Books, monuments, and shadows. Maria and Stanisław Ossowscy

ABSTRACT The article develops the editors’ thesis that women researchers in social sciences are less recognized than their well-known husbands. It focuses on the example of the marriage of Maria and Stanisław Ossowski. The selected couple issue is a complex one due to the specificity of both researchers’ situation. One should consider that they worked in various academic disciplines (Stanisław as a sociologist, Maria as a researcher of morality closer to ethics). The next issue is career development's pace opposite the central thesis's expected rate – Maria promoted faster. Another problem is the difference in temperaments and the style of scientific work. Finally, one cannot omit the context of the history of Poland. Especially pivotal are significant social changes: regaining Poland's independence after the partition and establishing new Polish universities and faculties and, the second one, social change during the communist period. Regardless of some advantages of Maria, the example of the Ossowski couple in many dimensions confirms the problem of obstacles to women's academic development, and as a result – their lower recognition in the academic community.