Prof. Kaja Gadowska from the Jagiellonian University Institute of Sociology will hold the position of the Vice-President of the European Sociological Association (ESA) during the next two years. Prof. Ligia Ferro from the University of Porto was elected President of the organisation.
The idea of creating the European Sociological Association (ESA) dates back to 1987. After being legally established in 1994, the ESA was formally introduced to sociologists from all over Europe in 1995, during its second conference in Budapest. Since 2001, the ESA has been a non-profit making association registered under the French law. It currently has 2,800 members. The association focuses on research and teaching, also providing a platform for the exchange of experience between sociologists and academics from other academic fields.
The Executive Committee for 2021-2023 consists of: Prof. Kaja Gadowska (Poland), Dr Pertti Alasuutari (Finland); Loukia-Maria Fratsea (Greece); Prof. Nilay Çabuk Kaya (Turkey); Prof. Michalis Lianos (France); Prof. Marilena Macaluso, Dr Tiziana Nazio, Prof. Luigi Pellizzoni and Prof. Maria Carmela Agodi (Italy); Prof. Magiel O’Neill and Dr Bernadette Brereton (Ireland); Prof. Lígia Ferro and Dr Ana Santos (Portugal); Prof. Teresa Martí and Dr Ana Vidu (Spain), and Dr Krešimir Žažar (Croatia).
Prof. Kaja Gadowska is the Head of the JU Institute of Sociology. Her scholarly interests are mainly focused on issues related to dysfunctions of the public sphere, including the impact of clientelism and corruption on the process of political and economic transformation in Poland after 1989 and the relations between the political and administrative sphere. A significant part of her research has been devoted to the restructuring of coal-mining industry in Poland. She has headed or co-headed a number of research projects, some of which have been funded by the National Science Centre, the National Centre for Research and Development and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
Prof. Gadowska has authored or co-authored numerous papers on various aspects of social, political and economic transformations in Poland and abroad. She won many prestigious awards for her research achievements. In 2004-2008 Prof. Gadowska was part of the editorial board of Studia Socjogiczne journal and currently is an external reviewer of Studia Socjogiczne, Polish Sociological Review, ASK: Research & Methods, and other research journals. Prof. Gadowska is also member of the Research Network on Law and Society in Central and Eastern Europe, Balkans, Russia and Eurasia. She has been a visiting professor at a number of higher education institutions, including Tel Aviv University, the University of Heidelberg, Charles University in Prague, Tamkang University in New Taipei, the International University of Rabat, the University of Jordan, The Saint Petersburg State University, and IKIU Qazvin.
