Zygmunt Bauman

Garbės daktaras / Honorary Doctor (Suteiktas vardas 2007-04-18)

Zygmunt Bauman (born 1925) studied at the University of Warsaw, where he later worked. From 1968, he taught in Tel Aviv and Haifa, Israel, and in 1971, he joined the Sociology Department at the University of Leeds (UK), which he founded and headed for many years.

A scholar of exceptional productivity, his work focused on the trajectories of contemporary identity, the human consequences of globalisation, social thought, and the public sphere. Prof. Bauman made his name in 1989 with the publication of his book “Modernity and the Holocaust” for which he was awarded the Amalfi Prize for Sociology and Social Sciences.

On 1 October 2010, Prof. Bauman visited Lithuania, where he delivered a lecture titled “Natural History of Evil”. The lecture took place at the Aula Magna of Vytautas Magnus University (Gimnazijos g. 7, Kaunas).

“Together with Anthony Giddens, Jürgen Habermas, and Ulrich Beck, Zygmunt Bauman has probably had the greatest influence on contemporary sociology and social philosophy, especially on the discourse on identity and self-perception. He is recognised worldwide as one of the most profound and perceptive interpreters of modernity and postmodernism,” said Prof. Leonidas Donskis, a Member of the European Parliament and one of the organisers of the visit, introducing the famed sociologist.

Those interested in attending the lecture started gathering at VMU Aula Magna an hour before the start of the event. Those who could not make it to the crowded auditorium were able to watch the live broadcast of the event in the Maironis and Bishop Pranciškus Petras Būčys auditoriums and on the website www.vdu.lt. Prof. Bauman’s lecture was followed by a Q&A session moderated by Prof. Leonidas Donskis.

During the event, Prof. Bauman’s books “Globalization: The Human Consequences” and “Liquid Love” were available for purchase. Attendees also had the opportunity to get acquainted with the soon-to-be-published Lithuanian edition of Prof. Bauman’s book “Consuming Life”. Book excerpt.

During his stay in Lithuania, Prof. Bauman also visited Vilnius. On 30 September, he gave a lecture titled “Selves as Objects of Consumption” at the of the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum.

On 30 October 2013, Prof. Zygmunt Bauman held a public lecture-dialogue with Prof. Leonidas Donskis at VMU Great Hall. The topic of the lecture was “Moral Sensitivity in the Age of Uncertainty”. You can watch the recording of the lecture by clicking here.