The present-day Department of British Culture was established in 1975 – as Department of Cultures of the English-Speaking Countries – reflecting a “cultural turn” in the paradigm of English Studies practised in Poland, incorporating as it did a broader cultural perspective. After a new teaching system was introduced in the 1990s, the Department began to offer students a wide range of elective courses and seminars on a variety of subjects that reflected the research interests of its faculty members.

Geographically, the Department of British Culture embraces the history and culture of the British Isles (including the Republic of Ireland) as well as countries in the Commonwealth of Nations. Research areas – which chronologically cover times from early modernity to the present – have been broadly defined by the social, political, religious, and intellectual history of Britain; and by its material culture, with a special emphasis placed on art and fashion.

Whereas the Department’s members work within the broad research areas of cultural studies, cultural history, and historical studies, we are also strongly engaged with the history of art, early modern studies, Victorian and Neo-Victorian studies; as well as postcolonial studies (particularly relevant in the context of Britain’s imperial past and its present Commonwealth connections). Several important fields have been recently added to this list, such as digital media, transmedial adaptations; and cultural relationships between the sciences and humanities. All the above-mentioned academic specialities represented in the Department are directly linked to the courses, seminars, and lectures which we offer.