prepared by Konrad Majka,[10] who undertook to present issues of the period stretching from the 19th until the 21st century. The whole shall be crowned by the description of the second part of Cezary Smuniewski’s teaching material dedicated to contemporary social teaching of the Church (Catholic Social Teaching).[11]
Presentation of teaching materials
The series of twelve sets of teaching materials is opened by those prepared by Cezary Smuniewski. A source material proposed by the researcher to students for the first semester are biblical texts. The author set himself an objective to provide students with the knowledge, skills and abilities helpful in understanding and functioning of the Polish political community seen in the perspective of contemporary problems associated with cultural and religious minorities. The aim was to help students comprehend the reality manifesting itself at the junction of three notions: religion, politics and security. It was also meant to provide students with a set of instruments to describe and explain contemporary problems of a political community, which is at the same time a cultural community and a community in many aspects relating to religion. Another aim of the prepared materials was for students to develop the ability to describe contemporary issues through references to biblical contents which affected the life of the community, its culture and politics. Finally, as conceived by Smuniewski the classes conducted at the University of Warsaw were also meant to reflect universal problems faced by representatives of minority religions and state authorities in the pluralistic Europe. In order to emphasize the timelessness of the presented issues all classes were planned as covering two parallel themes: the biblical and the contemporary one. Additionally, the subject was to teach the ability to think analytically about socio-cultural processes and their relationships with politics and creation of national security.[12] Smuniewski grouped the materials prepared for students in seven thematic blocs: “The Bible – the text about God, man and contemporaneity”; “State and power in ancient Israel”; “Israel’s holy wars”; “«Thou shalt not kill» and «… [we] forgive our trespassers»”; “«Honor your father and mother» and the love of the homeland»”; “Pacifism of the New testament”; and “State and power in the New testament.”[13] Smuniewski assumed that thanks to those classes students would acquire the knowledge of, first, key problems of religious minorities in the area of political and social life; second, understanding the role of religion as one of the major culture-forming factors determining diverse identities in the contemporary world; third, the ability to function in a multicultural and multireligious society, thanks to which the future graduates will stand greater chances of finding fulfilment in the contemporary labour market; fourth, understanding the role of religion as one of the major culture- and community-forming factors that determine diverse identities in the contemporary world. According to Smuniewski the same source material used during classes was to equip students with specific skills. The participants were to learn how to analyse historical texts and read them in the contemporary context, conduct a discussion using the knowledge of cultural differences, acquire the skills of observation and interpretation of the phenomena and processes in the political community, perceive their mutual links and interdependencies. Moreover, the author assumed that students would acquire the following capabilities: (1) recognition of relationships between religious and ideological identity on one hand and political activity and legal order of the state on the other; (2) awareness of one’s own identity as a creative force; (3) ability to function in the multicultural world (building relationships therein and managing diversity); (4) utilising cultural differences as added values.[14]
The starting point for the teaching materials developed by Dariusz Karłowicz was ancient Greece beginning from the 5th century B.C. The presented views of tragic playwrights, philosophers and historians were to be used by participants as a basis for reflecting on questions that arise in connection with the constantly manifested tensions between religion and politics as well as the crisis afflicting contemporary democracies.[15] This intention is best expressed by Karłowicz’s words: “We wish – as Leo Strauss formulated it – learn from ancient thinkers rather than about them.”[16] The object of reflection the first part of the abovementioned teaching materials – entitled “The tragedy of religion, the tragedy of politics. The discussion of tragic playwrights”[17] – covers the texts of tragic playwrights[18] and historians,[19] supplemented with a fragment of the Holy Bible (Psalm 130) and a text by Aristotle.