I am a full professor at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, a graduate of philosophy and Polish philology. Since 1980, I have been a scientific and didactic employee in the Department of Ethics and Aesthetics, since 2012 I have been the head of the Department of Aesthetics, and currently I am leading the Department of Aesthetics and Philosophy of Culture.

I am interested in the philosophy of modern art, the history of Polish aesthetics of the 20th century, the issue of aestheticization of reality, especially the aestheticization of the past and the category of aesthetic experience.

For many years, I promoted and developed the concept of “open aesthetics” by M. Wallis. In my habilitation dissertation, I introduced the concept of ariergarde to reflect on 20th-century art. I consider it important in contemporary aesthetics to adapt research tools to civilizational changes in which art participates. I am convinced of the need and relevance of the philosophical status of aesthetics. I consider reflection on the meaning and values of art an essential element of humanistic education. I developed original aesthetics teaching programs for philosophy students, humanities and arts majors.

I have promoted several dozen masters, 6 doctors, including a doctoral student from KPiUU awarded by the National Center for Culture, currently I am a scientific supervisor of 3 doctoral students.

I collaborated as a tutor with the Academy of Artes Liberales and currently I am the Rector’s Plenipotentiary to represent UMCS in Lublin in the Council of the Academy of Artes Liberales V term (2020-2025).

I belong to the Editorial Boards of the journals „Sztuka i Filozofia”, „Idea. Studia nad strukturą i rozwojem pojęć filozoficznych”, (earlier also „Kultura Współczesna”), „Kultura i Wartości”, Науковізаписки. Серія: «Філософія». Вип. 13. – Острог: Видавництво Національного університету «Острозька академія». I am a permanent member of the Review Team of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw journal “Aspiracje”, previously also the journal “Annals of Agriculture and Environmental Medicine”.

I belong to the Polish Philosophical Society and the Polish Aesthetic Society. In the years 2002 - 2018 for three terms I was the vice-president and a member of the Board of the Polish Aesthetic Society, I cooperated with PTE and the “Universitas” Publishing House in preparing the series “Classics of Polish aesthetics”, where I published two volumes. I was a co-organizer of the First Congress of Aesthetics in Poland in 2004.

Since 2013, I have been the organizer and scientific director of cyclical nationwide aesthetic conferences dedicated to current problems of art, aesthetics and modern culture. I permanently cooperate with the Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz Theater in Zakopane as part of discussion panels, meetings promoting scientific publications combining philosophical reflection on art with artistic experience. I am the editor of the thematic series of publications of the Department of Aesthetics, currently the Department of Aesthetics and Philosophy of Culture.

In the years 2005 – 2008 I served as the vice-dean for student affairs, in the years 2008 – 2016 I served as the dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and Sociology, currently I am leading the Department of Aesthetics and Philosophy of Culture.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7609-7596

 Published books:

1. Secesja. Konkretyzacje i interpretacje, Wydawnictwo UMCS, Lublin 1995, pp.174.
2. Estetyka otwarta Mieczysława Wallisa, Instytut Kultury, Warszawa 1997, pp.204.
3. Awangarda i ariergarda. Filozofia sztuki nowoczesnej, Wyd. UMCS, Lublin 2000, pp.413.
4. Mieczysław Wallis. Wybór pism estetycznych. Wprowadzenie, wybór i opracowanie, Universitas, Kraków 2004, Wprowadzenie ss.114, wybór i opracowanie pp.316.
5. Przyszłość Witkacego (red.),  Universitas, Kraków 2010, pp.365.
6. Powrót modernizmu (red.), Wyd. UMCS, Lublin 2013, pp. 329.
7. Estetyczne konteksty doświadczenia przeszłości, Wyd. UMCS, Lublin 2013, pp. 374.
8. Konstanty Troczyński. Wybór pism estetycznych. Wprowadzenie, wybór i opracowanie, Universitas, Kraków 2014, Wprowadzenie pp.60, wybór i opracowanie pp.230.
9.  Witkacy w kontekstach. Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz a kryzys metafizyki,  Wyd. UMCS, Lublin 2015, pp.404.
10.  Teatr, teatralizacja, performatywność, Wyd. UMCS, Lublin 2016, pp.433.
11. Przestrzenie autnomii - sztuka, filozofia, kultura, Wyd. UMCS, Lublin 2017, pp. 524.
12. Logos and the Elements, T. Pękala (ed.), translated by Jerzy Adamko, Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften, Frankfurt am Main 2017, Series: Interdisciplinary studies in performance, vol.7, ISBN 978-3-631-66905-1, pp. 357.
13. Przestrzenie autonomii – sztuka, filozofia, kultura, T. Pękala (red.), Wydawnictwo UMCS, Lublin 2017, pp. 524.
14. Dyskursy sztuki. Dyskursy o sztuce, T. Pękala (red.),Wydawnictwo UMCS, Lublin 2018, pp. 636. 
15. Zapomniana sztuka – sztuka pamiętania,  T. Pękala (red.), Wydawnictwo UMCS, Lublin 2019, pp.563. 
16. Dystynkcje estetyczne - wyróżnienie i wykluczenie, T. Pękala (red.), Wydawnictwo UMCS, Lublin 2020, pp.494.
17. Myślenie estetyczne, T. Pękala, R. Kubicki (red.), Wydawnictwo UMCS, Lublin 2023, pp. 257