Zdzisław Wąsik (born 3 May 1947) is ławWąa Polish linguist and semiotician, Rector Senior and Professor Ordinarius at the Philological School of Higher Education in Wrocław and Professor Senior at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.
Educational career
He received his master's title in German (1971) and doctoral degree (1976) in comparative Indo-European linguistics from the University of Wrocław. Subsequently, he habilitated in general linguistics at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań in 1986 and gained his scientific title of Professor of Humanistic Sciences from the President of the Republic of Poland in 1997.
Professional experience
Between 1972 and 1999, he used to work, from Teaching Assistant to Professor, at the University of Wrocław: Department of General Linguistics (1972–1976, and 1981–1999) Interfaculty Studies of Culture (1976–1980) Institute of Culturology (1980–1981)
At the same time, from 1982 to 1984, he was a grantee of the Fulbright Fellowship for Senior Scholars: in the Department of Linguistics at the State University of New York in Buffalo (5 months), and the Research Center for Language and Semiotic Studies at the Indiana University in Bloomington (12 months).
Furthermore, he received stipends under the Oxford Hospitality Scheme (1987): in the Trinity College (6 weeks), and as International Research Exchange Scholar (1991): in the Brown University English Language Program, Providence, Rhode Island (1 month); Department of Linguistics and Semiotics Rice University, Houston, Texas (2 months), Department of Linguistics at the University of Southern California and the Department of Linguistics at the University of California, Los Angeles (2 months).
In 1999, he moved to the first position at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, and in 2009 at the Philological School of Higher Education in Wrocław.
Academic positions
In his first position, he served for 14 years (1984–1999) as Head of the Department of General Linguistics at the University of Wrocław and, between 2002 and 2010, as Head of the Department of Semiotics in the School of English at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.
In the second position additionally, he directed the Department of English Linguistics in the Institute of English Philology of the Pedagogical School of Higher Education in Opole (currently Opole University) (1991–1992), Department of Linguistics of the State Vocational School of Higher Education in Wałbrzych (2000–2004), Department of English of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (2001–2006).
At the beginning of the academic year 2002/2003, he was as appointed the first Rector in the Philological School of Higher Education in Wrocław, serving in this position until 2013. Some years later, in 2009, he created there for himself the Department of Linguistic Semiotics and Communicology as an independent research entity.
Editorial activity
He was Editor of Studia Linguistica. Acta Universitatis Wratislaviensis (1984–1999), as well as President and Member of the Editorial Board of the Treaties of Language Commission (Rozprawy Komisji Językowej) in the Wrocław Scientific Society (1997–1999).
At present, he conducts three editorial series, two national – Philologica Wratislaviensia: Acta et Studia, since 2007, Philologica Wratislaviensia: Studia Iberica et Latinoamericana, since 2012, (Philological of Higher Education in Wrocław Publishing), and one international – Philologica Wratislaviensia: From Grammar to Discourse, since 2008, (Peter Lang Verlag).
Scientific accomplishments
He is the author of 7 books, above 40 collective editorials and above 100 articles, entering the scope of general and comparative Indo-European linguistics, history and methodology of science, semiotics and theory of communication, as well as phenomenology and epistemology.