[20] It should be noted that it is the thought of the four abovementioned great poets of the Antiquity constitutes the core of the materials, thus making them different from the next part. Quoting what was written in the syllabus of the subject, let us emphasise that the texts were interpreted in light of the nature of the relationship linking religion, politics and security (understood both from the viewpoint of indispensability of religion for politics, as well as the sources of any potential tensions between them), and a correct model of the relationship between the political and the religious sphere.[21] The discussed teaching materials are made up of six parts, which include source texts preceded by extensive introductions. Let us also note that in the introductions Karłowicz explicated the currency of reflections contained in the writings of ancient authors.[22] To this end, the scholar inter alia showed how the concepts he had developed continued to taint the thinking of the contemporary man of the West about their own identity.[23]
The described contents find a complement in the successive part of the teaching materials prepared by Karłowicz. It is indicated already by the title: “The tragedy of politics. On the relationships between religion and politics according to ancient Greeks.”[24] This time, the references to the Greek polis assumed the form of an analysis of mainly philosophical texts,[25] additionally supplemented with the texts of selected tragic playwrights, including Aristophanes.[26] The view and narrations of those thinkers were learned by students from the perspective of three main issues: the genesis of politics (from the Greek thinking about man as a political creature), the perfect political system and the causes of the collapse of the state (answers given by the Greek to the question about the ideal political system and its durability), the indispensability of religion and problem with the traditional religion (the philosophical description of a political religion, the status of religion both as a factor contributing to the durability of a state and as a factor that can constitute a threat to politics).[27] Also those teaching materials are made up of six parts, which include source texts preceded by extensive introductions by the author. Let us note that this time in his introductory texts Karłowicz undertook to present the thoughts of ancient Greek from the angle of their currency, emphasizing this aspect for instance in the context of their quests for whatever ensured durability of political systems.[28]
The teaching materials prepared by Karolina Kochańczyk-Bonińska were also devoted to the issues of the Antiquity. The source materials, expounded on in the book “The first Christians towards the state and power,”[29] as well as the comments thereon refer to the socio-political situation of the followers of Christ from the beginning of Christianity until the 4th century, when Emperor Constantine recognised Christianity as a religion allowed on a par with other traditional cults.[30] The reading of the teaching materials offered students an opportunity to learn the dilemmas Christians faced as a religious group, whose social and political status in the Roman Empire underwent an evolution from a persecuted cult to a force exerting impact on the image of the empire.[31] The participants encountered such issues as for instance; the eschatological context of Christians’ thinking about politics, Christian thinking about social life, Christians’ attitude to pagan culture. Kochańczyk-Bonińska tried to highlight the complexity and diversity of the reflection of the followers of Christ as regards individual issues. Let us mention that to illustrate the attitude of Christians to wealth she used the views of Hermas[32] or Clement of Alexandria,[33] whose positions in this matter were after all totally different. The fact that the philosopher decided to use the described problems to reflect on the present deserves special mention. The analysis of the texts included in the materials as well as the discussions conducted during the course were aimed to present the problems which also today surface at the junction between the state and a religious minorities, but also to work out potential schemes for their resolution.[34] The set prepared by Karolina Kochańczyk-Bonińska is made up of an introduction, four thematic blocs, a conclusion and a reference lexicon of ancient authors. It also needs to be noted that the blocs were divided into part, the titles of which are derivatives of the problems discussed therein. Each of them includes: an introductory text written by the philosopher, introductory comments to the issues dealt with in a source text, source texts, ancillary questions referring to the text, bibliography.
