Dear Sir, dear Madam
In 2006 the Foundation for Polish Science started implementing the FOCUS programme, designed to support young researchers with outstanding scientific achievements. The Foundation's support should enable these scientists to launch new, original and relevant research undertakings as well as ensure additional assistance for early stages of team building. The programme is addressed to scholars whose hitherto achievements warrant autonomy of research and appropriate use of financial means. The first call within the framework of this programme embraced mathematical modelling of biological processes, and in 2007 - astrophysics and space research. In 2008, the programme aims at interdisciplinary research in the domain of biology of cancer.
In 2009 for the first time the FOCUS programme is addressed to representatives of humanities and social sciences, its subject being Categorisation of the World through Language .
In this programme, the notion of language is understood very widely - as a verbal system, as text and expression, as a natural but also artificial (symbolic) entity, a meta-construction over the natural language, as a means of oral and written expression, etc. In our view, such a definition of the subject embraces all issues related to mechanisms of creation of the "linguistic image of the world"; starting with the linguistic development of children, through issues related to mental processes connected with verbalisation of experience, acquisition of foreign languages, language of artists' oeuvre in literature and arts, philosophical texts and sources, through all forms of public language, to putting information into words or linguistic manipulation in media.
Categorisation of the world through language can be studied using Egyptian papyruses, medieval documents setting up municipal rights, political manifests and children's speech learning process. It is present in the symbols of works of art and in contemporary public discourse; in idiolects of science - philosophy, sociology, history of art or media (verbal-iconic advertising).
The scope of the programme is interdisciplinary, for it concerns all creations and activities undertaken in the area of human language which constitute objects of research for various disciplines within the humanities. Therefore a subject defined along these lines presents an opportunity for new, interdisciplinary research within the humanities.
In the humanities, "categorisation of the World through Language" is being developed most intensively within cognitive theory of language, as well as in broadly understood psychology, linguistics (i.e. ethno-linguistics and psycho-linguistics) and theory of literature. Still, besides these disciplines, issues related to "categorisation of the World through Language" are also a methodological offer for representatives of other domains of the humanities and social sciences who study human creation registered in language, such as historians, sociologists, philosophers, art historians or researchers dealing with media and political science..
This subject enforces stepping beyond the limits of a single discipline. It should inspire launching of interdisciplinary teams composed of specialists who envisage to put the theme of "Categorisation of the World through Language" into the frameworks of their own domain or cross borderlines between domains.
The subject of the FOCUS programme for 2009 is an offer hitherto nonexistent in Poland, addressed to interdisciplinary teams in the humanities and social sciences. It is a unique opportunity for representatives of these domains to undertake team research on various aspects of language and language use.
The Foundation refrains from determining disciplines, methods and sources with reference to which "Categorisation of the World through Language" can be studied. The design of particular projects should be left to the applicants to our programme. We would like to awake the interest of representatives of the entire scope of fields within the humanities and social sciences who deal with the problem of "Categorisation of the World through Language" and who want to take on the challenge of a theme which is primarily linguistic, but which also concerns various phenomena studied in the humanities and social sciences.
I strongly encourage you to take a closer look at and get involved in the FOCUS programme. At the same time, I would highly appreciate if you could spread the information about its subject and principles in 2009 among members of your scientific community.
We are soliciting short oral presentations we strongly encourage you to consider submitting.
The Workshop will be hosted by the Foundation for Polish Science, in cooperation with the German Research Foundation (DFG).
There are no workshop fees for invited participants. Invited participants will be selected from received applications including their contributions.
Organizers covers all the costs concerning lodging according to the workshop programmme and access from Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport or Warsaw Central Rail Station to Serock (workshop venue) on 25 February and return to the Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport or the Warsaw Central Rail Station on 28 February 2008.
Yours sincerely
Deputy President