Natalia Krzyzanowska

About Natalia Krzyzanowska

Bio

Dr. Natalia Krzyżanowska is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Department of Sociology, School of Humanities, Education & Social Science (HumUS), Örebro University, Sweden.

She also remains affiliated to the Chair of Sociology and Philosophy of the Poznań University of Economics where she until recently headed a “Gender in Contemporary Society” research group.

Natalia studied sociology, philosophy, gender and cultural studies and history of arts. She received her MA in Philosophy from Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, 2001, and a PhD in Sociology from Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, 2009.

Research Interests

Natalia’s research focuses on sociological and social-theoretical analysis of the changing relations between contemporary public and private spaces which she explores in the wider context of social, political and economic transformation and change. 

Her research interests span several areas and include:

• sociology of gender and parenthood (motherhood)
• commodification and mediatisation of motherhood and of intimate relations
• constructions of gender in traditional/new media and the public sphere
• visual politics of commemoration in urban spaces 
• feminist aesthetics in/and public space
• leisure/mobility and social constructions of disability

Research Projects

Natalia was previously involved in several collaborative research initiatives including a cross-national research project on “Media Coverage and Gender Representations in the 2004 European Parliament Elections” funded by Coventry University, UK and coordinated by Prof. K. Ross.

She also undertook a number of individual research projects in 'Economic and Social Aspects of Women Participation in the Public Sphere in Poland and Selected EU Countries' co-funded by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

She currently works on a Post-Doctoral project funded by Örebro University that looks at “The Commodification of Motherhood” and examines consumerism-based constructions of motherhood in traditional and new media discourses in Sweden, France, Poland and the UK.

Natalia also leads a project on “The Social Constructions of Motherhood in Polish Public Sphere after 1989” funded by the Polish National Centre for Science (NCN). The project analyses discourses about motherhood in print and new/social media.

Natalia is also a member of Polish nationwide consortium on Discourse Studies funded by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education within its National Programme for the Advancement in the Humanities (NPRH).

Publications

Natalia has published widely on the results of her research, including in a number of peer-reviewed journal articles (see Publications section below).

In 2012, she published an acclaimed monograph ‘Kobiety w (polskiej) sferze publicznej [Women in the (Polish) Public Sphere]’ that presents a multilevel analysis of challenges to the dynamics of gender equality in Polish post-1989 society. The book received a Prize of the Culture & Education Journal for the Best Polish Publication on Society, Culture and Education in 2013.

Guest Lectures & Conferences 

Natalia regularly acts as a guest lecturer and invited speaker at international conferences across Europe. 

In 2015-16, she has been guest lecturing at the University College London, Lancaster University and University of Wolverhampton (UK) as well as took part, including as a plenary speaker or workshop organiser, in international conferences on sociology of gender, motherhood, discourse and feminist social research in Austria, Ireland and Poland.

Since 2004, she has organised several national and international conferences and academic events within the topics of her research interests. 

In 2016, she acts as the main organiser of an International Symposium "Gender in/and the Public Sphere: Mediated Discourses, Imaginaries and Political Practices" (more details available soon). The Symposium is organised in collaboration between Örebro University & HumUS Departments of Sociology and of Media & Communication Studies.

Teaching Experience

Natalia’s extensive teaching experience spans over a decade of lectures and seminars in several areas of communication, discourse, social and gender research. 

She has taught extensively in English both within the advanced topics of her research interests or within survey courses (e.g. on Modern Sociology) offered to international programmes in economics and business administration.

At Örebro University since 2014, Natalia has taught on the 'Globalisation' course in the Sociology Department as well as held regular lectures on 'Gender & Media' and 'Media Theory' at both undergraduate and postgraduate level of programmes in Media & Communication.