The subsequent teaching material prepared by Kochańczyk-Bonińska, chronologically being a continuation of the earlier one, was entitled “The Church of Late Antiquity towards the state and power.”[35] Its contents are focused around the status of Christians as a religious group, which with times started to exert an ever greater impact on social life, legal norms, and even key military and political decisions made in the Roman Empire.[36] The beginnings of the reflection covered by the materials refer to the Edict of Milan, whereas its final part is associated with the fall of the empire. This time, students dealt with problems of a triple nature presented in three thematic blocs.[37] The first ones directly touch upon religious and political issues. This concerns both the interference of the clergy in political life and involvement of rulers in theological disputes, as well as the foundation of Christian thinking about the state, revealed inter alia in the context of theological discussions on the role of the Roman Empire. The second set of issues refers to responsibility of Christians for the universe basing on the texts devoted to anthropological problems, the universalistic mission of the Church, the impact of Providence on Human history. The participants learned the meanders of social involvement of the Church, inter alia aid given by Christians to the poor or the possibility of doing military service by Christians. The analysis of so outlined problems underlying the discussions conducted during classes provided students with the possibility of acquire a more in-depth knowledge of continuously current and universal dilemmas faced by representatives of religious communities (especially those aspiring to universal religions) and state authorities in the pluralistic Europe.[38] Let us also note that the convention of the discussed teaching materials is based on the same principle as the teaching materials analysed in the previous paragraph.
The teaching materials prepared by Adam Talarowski go beyond the time horizon of the so far described textbooks. They are devoted to selected problems of the Middle Ages. The first part, entitled “A medieval project for the unification of Europe”, is founded on the understanding of Europe that surpasses its status as a notion denoting the sub-continental region in the western part of Eurasia. The inherent sense of this term refers primarily to a certain reality with the spiritual and cultural realm.[39] Talarowski also uses references to history as a pretext to reflect on the present – the then model of unification is considered in the dimension of “a set of good and bad lessons.”[40] Those teaching materials are made up of seven chapters, an introduction and bibliography. Each of the chapters includes an introductory commentary and source texts.41 The ideas contained therein forms a basis for students to investigate such problems as the theoretical principles of the European medieval thought understood in the context of: a conviction about the nature of the world as well as the place of man and human communities in relation to God; a dispute about the sources of law, ethicality of politics, a discussion with respect to the comprehension of the entitlements of the political authorities and the subjects; a relationship between the temptation of imperialism and prerogatives of the state; forceful imposition of faith
Talarowski continued these themes in the second part of the teaching materials entitled “A medieval project for the unification of Europe.”[42] However, the contents cover somewhat different problems focused around the political culture of the medieval society in the dimensions of the ideological foundations of political power. Eight thematic blocs delimiting the textbook structure, which are made up of source texts preceded by a synthetic description, refer to the following issues: similarities and differences occurring between conversions of selected rulers to Christianity; the Islamic model of understanding the relationship between religion and politics; the importance and development of the idea of just war as divine judgment; the role of myth and historical remembrance as the sources of legitimisation of the political order; the function of coronation from the viewpoint of political theology in the Middle Ages.[43]
The teaching materials elaborated by Tomasz Herbich are devoted, in turn, to issues of the modernity. In the book “The modernity and the age of ideology”[44] students found fragments of the texts by Descartes[45] or writings by Stanisław Brzozowski.[46] Their reading as well as the discussions conducted during classes were directed towards a reflection on whether and to what degree modern philosophy was responsible for totalitarianism. The discussed teaching materials are made up of six parts, plus an introduction and bibliography. It should be noted that each of the parts starts with an introductory text and source texts. The issues discussed therein refer to three main problem areas: the identity of modern man; modern man’s finding themselves between religion and politics; the methods for resolving this tension.[47] It is in those contexts that the participants considered inter alia the modern concept of the subject; the epistemological turn of philosophy; such concepts as sovereignty or messianism; the philosophical sources of atheism.
The second part of the teaching materials prepared by Herbich was, in turn, devoted to the sources of totalitarianism. In “The modern origins of totalitarianisms”[48] the answer to the question about the degree of responsibility of modern ideological thinking for the birth of totalitarianism and its inherent cruelties was based – as specified in the syllabus – on the analysis of “the processes as a result of which people realise their rule over the external world, at the same time devastating the foundations of their own security.”[49] The reading of the seven-part textbook enabled students to acquire an in-depth knowledge of such issues as: theodicy, philosophy of history, utopian thinking, the essence of bolshevism, the causes why fascists took the reins of power, rationality of totalitarianism, the status of a concentration camp as an instrument of the totalitarian rule. Moreover, not without seems to be the fact that during the course discussed were not only the views of philosophers, e.g. Giorgio Agamben, Zygmunt Bauman, August Comte, Hannah Arendt, but also the narrations of men of letters. In the context of the latter group, it is worth mentioning Fyodor Dostoevsky or Joseph Conrad.
