Polish Ethnological Society

The Polish Ethnological Society (Polskie Towarzystwo Ludoznawcze, PTL) is a Polish scientific association dedicated to ethnology, cultural anthropology, and related disciplines. It was founded on 9 February 1895 in Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine) as the Ethnological Society (Towarzystwo Ludoznawcze). Among its co-founders were Antoni Kalina, Franciszek Rawita-Gawroński, and Stefan Ramułt. Initially it had 64 members, and Antoni Kalina served as its first president for ten years. The first statute defined its mission as the scholarly study of the Polish people and their neighbours and the dissemination of knowledge about them. After World War II, the Society resumed activity at its 21st General Assembly in Lublin in November 1945, where new authorities were elected under Kazimierz Moszyński and the name was changed to Polskie Towarzystwo Ludoznawcze. Its headquarters were initially in Lublin, then Poznań (1952–1953), and from 1954 in Wrocław. From 1953 to 2024 the main board was housed at the University of Wrocław; since 2025 it has been located in the Wrocław Technology Park (GAMMA building). The Society's statutory goals, as defined in the statute adopted at the 2021 General Assembly in Przysucha, include creating conditions for research on the cultures of various ethnic and social groups, disseminating research results, protecting cultural heritage, and supporting local community development. It also promotes understanding and respect for cultural diversity and integrates ethnographers, ethnologists, social and cultural anthropologists, folklorists, ethnomusicologists, and representatives of related disciplines. PTL is the publisher of Lud, the oldest Polish journal in ethnology, published since 1895. It also publishes book series and other scholarly works. The Society has regional branches across Poland, including in Bytom (Silesian branch), Ciechanów (North Mazovian branch), Cieszyn, Gdańsk, Kraków, Lublin, Łódź, Mszana Dolna, Opole, Poznań, Rzeszów, Toruń, Warsaw, and Wrocław. Thematic sections, such as the Folk Costume Section (established 18 May 2012) and the Methodological Section (established 11 February 2014), organize conferences, seminars, and research projects. The Society's main authorities are the General Assembly of Delegates, the Main Board, the Main Audit Commission, and the Collegiate Court. It maintains a library, an archive, and the Ethnographic Documentation and Information Centre. It also runs the ETNOznawcy platform and the Pracownia Edukacji Otwierającej project. The Society is a member-based organization with a membership platform and accepts donations. Its website provides news, publications, and information on its statutory activities.

