Institute of Comparative Studies of Civilisations - Faculty of Philosophy

About

Dr Paulina Niechciał

e-mail: paulina.niechcial@uj.edu.pl
www: https://jagiellonian.academia.edu/PaulinaNiechcial
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5732-3837

An assistant professor at the Centre for Comparative Studies of Civilisations. She obtained a master's degree in ethnology and another in Iranian studies with a focus on literature; the latter sparked her fascination with modern Iranian and Tajik culture. She earned her doctorate in sociology in 2012. Her doctoral thesis focused on the Zoroastrian community in Tehran, and contemporary Zoroastrianism along with matters concerning minorities, their identity, and heritage continue to be a significant focus of her scholarly pursuits. She has conducted field research and made research trips to various parts of the world, such as Iran, Central Asia and the United States, and has worked as a Persian/Dari translator in Iran and Afghanistan. In her research, she prioritizes interacting with others and embracing cross-cultural experiences, while in her teaching, she stresses guiding her students to explore the complexity and diversity of the social world and to challenge the obvious. She places great importance on popularizing scientific knowledge through lectures, articles, and online publications.

Academic interests

sociology of religion;
contemporary culture of Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan;
Zoroastrianism;
religious minorities in the Middle East, Central Asia and the diaspora;
issues of identity.

Selected publications

2023, Eventisation of Religion: The 12th World Zoroastrian Congress in New York City as an Identity-oriented Event, „Culture and Religion”, No. 23 (4), p. 403-422.
2023, The Contemporary Collective Identity of Zoroastrians in Tehran: Between the Strategies of Dichotomization and Complementarization, in: Ethnic Religious Minorities in Iran, ed. S. B. Hosseini, Palgrave Macmillan, p. 201 – 227.
2022, Second-Generation Iranian Zoroastrians in a New American Homeland: A Case Study in California, “Iranian Studies” No. 55(4), p. 1065–1082.
2022, Patterns of Nationalism and National Identity Construction in Central Asian Republics, in: Great and Small Games in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, eds. T. Pugacewicz, M. Grabowski, Peter Lang, p. 303-315.
2020, Essentialism in Zoroastrian Boundary Construction, “Anthropology Southern Africa” No. 2(43), p. 119-132.
2020, Contemporary Zoroastrians: Between Integration and Misunderstandings, “Anthropos” No. 1(115), p. 9-18.
2018, Sacred Homeland, Glorious Ancestors and Old-time Language: Ethnic Elements in the Identity of the Zoroastrian Religious Minority in Modern Tehran, in: Minority Religions in Europe and the Middle East: Mapping and Monitoring, ed. G. D. Chryssides, New York, p. 65–77.
2016, National Identity Tajik-style: Reworking the Concept of the Nation and its History in the Public Arena of the Republic of Tajikistan [Tożsamość narodowa po tadżycku – odtwarzanie koncepcji narodu i jego historii w przestrzeni publicznej Republiki Tadżykistanu], "Przegląd Orientalistyczny", No. 1-2(257–258), p. 169-182.
2013, Zoroastrian Minority in Modern Tehran: On Collective Identity in the Context of Shi'a Domination [Mniejszość zaratusztriańska w Teheranie. O tożsamości zbiorowej w kontekście dominacji szyickiej], Kraków.
2009, Shi'i Institution of Temporary Marriage in Tehran. State Ideology and Practise, „Anthropos”, No. 104(1), p. 172-179.

Research projects

Zoroastrian Collective Identity: A Case Study of the Cyclical World Zoroastrian Congress – a research project conducted from 2022 to 2023 under the POB Heritage mini-grant (3rd edition) with funding from the Strategic Program Excellence Initiative at the Jagiellonian University;
‘Lived Religion’ in the Context of Migration: The Case of Zoroastrian Women in the USA – granted by the Kosciuszko Foundation and supported by the Department of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, USA;
Identity Formation among Established and Recent Polish Communities around Utica, NY – a joint research project of Jagiellonian University and the Department of Sociology/Anthropology of Utica College, NY, USA, supported by Joseph P. Furgal Fund; carried out since 2016;
The Cultural Strategies of War and Reconciliation: Analysis on the Example of the Civil War in the Republic of Tajikistan (1992-1997) – granted by the Polish National Science Centre; conducted in the years 2014-2016;
Research on the collective identity of a Zoroastrian religious minority in contemporary Tehran – granted by the Polish Ministry of Education and Science; internship in the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2008.

Other achievements

2024, University of Rochester, New York, USA – visiting professor (spring semester);
2023, lectures at SOAS Shapoorji Pallonji Institute of Zoroastrian Studies in London and at Ancient India & Iran Trust in Cambridge – teaching internship for academics granted from the ZintegrUJ project;
2015, scholarship of the Minister of Science and Higher Education for outstanding young scholars;
2014, Utica College/Utica University, New York, USA – visiting professor (fall semester);
2012, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan, Dushanbe – visiting scholar (field research on identity issues).

Zainteresowania pozanaukowe

non-fiction and comics;
drawing and art;
traveling and collecting tourist badges;
indoor plants.

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