The teaching materials prepared by Konrad Majka – entitled “Politics as religion. The religious dimension of political ideologies” – presented ideologies as phenomena of a quasi-religious character.[50] The analysis of how ideologies took over the functions earlier reserved for religions was meant as a pretext for the course participants to reflect on political radicalism and extremism that today jeopardize progressing ethnic, cultural and religious pluralisation of the Western societies.[51] The set of texts prepared by Majka is made up of two main parts. The first one, more theoretical, concerns political religion, the notions that are related to it (civil religion), but also philosophical approaches (known for instance from the works by Eric Voegelin[52] or Juan Donoso Cortés[53]), which allow for considering this term in a decidedly broader context.[54] The second part is devoted to analysing the examples of political religions manifesting themselves in the 19th and 20th centuries, namely Italian fascism, Marxism, Romanian nationalism, Saint-Simonianism. Let us also turn attention to the convention of the discussed textbook.[55] Its two thematic blocs include source texts, preceded by an introduction to the problems they deal with and concluded with a commentary summarising the key aspects.
In the following semester, the participants in the classes conducted by Majka had at their disposal teaching materials entitled: “God and the nation. About the mutual relationships between the Church and nationalists.”[56] Already the title indicates that with respect to the issues that are dealt with therein they are not a continuation of the previously described textbook. It is worth noting that the reading of the textbook and the discussions conducted during classes were to allow students better orientation in the contemporary world which is becoming more and more multicultural.[57] The materials are made up of an introduction, two main parts and a biographical lexicon. The first thematic bloc outlined the attitude of nationalists to the Church (considered were the examples of the discussed ideology that negatively, indifferently and positively treated that faith), whereas the second one – the view of the Church on nationalism (revealed in light of the principles of the Church’s thinking about national community and the diversity of views on this ideology manifesting themselves therein). Students investigated the essence of these issues beginning with the shaping of the Church-nationalism relationship at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The materials contained also references to the present.
The teaching materials prepared by Cezary Smuniewski for the second semester were entitled: “The Church vs man, politics, war and power. Teaching materials.”[58] They are a continuation of the classes in the first semester (“The Bible vs man, politics, wars and power. Teaching materials”), which can be seen in the list of their titles. The classes prepared for the second semester are based on the analysis of the contemporary Catholic social teaching.[59] As regards knowledge, skills and competences which were to be acquired, they are similar to those in the first semester with one fundamental difference. Since the proposed source texts are contemporary texts of ecclesial provenance, the author assumed that thank to that they will contribute to development of student’s ability to describe contemporary issues affecting the life of society, culture and politics through reference to the teaching of the Catholic Church.[60] Smuniewski grouped the source texts in eight blocs: “The Church on integral and solidary humanism”; “The Church in the world”; “The Church vs man and contemporaneity”; “The Church on the love of the homeland”; “The power of the Church and the power of the state”; “The rudiments of social teaching”; “The Church vs contemporary armed conflicts”; “The Church vs ecology.”[61]
Conclusion
The teaching materials and academic documents presented in this article were aimed at preparing the participants in the training module implemented under the project: “Implementation of the educational programme »Politics – Religion – Security. Conflicts and attempts to resolve them« basing on international cooperation” to find their place on the labour market. In the Polish realities, this labour market is characterised by an ever greater cultural diversity of the people functioning therein. The project was aimed at offering future employees (present students) an opportunity to get a more in-depth understanding of own cultural identity, which in the course of history was shaped under the influence of such factors as religion and philosophy. The diversity of the methods to attain those objectives is evidences by the assortment of issues dealt with in each of the 12 sets of teaching materials. Students of individual academic subjects acquainted themselves with a broad gamut of problems, frequently rooted in distant historical contexts. References to Greek philosophers, the first Christians, the history of ancient Israel, medieval reflections on the nature of the world, modern sources of totalitarianisms or political religions were meant to constitute for them a starting point for pondering over those problems of the present that arise as a result of a junction of three notions: religion, politics and security.
