During the POLPAN Seminar on June 18, 2024, Dr Klaudia Wolniewicz-Slomka (Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences) will present a paper entitled Discourse on ‘paltry pensions’ in the Polish Parliament in the years 2014–2024.
The meeting will take place at IFiS PAN (Warsaw, Nowy Świat 72, room 154) from 14:30 to 16:00.
Abstract:
‘Paltry pensions’ are pensions paid by the Social Insurance Institution (SII) (in Polish: Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych, ZUS), which are lower than the minimum pension. As the number of pensioners receiving them is increasing, it is becoming an important challenge for policymakers. During her presentation, Dr Wolniewicz-Slomka will present the results of her analysis on the parliamentary discourse on below-minimum pensions. The research questions she will answer are: do the members of the Polish Parliament perceive “paltry pensions” as a social problem? If so, what solutions do they propose to solve this problem? What values do they refer to, and which discursive strategies do they apply when describing this problem?
The analysis focuses on transcripts of discussions in the lower and upper houses of the Polish Parliament (the Sejm and Senate, respectively) along with their relevant committees in the years 2014–2024.
In her analysis, Dr Wolniewicz-Slomka takes a Critical Discourse Analysis approach (CDA) and refers to three main categories of discourse – “problematization”, “values” and “solutions” – as well as discursive strategies implemented by Wodak and Reisigl (2001).
The analysis is part of the research project ‘Paltry Pensions’ in the Context of the Sense of Social Justice and the Goals of Pension Policy. A Multidimensional Sociological Analysis (No. 2021/41/B/HS6/04416), financed by the National Science Centre in Poland and led by Dr Danuta Życzyńska-Ciołek. More information on it can be found under this link: https://em.ifispan.pl/english/
***
Klaudia Wolniewicz-Slomka is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. She works as a post-doc in the project ‘Paltry Pensions’ in the Context of the Sense of Social Justice and the Goals of Pension Policy. A Multidimensional Sociological Analysis (2021/41/B/HS6/04416) funded by the National Science Centre in Poland.