‘You have three months to finish the book. I’ve found you a publisher.’ This is how, thanks to prof. Maria Mendel, the publishing journey of ‘Anima’, the literary debut of an exceptional scientist, was to begin. The promotion of a novel, the opening of an exhibition of paintings and drawings, recognition of academic achievements, and above all, recognition of a wonderful person and friend - this is how one can describe the meeting on December 11 at the UG Museum with prof. dr hab. Tomasz Szkudlarek.

Joyful anticipation, bustle, many kind words and smiles - the atmosphere at the University of Gdańsk Museum was almost festive even before the official start of the ceremony. The meeting with prof. Tomasz Szkudlarek (which combined his 70th jubilee with the opening of an exhibition and the promotion of a book) was attended by a large number of people: family, colleagues, friends, students and doctoral students from the University of Gdańsk and the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk - two universities with which the jubilarian has been associated for many years. There were also representatives of the authorities of both universities and faculties.

‘We do not under any circumstances want to leave you in the museum! We want you to continue creating in the spirit in which you are, youthful but permeated by a thoroughly philosophical perspective,' stressed the Rector of the University of Gdańsk, prof. dr hab. Piotr Stepnowski.

The official part of the ceremony was chaired by Sylwia Dudkowska-Kafar, who, after welcoming the guests, gave the floor to the hosts of the event: Rector of the University of Gdańsk, prof. Piotr Stepnowski, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Gdańsk, prof. Michal Harciarek, and Director of the University of Gdańsk Museum, Marta Szaszkiewicz. They were all asked to read some excerpts from prof. Szkudlarek's novel. The hosts added a few words of their own, and there was a thread of time running through their statements - as a reference to one of the important aspects of the book. ‘I've read a few pages and we have some talking to do, Tomasz. Physics speaks differently about time,' joked prof. Piotr Stepnowski.

Although prof. Tomasz Szkudlarek is a person of great merit in the scientific and didactic fields, at the meeting on 11 December he appeared first and foremost as an artist. The assembled guests had the opportunity to become acquainted with his paintings and drawings: from paintings sketched on a grand scale to drawings created ‘in the margins’ during Faculty Council meetings, painstakingly collected by prof. Maria Mendel.

‘Anima’ - prof. Tomasz Szkudlarek's debut novel - began to be written in the 1990s. It has been described by readers as a postmodernist novel, which the author himself agrees with, as he has stated that he feels comfortable with the aesthetics of postmodernism. At the encouragement of prof. Maria Mendel, the Arche publishing house decided to publish the book. As the director of the publishing house, Marek Tokarczyk, emphasised, this was not a standard decision: Arche specialises in scientific (professional, academic) literature and very rarely makes exceptions for fiction. In the case of ‘Anima’, the uniqueness of the author and his work (although the author himself modestly called his novel ‘a romance with a criminal plot and elements of spookiness’) was the deciding factor.

The curator of the exhibition, dr Anita Wasik from the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, talked about the painting and drawing works of prof. Tomasz Szkudler. ‘Tomasz's illustration work is probably older than his academic and scientific career,’ she noted. ‘What you are going to see today (if I had to compare it with something) is a bit of Steinberg's wit, a bit of Mrożek's wit, a bit of Kafka's drawing oddities - but it is actually a very unique, ephemeral lapidary of Tomasz Szkudlarek.’

The ceremony also provided an opportunity to present gifts. To acknowledge ‘Tom’ and his scholarly output (including his contribution to the development of critical pedagogy), two unique publications were produced: Thinking about pedagogy in the context of the crisis of narration: a jubilee book dedicated to Professor Tomasz Szkudlarek, a great humanist, for the LXX jubilee (under the scientific editorship of Piotr Bauć and Jan Papież) and a special issue of the journal ‘Ars Educandi’ , published at the UG Institute of Pedagogy and edited by dr hab. Małgorzata Cackowska, prof. UG. The title of the volume ‘Indebted: philosophy of upbringing and educational cultural studies at the University of Gdańsk’. - has a special meaning. ‘We wanted to give back to Tom what we got, ‘ commented prof. Małgorzata Cackowska. The editor of the volume, dr hab. Piotr Stańczyk, prof. UG, added: ‘This is a document that shows where we have come because of Tomek. Tomek, you are entirely responsible for where we have gone.’

Prof. Szkudlarek's contributions to science - especially to pedagogy, including critical pedagogy or the threshold concept of absent discourses - resounded in the laudation delivered by prof. dr hab. Lech Witkowski: ‘We have joined the scientific transformation of the state (...). Pedagogy has ceased to be a poor relative of many boastful disciplines.’

The jubilarian also received numerous congratulatory letters and a unique painting with a drawing of a tree, whose branches symbolised all the professor's doctoral students.

A special place in the speech of the hero of the ceremony himself (just before he was invited to the exhibition) was taken by his wife, prof. Maria Mendel:

‘Maja came up with a way to move a guy from the university to the museum and to do it in such a way that he would enjoy it,’ stated the jubilarian. ‘I am very happy to see you all. A huge thank you to all the people who are very close to me: from the private circle, from the university, from the art world, from the Academy of Fine Arts... I love you!’

The exhibition of prof. Tomasz Szkudlarek's works will be on display until 10 February 2025. We strongly encourage you to do so!