Explanatory footnotes
[I]. The article has been written as part of the project “Bezpieczeństwo narodowe – religia – historia” (National security – religion – history) carried out at the Interdisciplinary Research Centres of the University of Warsaw “Tożsamość – Dialog – Bezpieczeństwo” (Identity – Dialogue – Security).
[II]. University of Warsaw – the largest university in Poland. It was founded in Warsaw in 1816.
[III]. Saint Nicolas Foundation (Pol. Fundacja Świętego Mikołaja) – a public benefit organisation set up in Poland in 2002. It is involved in publishing, educational, and scholarship activities.
[IV]. Centrum Badań Medì (It. Centro Studi Medì) – a non-governmental organisation based in Genoa, Italy, established in 2003, involved in broadly conceived issues of migration. It is involved in research, publishing, and educational activities.
[V]. Centre For European Projects (Pol. Centrum Projektów Europejskich) – a government budgetary unit established by Regulation No. 16 of the Minister for Regional Development of 15 December 2008. The main goal of the Centre is to improve the effectiveness of absorption of European funds. See: Zarządzenie Ministra Rozwoju i Finansów z dnia 10 listopada 2017 r. w sprawie ustalenia regulaminu organizacyjnego Centrum Projektów Europejskich, Dz. Urz. Min Roz. i Fin. z dnia 14 listopada 2017 r., poz. 224, [Ordinance of the Minister for Development and Finance of 10 November 2017 on establishing organisational rules of the Centre for European Projects, Official Journal of the Minister for Development and Finance, 14 November 2017, item 224].
[VI]. Cezary Smuniewski (University of Warsaw) – academic director of the project, senior expert preparing the program as well as the materials and a textbook, head of substantive work, lecturer; Karolina Kochańczyk-Bonińska (University of Warsaw) – senior expert preparing the program as well as the materials and a textbook, lecturer; Dariusz Karłowicz– senior expert preparing the program as well as the materials and a textbook, lecturer, representative of an NGO (Saint Nicolas Foundation); Tomasz Herbich, Konrad Majka, Adam Talarowski – assistants co-preparing the program as well as the materials and textbooks, lecturers; support scientific consultants; Krzysztof Koseła (University of Warsaw), Tomasz Żyro (University of Warsaw), Ewa Maria Marciniak (University of Warsaw), Maciej Marszałek (War Studies University), Ryszard Szpyra (War Studies University), Cyprian Kozera (War Studies University), Ilona Urych (War Studies University), Andrea Zanini (University of Genoa), Agostino Massa (University of Genoa), Andrea Tomaso Torre (Centro Studi Medì) – scientific consultants; Joanna Paciorek – representative of an NGO (Saint Nicolas Foundation).
[VII]. In Poland, the academic year has two semesters. VIII. 12 books published by the Saint Nicolas Foundation.
References
[1] Application for a grant, Operational programme Knowledge Education Development (implementation project), (POWR. 04.03. 00–00–0013/18), own archives of the Centre for European Projects in Warsaw. On the assumptions of the project, see: C. Smuniewski, K. Kochańczyk-Bonińska, K. Majka, Assumptions for the project “Implementation of the educational programme »Politics – Religion – Security. Conflicts and attempts to resolve them« basing on international cooperation”, “Polish Journal of Political Science”, 2020, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 119–148.
[2] Application for a grant, op. cit., pp. 7, 14–15.
[3] Ibidem, pp. 20 and 7.
[4] Ibidem, pp. 8–19.
