Joanna Bator (born 2 February 1968) is a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin scree ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and academic. She specializes in cultural anthropology and

gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field n ...

. She is the recipient of the 2013

Nike Award The Nike Literary Award ( pl, Nagroda Literacka „Nike") is a literary prize awarded each year for the best book of a single living author writing in Polish and published the previous year. It is widely considered the most important award for ...

Life and career

She was born to Jewish parents in the town of

Wałbrzych Wałbrzych (; german: Waldenburg; szl, Wałbrzich; sli, label= Lower Silesian, Walmbrig or ''Walmbrich''; cs, Valbřich or ) is a city located in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in southwestern Poland. From 1975–1998 it was the capital of W ...

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( pl, Dolny Śląsk; cz, Dolní Slezsko; german: Niederschlesien; szl, Dolny Ślōnsk; hsb, Delnja Šleska; dsb, Dolna Šlazyńska; Silesian German: ''Niederschläsing''; la, Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the ...

, south-western Poland. She studied

cultural studies Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the political dynamics of contemporary culture (including popular culture) and its historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers generally investigate how cultural practices r ...

at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

. She also graduated from School of Social Sciences affiliated with the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences ( pl, Polska Akademia Nauk, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

. Her doctoral dissertation concerned the philosophical aspects of the

feminist theory Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, fictional, or philosophical discourse. It aims to understand the nature of gender inequality. It examines women's and men's social roles, experiences, interests, chores, and feminis ...

and discourse relating to

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might ...

and

postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of moderni ...

. In the years 1999–2008 she worked as an assistant professor at the Department of

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some s ...

and

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...

of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Between 2007–2011 she lectured at the Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology. She also took part in a number of scholarships including at the

New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR) is a graduate-level educational institution that is one of the divisions of The New School in New York City, United States. The university was founded in 1919 as a home for progressive era thinkers. NSSR ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...

and Japan Foundation in Tokyo. She is known for her keen interest in

Japanese culture The culture of Japan has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Historical overview The ances ...

. Bator's first book on Japan was ''Japoński wachlarz'' (''The Japanese Fan'') written after her two-year stay in Japan. She has written a number of books, both

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

and

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with bei ...

. Her titles such as ''The Japanese Fan'' and ''Sandy Mountain'' have received wide acclaim in her native Poland. In 2010, she was nominated for Gdynia Literary Prize and

for her book ''Sandy Mountain''. In 2013, her novel ''Ciemno, prawie noc'' (Eng: ''Dark, Almost Night'') won the

, Poland's leading literary award. She has also worked as a

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short essay ...

for ''

Gazeta Wyborcza ''Gazeta Wyborcza'' (; ''The Electoral Gazette'' in English) is a Polish daily newspaper based in Warsaw, Poland. It is the first Polish daily newspaper after the era of "real socialism" and one of Poland's newspapers of record, covering the ...

'' daily as well as ''Pani'' and published articles in such magazines as ''

Tygodnik Powszechny ''Tygodnik Powszechny'' (, ''The Common Weekly'') is a Polish Roman Catholic weekly magazine, published in Kraków, which focuses on social, cultural and political issues. It was established in 1945 under the auspices of Cardinal Adam Stefan Sap ...

'', '' Twórczość'', ''Bluszcz'', ''Czas kultury'' and ''Kultura i społeczeństwo''. She has been a member of jury of the

Ryszard Kapuściński Award The Ryszard Kapuściński Award ( pl, Nagroda im. Ryszarda Kapuścińskiego) is a major annual Polish international literary prize, the most important distinction in the genre of literary reportage. History The award was founded to celebrate and ...

. In 2014 she was the second Friedrich Dürrenmatt Guest Professor for World Literature at the

University of Bern The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It is a compreh ...

Works

* ''Feminism, Postmodernism, Psychoanalysis'' (2001) * ''A Woman'' (2002) * ''The Japanese Fan'' (2004) * ''Sandy Mountain'' (2009) * ''Cloudalia'' (2010) * ''Dark, Almost Night'' (2013) * ''A Shark from Yoyogi Park'' (2014) * ''Island Tear'' (2015) * ''Year of the Rabbit'' (2016) * ''Purezento'' (2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bator, Joanna 1968 births Living people 21st-century Polish novelists Polish journalists Polish women journalists Polish feminists People from Wałbrzych Polish women novelists 21st-century Polish women writers Nike Award winners

Life and career

Works

See also

References