Contemporary Polish Literature in the European Context

Timetable

The course will take place between March and June 2026, preferably on Wednesdays from 11:30 to 13:00. If possible, the final timing of the course will be worked out together with the participants in order to meet the availability and needs of the majority. 

Module aim (aims)

- acquainting students with important and/or representative phenomena of broadly understood contemporary Polish literature, its prominent representatives and its reception within a comparative approach (the main ideas, currents, trends and genres of the global literature) and building skills of finding wide-ranging references to their cultural and historical background (global and Polish histories)

- developing the skills of analysis, interpretation and evaluation of a literary work within a basic theoretical and historical frame of knowledge with a particular stress on Polish literature’s uniqueness and its selected representatives in the light of various forms of intercultural contact (the flux of ideas and currents, the translations to foreign languages, the reception of masterpieces of the world literature)

- to equip students with skills enabling them to refer major Polish literary works to their cultural and historical (global and Polish history) context

- to develop in students an ability to use concepts taken from history of literature and aesthetics as well as to apply well-ordered knowledge, skills and competences from other arts modules

Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences (where relevant)

English at B2 level or higher and interest in literature. Academic background in literary studies or other fields of humanities will be most welcome, but is not required. 

Syllabus

The course offers insight into the most important and captivating phenomena in contemporary Polish literature. Starting with the modernist masterpieces of the 1930s, we will explore the extraordinary imagination and rich vocabulary of Bruno Schulz, as well as Witold Gombrowicz’s provocative vision of social relations. We will also examine the experience of Nazi concentration camps through the eyes of Tadeusz Borowski, who was himself a prisoner of Auschwitz. Nobel Prize winners Czeslaw Milosz and Wislawa Szymborska will introduce us into a wide range of fundamental topics in their poetry. Apart from that, Milosz’s essays will provide the opportunity to rethink the specificity of the region, the experience of state communism, and the reasons behind and consequences of the widely accepted yet rarely discussed division between Eastern and Western Europe. Thanks to Stanislaw Lem we will discover the outstanding achievement of science fiction genre, taking a deep look at human nature and asking uncomfortable questions about cognition, exploration and conquest. Finally, Andrzej Stasiuk, Dorota Maslowska, Michal Witkowski, Urszula Honek and the Nobel Prize laureate of 2019 Olga Tokarczuk will guide us through the contemporary reality and its many facets – from the evolving Polish social landscape to queer identities and ecological concerns. The final content of the course will take into account the needs, interests and capabilities of the participants, who will also have the opportunity to refer to their own linguistic and literary context.

Reading list

The selected works of the following authors (and/or other representatives of contemporary Polish literature): Bruno Schulz, Witold Gombrowicz, Tadeusz Borowski, Stanislaw Lem, Czeslaw Milosz, Wislawa Szymborska, Andrzej Stasiuk, Dorota Maslowska, Michal Witkowski, Urszula Honek, Olga Tokarczuk. 

The final reading list will take into account the needs, interests and capabilities of the participants.