Maria Mendel

Professor, doctor habilitatus, heads the Department of Special Pedagogy at the Institute of Pedagogy, Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Gdansk. Interested in the pedagogy of place, accenting primarily spatial dimensions of democratic social relations as well as individual and social auto-creation. For years she has been carrying out research, often interdisciplinary, and involving collaborators from academic, cultural and artistic circles. Lately she has been focused on the concept of city, and in cooperation with the local government of Gdansk, she carried out the following projects: “Tożsamość gdańszczan. Budowanie na (nie)pamięci” (2009-2010), “Wspólny Pokój Gdańsk” (2014-2015; award of Gdańskie Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Sztuki: “Project of the Year”, 2015), “Miasto pedagogiczne” (2016), “Gdańsk według dzieci. Dziecięce geografie na rzecz spójności społecznej miasta” (2015-2018). Numerous publications include Edukacja społeczna [Social education] (2001), Społeczeństwo i rytuał [Society and ritual] (2007), Pedagogika miejsca wspólnego. Miasto i szkoła [Pedagogy of the shared place. City and school] (2017). For her social and educational activities, she received the Helena Radlińska Award “Animator of the everyday solidarity” (2018).