50 years have passed like one day... Intergenerational differences in the culture of studying by the example of sociology at the University of Lodz

Abstract

The aim of this article is to demonstrate to show intergenerational differences in the culture of studying and in the perception of the university and teaching from the last 50. years. Memories of lecturers regarding sociological studies at the Institute of Sociology of the University of Lodz and their opinions on current students of sociology and student culture (from the didactic perspective) were compared with the subjective observations of the author of the article representing that generation who completed their studies in 2017. The aim of distinguishing these three perspectives is to high light the transformation of the university which, as an idea, has undergone many modifications since its crystallisation in the Middle Ages. The outline of the university’s history, as well as various approaches to its functions and model adopted in the article is an introduction to illustrating the dynamic process of constant change taking place, both in the aspect of creating and transferring science, as well as broadly understood academic relations. The article seeks to distinguish and demonstrate generational differences in the Mannheim’s perspective between sociology students undertaking studies in the sixties and beginning studies after the first decade of the 21st century.