Semiotician, structuralist. His research interests include contemporary mythology, collective memory and popular culture. In the Institute of Polish Culture since 2004.
Napiórkowski teaches classes on contemporary culture and semiotics. He also teaches Polish culture to foreigners (‘Poland 101: Beginner’s Guide to Polish Culture, History and Society’).
Author of several academic books:
- Mitologia współczesna [Contemporary Mythology, 2013, 2018]
- Władza wyobraźni [The Power of Imagination, 2014]
- Powstanie Umarłych. Historia pamięci 1944-2014 [Rising of the Dead. History of memory 1944-2014, 2016)]
- Kod kapitalizmu [The Code of Capitalism, 2019]
- Turbopatriotyzm [Turbopatriotism, 2019]
- Naprawić przyszłość [Fixing the Future, 2022]
- 1989. Pozytywny Mit [1989. A positive myth, 2024]
Napiórkowski regularly publishes in Tygodnik Powszechny. His articles has also been printed in Gazeta Wyborcza, Rzeczpospolita, Polityka, Krytyka Polityczna, Więź and Znak, among others. He occasionally shares interesting new discoveries on his blog mitologiawspolczesna.pl.
Co-author of several theatrical plays related to the subject of collective imagination and memory, including “We Shall Not Give the Lions Back” (Lwów nie oddamy) (2018), which tells the story of difficult Polish-Ukrainian relations from the perspective of the anthropology of memory, or “Food” (Jedzonko) dedicated to contemporary conflicts around diet and agriculture (2020). Co-author and lyricist of the popular musical “1989” (2022). Author of the script for the audioseries Narutowicz (Audioteka 2023) and of a horror novel “Gościni”.
Since September 2024, he is the acting director of the Polish History Museum.