About University and Toruń

Toruń, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the most remarkable medieval cities in Central Europe. Its exceptionally well-preserved Old Town, dominated by red-brick Gothic churches, townhouses, and fortifications, bears witness to centuries of cultural, intellectual, and artistic life. As the birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus, Toruń occupies a unique place in European intellectual history—symbolizing the enduring tension between tradition and innovation that continues to shape both science and the humanities.

Today, Toruń combines historical depth with a vibrant academic and cultural atmosphere. Compact, walkable, and rich in museums, archives, and cultural institutions, the city offers an inspiring setting for scholarly exchange and reflection—particularly well suited to a conference devoted to the long-term transformations of humanistic knowledge.

The conference is hosted by Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (NCU), one of Poland’s leading research universities. Founded in 1945, NCU has developed a strong international reputation in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences alike. The humanities at UMK are deeply rooted in historical, philological, and philosophical traditions, while remaining open to comparative, transnational, and theoretically innovative approaches.

With its long-standing engagement in the history of ideas, memory studies, intellectual history, and the philosophy of science, NCU provides an especially fitting intellectual environment for The Making of the Humanities XII. The university actively supports interdisciplinary dialogue and critical reflection on the conditions under which humanistic knowledge is produced, transmitted, and transformed—making Toruń not only a symbolic but also a living context for debates on humanistic “revolutions.”