Janusz Dunin: badacz osobny. Uwagi o cechach metody naukowej i bibliologii otwartej uczonego

Abstrakt

JANUSZ DUNIN: A UNIQUE SCHOLAR.SOME REMARKS ON DUNIN’S SCIENTIFIC METHOD AND OPEN BIBLIOLOGY

Professor Janusz Dunin-Horkawicz b. 26 June 1931 in Vilna, d. 27 July 2007 in Łódź was a humanist, university lecturer and social activist. His scholarly interests encompassed the theory and practice of social communication by means of the written word and iconic images; the history of literary, children’s and popular books; librarianship and bibliophilism. In his reflection on the world of printed matter, Dunin used several parallel discourses: bibliological, bibliophilic and media studiesdiscourse. In order to describe Dunin’s achievements, we would have to abandon the entire encyclopaedia- and dictionary-based conceptual framework we use to describe scholars. Descriptions like eminent literature scholar, popular culture scholar, media studies expert, bibliologist, bibliophile are applicable to some extent, but they do not describe all of Professor Dunin’s competencies, limiting the discussion about his role in the humanities today. As a scholar Dunin followed his own path in pursuit of learning; he had a unique gift for observing the world of books and literature, and his vast knowledge enabled him to move effortlessly across various research fields. Consequently, his conclusions were cross-disciplinary and were expressed in a light style combining scientific approach with popular appeal. According to the author of this article, Professor Dunin’s legacy deserves to be analysed in detail by contemporary scholars.