Slavic and
East European
Languages and Literature

Polish Syllabi

Polish 101: Elementary Polish I
Introduction to Polish: development of listening, reading, speaking, and writing skills.

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Polish 102: Elementary Polish II.
Introduction to Polish: development of listening, reading, speaking, and writing skills.

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Polish 103: Intermediate Polish I.
Continuing study of Polish: improving listening, reading, speaking, and writing skills.

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Polish 104: Intermediate Polish II.
Continuing study of Polish: improving listening, reading, speaking, and writing skills.

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Polish 111: Intensive Intermediate Polish.
An intensive course that combines the content of 103 and 104; balanced use of the four basic skills: reading, oral comprehension, speaking, and writing.

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Polish 245: Polish Culture in the European Context
This course asks the following questions:

• What is culture and how is it shaped?
• How does history influence a national identity?
• How does literature and literature convey the national culture?
• Can a national identity survive in the age of globalization?

Students will become acquainted with the culture of Poland, especially as it is reflected in literature and film, as well as with the concept of Central Europe and the European Union. They will also be introduced to the key cities representing cultural traditions such as Krakow, Warsaw, and Gdansk.

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Polish 405: Polish Conv and Comp I.
Reading texts of moderate difficulty, conversation, and simple compositions.

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Polish 407: Polish Conversation and Composition II.
Reading from modern Polish literature, practice in writing and speaking.

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Polish 409: Polish Conversation and Composition III.
Reading from modern Polish literature, practice in writing and speaking.

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Polish 630: Polish Literature until 1900
The course presents the highlights of Polish literature and culture from the beginning to the end of the nineteenth century. In seeking to define "Polishness" and the culture it produced, students of this course study the cultural and intellectual history as represented in the major works of Polish literature. Literature of the Renaissance, Baroque, Classicism, Romanticism and Positivism will be discussed as the key text formatting the Polish national identity and shaping national self-definition.

Special emphasis is put on the legacy of Polish Romantic literature of the first half of the nineteenth century (Mickiewicz, Slowacki, Krasinski) and on the literature of the end of the nineteenth century (Sienkiewicz, Prus, Orzeszkowa), which redefines the concept of nationality in the absence of the Polish state.

Films will be used to show the contemporary media interpretation of the major works of Polish literature. Readings and discussions are in English. No knowledge of Polish is required.

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Polish 631: Polish Literature Since 1900.
A survey of 20th-century poetry, prose, and drama, including works by Milosz, Szymborska, Herbert, Borowski, Gombrowicz, and others.

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