The Polish Ethnological Society was founded on 9 February 1895 in Lwów (then in Austria-Hungary, now Lviv, Ukraine) under the name Towarzystwo Ludoznawcze (Ethnological Society). Among its co-founders were Antoni Kalina, Franciszek Rawita-Gawroński, and Stefan Ramułt. The Society initially had 64 members, and Antoni Kalina served as its first president for ten years. Its first statute defined its tasks as "the skilled study of the Polish people and neighbouring peoples and the dissemination of information gathered about them." Members collected various materials, including descriptions, illustrations, musical and vocal records, prepared and distributed questionnaires to aid information gathering, and collected objects for a future ethnographic museum. After World War II, the Society resumed activity during its 21st General Assembly, held in Lublin in November 1945. New authorities were elected under the leadership of Kazimierz Moszyński, and the name was changed to Polskie Towarzystwo Ludoznawcze (Polish Ethnological Society). The headquarters were initially in Lublin; in 1952–1953 they were in Poznań, and from 1954 in Wrocław. The first post-war statute was created in 1947, amended in 1952 and 1958, and finally redrafted in 1969. According to the statute, the Society's aim was to deepen and spread ethnographic knowledge. The Society is the publisher of Lud, the oldest journal in ethnology, published since 1895. Based on resolutions of the Main Board, regional branches and thematic sections could be established. The authorities of a branch are the General Assembly, the Board, and the Audit Commission. The current statute, adopted at the General Assembly in Przysucha in 2021, defines the Society's goals as creating conditions conducive to scientific research on the cultures of various ethnic and social groups, undertaking activities to disseminate research results, protecting cultural heritage, and supporting the development of local communities. The Society's activities also serve to shape attitudes of understanding and respect for cultural differences and to integrate the community of ethnographers, ethnologists, social and cultural anthropologists, folklorists, ethnomusicologists, and representatives of related disciplines. The supreme authorities of the Society are the General Assembly of Delegates, the Main Board, the Main Audit Commission, and the Collegiate Court. The Society has branches in Bytom (Silesian), Ciechanów (North Mazovian), Cieszyn, Gdańsk, Kraków, Lublin, Łódź, Mszana Dolna, Opole, Poznań, Rzeszów, Toruń, Warsaw, and Wrocław. Thematic sections are appointed by resolutions of the Main Board; their authorities are elected for four years and consist of a chairperson and at least two members (deputy chairperson and secretary). Sections meet during the annual General Assemblies of Delegates, organize discussion panels, conferences, and seminars, prepare and publish scholarly works, and carry out research projects. The Folk Costume Section was established on 18 May 2012. It facilitates the exchange of views and experiences in research on folk costumes, ornamentation, reconstruction, and inspirations, and popularizes the topic in academic and non-academic circles. It organizes conferences, seminars, and study visits to museums with folk costume collections. Members support projects related to folk costumes in museums and cultural institutions, compile a bibliography of folk costume in Poland, run a website with illustrative materials from Oskar Kolberg's collected works and the Atlas of Polish Folk Costumes, and content from field research of the Polish Ethnographic Atlas, and provide substantive supervision of the strojeludowe.net website. On the occasion of its tenth anniversary, together with the Wilamowianie Association, it organized a conference "Costume in Memory – Memory of Costume. Research on Clothing from the Perspective of Memory Studies" (30 June–2 July 2022 in Wilamowice). Researchers from Poland and the Czech Republic participated. As part of the National Programme for the Development of Humanities in 2020–2022, the section initiated the development of a terminological dictionary of folk costumes. The Methodological Section was constituted on 11 February 2014. Its aim is to create a forum for the exchange of experiences in the methodology and theory of anthropology, to disseminate knowledge in academic and non-academic circles, to emphasize the role of methodology in theoretical reflection and field research, to develop research methods and tools, and to learn about and describe new or insufficiently studied socio-cultural phenomena. The section has organized thematic sessions, including: "Anthropological contexts of cultural criticism" within the PTL scientific conference "What reflection on culture is needed in Europe today? Challenges, dilemmas, perspectives", Wrocław, 22–23 September 2016; "Mapping postmodernism in Polish socio-cultural anthropology" within the PTL scientific conference organized on the 200th anniversary of Florian Ceynowa's birth under the theme "Regions and regionalisms in the perspective of cultural anthropology. Between passion and method", Gniewino, 22–23 June 2017; "Anthropologies of the 'current'. Methods, phenomena, perspectives, axiologies" within the PTL scientific conference "Ethnographies of contemporaneity: areas, methods, perspectives", Łódź, 20–21 September 2018; "Transrelational ethnography. Cognition and praxis in a more-than-human world" – online conference, Wrocław, 19–20 October 2020; "Kraków ethnographic conference. Methodologies, practices, theories" – scientific conference on the 95th anniversary of the founding... From 1953 to 2024 the headquarters of the Main Board was located at the University of Wrocław. Since 2025 it has been located in the Wrocław Technology Park (GAMMA building).

• 2025

  Headquarters moved to Wrocław Technology Park (GAMMA building).

• 2021

  Statute adopted at the General Assembly in Przysucha.

• 2014

  Methodological Section constituted on 11 February.

• 2012

  Folk Costume Section established on 18 May.

• 1969

  Statute finally redrafted.

• 1954

  Headquarters moved to Wrocław.

• 1952

  Headquarters moved to Poznań.

• 1947

  First post-war statute created.

• 1945

  Resumed activity at the 21st General Assembly in Lublin; renamed Polskie Towarzystwo Ludoznawcze.

• 1895

  Founded on 9 February in Lwów as Towarzystwo Ludoznawcze.

• 1895

  Started publishing the journal Lud.

A learned society and scholarly publisher advancing ethnology and cultural anthropology in Poland.

• Lud journal

  The oldest Polish journal in ethnology, published since 1895.

• Bibliografia Etnografii Polskiej

  Bibliography of Polish ethnography.

• Słownik Etnografów

  Dictionary of ethnographers.

• Słownik terminologiczny strojów ludowych

  Terminological dictionary of folk costumes, initiated by the Folk Costume Section in 2020–2022.

1. 1Aktualnościptl.info.pl
2. 2Polish Ethnological Society - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Polskie Towarzystwo Ludoznawcze - Wikipediapl.wikipedia.org