The author of the article concentrates on the long and difficult process of the Faculty of International and Political Studies (at the Jagiellonian University, Krakow) in obtaining the right to educate students in the field of cultural studies. Problematic issues are described on the basis of Polish law which codifies individual disciplines and fields of science. Paying attention to the fundamental differences between Polish, British, French, German or Russian cultural studies was the starting point for taking a deeper reflection on the essence of what cultural studies is and what it should be, with a diverse and thereby rich structure.