[5] See: C. Smuniewski, Biblia a człowiek, polityka, wojny i władza. Materiały dydaktyczne, Teologia Polityczna 2020; C. Smuniewski, The Bible vs man, politics, war and power, Syllabus of a general university subject (OGUN – General University Courses), offered by the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies of the University of Warsaw, archived document.
[6] See: D. Karłowicz, Tragedia religii, tragedia polityki. Dyskusje tragików. Materiały dydaktyczne, Teologia Polityczna 2020; D. Karłowicz, Tragedia polityki. O związkach religii i polityki według starożytnych Greków. Cz. 2, Teologia Polityczna 2020; D. Karłowicz, The tragedy of politics. On the relationships between religion and politics, Syllabus of a general university subject (OGUN – General University Courses) for classes conducted in the first semester of the academic year, offered by the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies of the University of Warsaw, archived document; D. Karłowicz, The tragedy of politics. On the relationships between religion and politics, Syllabus of a general university subject (OGUN – General University Courses) for classes conducted in the second semester of the academic year, offered by the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies of the University of Warsaw, archived document.
[7] See: K. Kochańczyk-Bonińska, Kościół późnego antyku wobec państwa i władzy. Materiały dydaktyczne, Teologia Polityczna 2020; K. Kochańczyk Bonińska, The Church of the late Antiquity towards state and power, Syllabus of a general university subject (OGUN – General University Courses), offered by the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies of the University of Warsaw, archived document; K. Kochańczyk-Bonińska, Pierwsi chrześcijanie wobec państwa i władzy. Materiały dydaktyczne, Teologia Polityczna 2020; K. Kochańczyk-Bonińska, The Early Christians towards State and Power, Syllabus of a general university subject (OGUN – General University Courses), offered by the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies of the University of Warsaw, archived document.
[8] See: A. Talarowski, Średniowieczny projekt zjednoczenia Europy. Materiały dydaktyczne, Teologia Polityczna 2020; A. Talarowski, A medieval project for the unification of Europe, Syllabus of a general university subject (OGUN – General University Courses), offered by the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies of the University of Warsaw, archived document; A. Talarowski, Średniowieczny projekt zjednoczenia Europy cz. 2. Materiały dydaktyczne, Teologia Polityczna 2020; A. Talarowski, A medieval project for the unification of Europe: visions and practice, Syllabus of a general university subject (OGUN – General University Courses), offered by the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies of the University of Warsaw, archived document.
[9] See: T. Herbich, Nowoczesne źródła totalitaryzmów. Materiały dydaktyczne, Teologia Polityczna 2020; T. Herbich, The Modern Origins of Totalitarianism, Syllabus of a general university subject (OGUN – General University Courses), offered by the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies of the University of Warsaw, archived document; T. Herbich, Nowożytność a wiek ideologii. Materiały dydaktyczne, Teologia Polityczna 2020; T. Herbich, Modernity and the Age of Ideology, Syllabus of a general university subject (OGUN – General University Courses), offered by the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies of the University of Warsaw, archived document.
[10] See: K. Majka, Bóg a naród. O wzajemnych stosunkach Kościoła i nacjonalistów Materiały dydaktyczne, Teologia Polityczna 2020; K. Majka, God and the nation. About the mutual relationships between the Church and nationalists. Materiały dydaktyczne, Syllabus of a general university subject (OGUN – General University Courses), offered by the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies of the University of Warsaw, archived document; K. Majka, Religia jako polityka. O religijnym wymiarze ideologii politycznych. Materiały dydaktyczne, Teologia Polityczna 2020; K. Majka, Politics as religion. About the religious dimension of political ideology, Syllabus of a general university subject (OGUN – General University Courses), offered by the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies of the University of Warsaw, archived document.
[11] See: C. Smuniewski, Kościół a człowiek, polityka, wojny i władza. Materiały dydaktyczne, Teologia Polityczna 2020; C. Smuniewski, The Church vs man, politics, war and power, Syllabus of a general university subject (OGUN – General University Courses), offered by the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies of the University of Warsaw, archived document.
