I have been conducting my self-created classes titled “Culture of ours neighbors” in the Department of Sociology of APS for last eight years. It aimed at familiarizing Polish students with selected cultural aspects of countries in our region. In fact, the classes have become the basic course on the history of Central Europe in relation to Polish history. The questions, that arise to me after conducting several courses on “Culture...” are as follows:

-        How might sociologists use historical knowledge?

-        What is the reason for such significant lack of historical knowledge among students of social sciences?

-        How to fill up the student's gap of knowledge?

-        Does my self-created program of classes meet its objective?

-        What are the dominating narrations in my programme and how do they relate to the narrations dominating in teaching history at lower levels?

In my paper I would like to present my program and my reflections on the historical education of students of sociology.

For the needs of this paper, the broad subject area of Central Europe (and for my program of classes needs as well) includes: knowledge of the countries in the region (or at least Polish neighbors), the story of Polish relations with these immediate and more distant neighbors, geopolitical changes, that is, shift of the borders, the emergence and disappearance of states, knowledge about their symbolic culture and its products...

An unusual concentration of many ethnic groups, nations, languages, religions and cultures on a small territory is a characteristic feature of Central Europe, so it is obvious that the history of ethnic, national and religious minorities is involved here as well (particularly in two typical Central European communities, Jews and Romans) and the issue of multiculturalism.

In short, the cultural frameworks of the idea of Central Europe in the classical sense can actually limit the choice of subjects, instead geographical and historical factors will be more appropriate here.

Why do I think that there are sociology students who should possess knowledge of history (not only about a more broadly defined region, but also about their own country!)? The precise answer to this question would require an extensive disquisition on the relationship between sociology and history.  Two fields of science, which can be classified to liberal studies and social science, are equally imminent and distant. The issue of their relationship in various fields was analysed by many researchers, either by scientists considering themselves more as sociologists or those more historically oriented. There is even a branch of sociology called historical sociology.   We can consider methodological issues, the choice of research topics, an approach to sources and materials and how one discipline can serve the other, etc.

Every day, the past is reflected in the image of the present, regardless of a field, which you choose to study. Attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, value systems, or in general, the culture of each community, which is understood in a broad sense, is not born overnight. They are subject to change, while being under the influence of stabilizing factors such as for instance tradition or collective memory - anchored firmly in the past. It seems to be simple – when you do not know the past of a society, you cannot understand its present. How does it translate into the problem of interest in issues that I have specified above as "Cultures of our neighbors"?

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