How do movement and embodied experiences help us understand the world? How do social perceptions of appearance influence the ways in which bodies are treated? These questions will connect three events featuring researchers, a film director and a curator.
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. | “Embodied Knowledge in Qualitative Research” Workshop
The Biedermann's Palace, Franciszkańska 1/5
The workshop will be led by Dr Ruxandra Ana (University of Lodz), Stavroula Pipyrou (University of St Andrews) and Dr Dominika Byczkowska-Owczarek (University of Lodz).
The workshop will focus on embodied knowledge, that is, understanding through the body, movement and experience. Participants will explore its significance in dance, performance and ethnographic fieldwork. They will also learn about methods of researching such experiences and describing them in academic writing.
The workshop is open to students at all levels of study. Applications are accepted via the registration form.
3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. | Panel Discussion: “Body Work: Practices, Imaginaries, Affective Dimensions”
The Biedermann's Palace, Franciszkańska 1/5
The discussion will focus on the aesthetic and ethical aspects of body work, as well as the social, cultural and political mechanisms through which certain bodies are accepted or excluded. The starting point for the discussion will be the thematic section “Body Work” published in issue 65 of "Łódzkie Studia Etnograficzne” [Łódź Ethnographic Studies], guest edited by Ruxandra Ana (University of Lodz) and Anna Wieczorkiewicz (University of Warsaw).
The panel will feature:
- Prof. Tanja Bukovčan (University of Zagreb);
- Dr Goran Koletić (University of Zagreb);
- dr hab. Monika Ładoń, Professor at the University of Silesia (University of Silesia in Katowice);
- Dr Isabel Pires (University of Lisbon; PhD obtained in 2025);
- Dr Agnieszka Maj (Warsaw University of Life Sciences).
The discussion will be moderated by Anna Wieczorkiewicz (University of Warsaw) and Ruxandra Ana (University of Lodz).
Topics will include ageing, bodily changes, intimacy and sexuality in Croatia, consumer choices among the Chinese diaspora in Portugal, obesity and trauma, the normalisation of pain among ballet dancers, and body care practices during transitional periods in women’s lives.
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. | “A Frown Gone Mad” Film Screening and Discussion
Niebostan Club, Piotrkowska 17
Omar Mismar’s film takes viewers into a Lebanese beauty salon where Bouba performs Botox and filler treatments. Clients undergoing the procedures speak about their concerns while their facial expressions gradually become motionless. Meanwhile, war is approaching.
Following the screening, there will be a discussion with director Omar Mismar, curator Giuliana Prucca (AVARIE Books) and Ruxandra Ana (University of Lodz).
The screening is open to all interested participants.
