About
Paweł Wiktor Ryś is a literary scholar and anthropologist of literature affiliated with the Faculty of Artes Liberales at the University of Warsaw. His academic work focuses on Polish literature from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly the works of Henryk Sienkiewicz, and explores themes such as class and racialization in social divisions, proto-racism in Polish nobility, and the plebeian turn in contemporary Polish culture.
- Education: PhD in Humanities from Jagiellonian University (2023), MA (2013) and BA (2011) in Polish Philology.
His research investigates the historical anthropology of literature, analyzing how biological determinism and social hierarchies are embedded in literary texts. He has contributed to discussions on scientific editing of 19th-century texts and critiques the misuse of racialized language in Polish cultural discourse.
Key trends in his 15 most recent articles include critiques of class racism, comparisons between French 19th-century theorists (Gobineau, Le Bon, Vacher de Lapouge) and Polish anthropologists (Olechnowicz, Talko-Hryncewicz, Rutkowski), and examinations of Sarmatian myths versus proto-racist nobility narratives. His work often intersects with critical race theory, 19th-century literature, and social exclusion.
He has engaged in public discourse through podcasts and conference presentations, addressing topics such as sarmatian racism and class-based discrimination in Polish history and media.
