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Event Series

August Zaleski Memorial Lecture in Modern Polish History

Chair

Grzegorz Ekiert
Grzegorz Ekiert
Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Government, Harvard University; Resident Faculty, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
 
Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski presented the 2024 annual Zaleski lecture in September

The August Zaleski Memorial Lecture in Modern Polish History is named after August Zaleski, a Polish economist, politician and diplomat who served as President of the Polish Republic in Exile in from 1947 until his death on April 7, 1972. The lecture series was established in 1983 through a generous gift from the estate of Zaleski's widow Countess Evelyn Komorowski with the goal to "organize lectures on modern Polish history from the year 1795 to the present time." In addition to hosting an annual lecture, this event series hosts occasional symposiums on developments in modern Poland.

Annual Zaleski Lecture Speakers (1989-2024)

Zaleski Symposium Speakers

Events Calendar

Where is Democracy Today? August Zaleski Memorial Lecture in Modern Polish History — Where is Democracy Today?
September 18, 2024
4:00pm - 5:15pm
  • Rafał Trzaskowski – Mayor of Warsaw
  • Chair Grzegorz Ekiert – Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Government, Harvard University; Resident Faculty, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Poland at the Crossroads The Zaleski Symposium — Poland at the Crossroads
November 29, 2023
1:30pm - 6:00pm
  • Radosław Sikorski – Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Poland
  • Maciej Kisilowski – Associate Professor, Department of Economics and Business, Central European University (CEU); Faculty Director, CEU Executive Master of Business Administration in Global Executive Management
  • Marta Kotwas – School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London
  • Radosław Markowski – Professor of Political Science, Polish Academy of Sciences; Director, Center for the Study of Democracy, Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities
  • Marek Naczyk – Associate Professor of Comparative Social Policy, University of Oxford; Visiting Scholar 2023-2024, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
  • Karolina Wigura – Assistant Professor, Institute of Sociology, University of Warsaw; Member of the Board, Kultura Liberalna Foundation; Senior Fellow, Center for Liberal Modernity
  • Anna Wojciuk – Associate Professor, Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, University of Warsaw
  • Chair Grzegorz Ekiert – Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Government, Harvard University; Resident Faculty, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University and George Soroka – Executive Officer, Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University; Lecturer on Government, Department of Government, Harvard University; Faculty Associate & Editor, Open Forum Series, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University and Thục Linh Nguyễn Vũ – Postdoctoral Researcher, Research Center for the History of Transformations (RECET), University of Vienna; German Kennedy Memorial Fellow & Visiting Scholar 2023-2024, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Polish Elections and the Pandemic of Populists August Zaleski Memorial Lecture in Modern Polish History — Polish Elections and the Pandemic of Populists
March 30, 2023
4:00pm - 5:30pm
  • Wojciech Sadurski – Challis Professor in Jurisprudence, University of Sydney; Sidley Austin–Robert D. McLean Visiting Professor of Law, Yale Law School
  • Vlad Perju – Professor, Boston College Law School; Local Affiliate, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
  • Chair Grzegorz Ekiert – Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Government, Harvard University; Resident Faculty, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Confronting a Hostile State: Scholars of the Holocaust in Poland August Zaleski Memorial Lecture in Modern Polish History — Confronting a Hostile State: Scholars of the Holocaust in Poland
March 25, 2021
11:00am - 12:00pm
  • Barbara Engelking – Founder and Director, Polish Center of Holocaust Research, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences
  • Jan Grabowski – Professor of History, University of Ottawa
  • Derek J. Penslar – William Lee Frost Professor of Jewish History, Harvard University; Resident Faculty & Seminar Chair, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University; Director, The Center for Jewish Studies, Harvard University
  • Chair Grzegorz Ekiert – Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Government, Harvard University; Resident Faculty, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Poland in the Global Wave of Populism CES 50th Anniversary Series — Poland in the Global Wave of Populism
November 13, 2019
4:30pm - 6:00pm
  • Anna Grzymała-Busse – Douglas Professor of International Studies, Stanford University; Senior Fellow, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
  • Bart Bonikowski – Past Resident Faculty
  • Chair Grzegorz Ekiert – Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Government, Harvard University; Resident Faculty, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
"It is Our Court": Defending the Rule of Law in Poland – An Address by Adam Bodnar, Commissioner for Human Rights, Republic of Poland August Zaleski Memorial Lecture in Modern Polish History — "It is Our Court": Defending the Rule of Law in Poland – An Address by Adam Bodnar, Commissioner for Human Rights, Republic of Poland
November 8, 2018
5:00pm - 6:30pm
  • Adam Bodnar – Ombudsman for Human Rights, Republic of Poland
  • Respondent Vlad Perju – Professor, Boston College Law School; Local Affiliate, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
  • Chair Grzegorz Ekiert – Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Government & CES Director, Harvard University
Populism, Polish Style: Can Liberal Democracy Be Saved?​ August Zaleski Memorial Lecture in Modern Polish History — Populism, Polish Style: Can Liberal Democracy Be Saved?​
March 28, 2018
4:15pm - 6:00pm
  • Jacek Zakowski – Director, Department of Journalism, Collegium Civitas; Journalist and Author
  • Wojciech Sadurski – Challis Professor in Jurisprudence, University of Sydney; Sidley Austin–Robert D. McLean Visiting Professor of Law, Yale Law School
  • Chair Grzegorz Ekiert – Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Government and CES Director, Harvard University
Dismantling Democracy on the EU's Watch: Poland and Its Constitutional Tribunal The Annual Zaleski Lecture in Modern Polish History — Dismantling Democracy on the EU's Watch: Poland and Its Constitutional Tribunal
April 13, 2017
9:00pm - 10:00pm
  • Andrzej Rzeplinski – Professor of Jurisprudence, Warsaw University; President of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal (2010-2016)
  • Noah Feldman – Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Harvard Law School; Director, Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law
  • Kim Lane Scheppele – Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Sociology and International Affairs, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and the University Center for Human Values, Princeton University
  • Chair Grzegorz Ekiert – Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Government, Harvard University; Resident Faculty, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
The Holocaust in Poland: Controversies and Explanations The Annual Zaleski Lecture in Modern Polish History — The Holocaust in Poland: Controversies and Explanations
March 8, 2016
5:15pm - 7:00pm
  • Timothy Snyder – Bird White Housum Professor of History, Yale University
  • Chair Grzegorz Ekiert – Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Government, Harvard University; Resident Faculty, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
True Believers? On Opposition and Collaboration in Communist Poland and Beyond The August Zaleski Memorial Lecture in Modern Polish History — True Believers? On Opposition and Collaboration in Communist Poland and Beyond
March 25, 2015
4:15pm - 6:00pm
  • Anne Applebaum – Senior Fellow of International Affairs and Agora Fellow in Residence, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
A Future for Ukraine: Lessons From Poland The August Zaleski Memorial Lecture in Modern Polish History — A Future for Ukraine: Lessons From Poland
November 20, 2014
5:15pm - 7:00pm
  • Radosław Sikorski – Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Poland
  • Moderated by Grzegorz Ekiert – Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Government, Harvard University; Resident Faculty, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
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