[12] See: C. Smuniewski, Biblia a człowiek…, op. cit., p. 7; C. Smuniewski, The Bible vs man, politics, war and power, Syllabus…, op. cit.
[13] See: C. Smuniewski, Biblia a człowiek…, op. cit., pp. 13–186.
[14] See: C. Smuniewski, Biblia a człowiek…, op. cit., pp. 8–9; C. Smuniewski, The Bible vs man, politics, war and power, Syllabus…, op. cit.
[15] D. Karłowicz, The tragedy of politics. On the relationships between religion and politics, Syllabus…, op. cit.
[16] D. Karłowicz, Tragedia religii…, op. cit., p. 12.
[17] Ibidem.
[18] The texts of Aeschylus, Aristophanes, Sophocles, Euripides.
[19] The texts of Herodotus and Thucydides.
[20] Arystoteles, Polityka, transl. L. Piotrowicz, Polskie Wydawnictwo Naukowe 2011, pp. 84–89. Karłowicz decided to sue those fragments of Aristotle’s Politics which are dedicated to political forms. The use of the Polish translation of Politics as well as Polish translations of other texts, including Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy, was dictated by the fact that they were used by the authors of the quoted teaching materials. Therefore, the intention is to reproduce the contents of those materials as faithfully as possible.
[21] D. Karłowicz, The tragedy of politics. On the relationships between religion and politics, Syllabus…, op. cit.
[22] D. Karłowicz, Tragedia religii…, op. cit., p. 64.
[23] Ibidem, p. 24.
[24] See: D. Karłowicz, Tragedia polityki…, op. cit.
[25] Inter alia, the texts of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Protagoras.
[26] References to Aristophanes’ The Clouds were used by Karłowicz as a starting point in the reflection on the problems of oath and the problem of region as a source of moral order. Arystofanes, Chmury, in: Arystofanes, Komedie, transl. J. Ławińska-Tyszkowska, Vol. 1, Pruszyński i S-ka 2001, pp. 171–255.
[27] D. Karłowicz, The tragedy of politics. On the relationships between religion and politics, Syllabus…, op. cit.
[28] D. Karłowicz, Tragedia polityki…, op. cit., p. 17.
[29] See: K. Kochańczyk-Bonińska, Pierwsi chrześcijanie…, op. cit.
[30] Ibidem, p. 13.
[31] The thematic content of the textbook is synthetically reflected by the problems enumerated in the syllabus. They are: the limits of the obedience of Christians to secular power; the discord between the norms of revealed and legislated laws. K. Kochańczyk-Bonińska, The Early Christians towards State and Power, Syllabus…, op. cit.
[32] See: Hermas, Pasterz, III, 6,5–7, in: Pierwsi świadkowie. Pisma Ojców Apostolskich, ed. M. Starowieyski, transl. A. Świderkówna, Wydawnictwo M 2010, pp. 220–221.
[33] See: Klemens Aleksandryjski, Który człowiek bogaty może być zbawiony?, transl. J. Czuj, Wydawnictwo M-Apostolicum 1995, pp. 12–15.
[34] K. Kochańczyk-Bonińska, Pierwsi chrześcijanie…, op. cit., p. 9.
[35] See: K. Kochańczyk-Bonińska, Kościół późnego antyku…, op. cit.
[36] Ibidem, p. 9.
[37] As noted in the syllabus to the subject conducted by Kochańczyk-Bonińska, the problems touched upon therein refer to such issues in the area of the relationship between religion and politics in the discussed historical context as: the limits of influence of secular and religious power; social involvement of the Church; the question about just war; the relationships between the development/fall of state structures and the development of religion. K. Kochańczyk-Bonińska, The Church of the late Antiquity towards state and power, Syllabus…, op. cit.
[38] K. Kochańczyk-Bonińska, Kościół późnego antyku…, op. cit., p. 9.
