kinoznawstwo

Kinoznawstwo is an interdisciplinary field devoted to the study of cinema as an art form, cultural practice, and industry. It analyzes films as texts and as products shaped by social, economic, political, and technological contexts. The field encompasses history, theory, criticism, and pedagogy, and it often overlaps with related disciplines such as literary studies, sociology, philosophy, and media studies.

The scope of kinoznawstwo includes film history and historiography, film theory and aesthetics, genre and film form, production and distribution, exhibition and reception, and issues of censorship, policy, and ethics. It also covers archival research, film preservation and restoration, and museum or festival curation. Researchers may study national cinemas, transnational flows, and the impact of media technologies on cinematic practice.

Methods commonly used in kinoznawstwo range from close textual analysis and semiotics to historical method, archival work, and reception studies. The field frequently incorporates perspectives from cultural studies, feminism, psychoanalysis, and political economy to understand cinema within broader cultural and ideological frameworks.

Institutions and practice: kinoznawstwo is typically taught at universities and research institutes and produces monographs, journals, and conference material. It interacts with film archives, festivals, and film education programs, contributing to the preservation of film heritage and to informed cultural policy.

Note: in Polish discourse the term kinoznawstwo is sometimes used interchangeably with filmoznawstwo, with overlapping focus but differing historical or institutional emphasis.