[39] A. Talarowski, Średniowieczny projekt zjednoczenia Europy, op. cit., p. 7.
[40] A. Talarowski, A medieval project for the unification of Europe, Syllabus…, op. cit.
[41] Talarowski invokes thinkers frequently voicing actually different views as regards a given phenomenon. In this context, worth mentioning are Augus tine of Hippo and Joachim of Fiore advocating various narrations in the area of the theology of history. See: Joachim z Fiore, Wprowadzenie do Apokalipsy, transl. P. Grad, “Kronos. Metafizyka – Kultura – Religia”, 2014, No. 2, pp. 42–55; Święty Augustyn, O państwie Bożym. Przeciw poganom ksiąg XXII, transl. W. Kornatowski, Vol. II, PAX 1977, pp. 162–163, 427–436.
[42] See: A. Talarowski, Średniowieczny projekt zjednoczenia Europy cz. 2, op. cit.
[43] A. Talarowski, A medieval project for the unification of Europe: visions and practice, Syllabus…, op. cit.
[44] See: T. Herbich, Nowożytność a wiek…, op. cit.
[45] It concerns: R. Descartes, Medytacje o pierwszej filozofii, in: R. Descartes, Medytacje o pierwszej filozofii. Zarzuty uczonych mężów i odpowiedzi autora. Rozmowa z Burmanem, transl. M. and K. Ajdukiewiczowie, S. Swieżawski, I. Dąmbska, Wydawnictwo Antyk 2001, pp. 48–52.
[46] It concerns: S. Brzozowski, Kant. W stulecie śmierci, in: S. Brzozowski, Kultura i życie. Zagadnienia sztuki i twórczości. W walce o światopogląd, Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy 1973, pp. 249–253.
[47] T. Herbich, Modernity and the Age of Ideology, Syllabus…, op. cit.
[48] See: T. Herbich, Nowoczesne źródła…, op. cit.
[49] T. Herbich, The Modern Origins of Totalitarianism, Syllabus…, op. cit.
[50] See: K. Majka, Religia jako polityka…, op. cit., p. 7.
[51] K. Majka, Politics as religion. About the religious dimension of political ideology, Syllabus…, op. cit.
[52] The author invoked a text by Voegelin. E. Voegelin, Namiastka religii, transl. J. Świątek, “Człowiek w Kulturze”, 2005, No. 17, pp. 271–290.
[53] Students learned his way of thinking about the relationships between religion and politics, which exerted an overwhelming impact on Carl Schmitt. J. Donoso Cortés, Esej o katolicyzmie, liberalizmie i socjalizmie rozważanych w ich fundamentalnych zasadach, in: J. Donoso Cortés, O katolicyzmie, liberalizmie, socjalizmie, transl. M. Wójtowicz-Wcisło, Ośrodek Myśli Politycznej 2017, pp. 5–15.
[54] K. Majka, Religia jako polityka…, op. cit., p. 7.
[55] Ibidem, p. 8.
[56] See: K. Majka, Bóg a naród…, op. cit.
[57] K. Majka, God and the nation. About the mutual relationships between the Church and nationalists. Materiały dydaktyczne, Syllabus…, op. cit.
[58] See: C. Smuniewski, Kościół a człowiek…, op. cit.; C. Smuniewski, The Church vs man, politics, war and power, Syllabus…, op. cit.
[59] During classes students read not only papal encyclicals. They had an opportunity to acquaint themselves with letter of the Polish Episcopate. e.g. the one on patriotism of 1972. List Episkopatu Polski o chrześcijańskim patriotyzmie, (Poznań, 05. 09. 1972), in: Listy Pasterskie Episkopatu Polski 1945–1974, Éditions du Dialogue 1975, pp. 706–709.
[60] C. Smuniewski, The Church vs man, politics, war and power, Syllabus…, op. cit.
[61] See: C. Smuniewski, Kościół a człowiek…, op. cit., pp. 15–221.