Multimedia Course in the History of Polish Literature and Culture of the 20th century (not only) for foreign students 3001-MKH-OG

The course offers a comprehensive, innovative, and accessible overview of themost significant achievements of 20th-century Polish literature and culture, considering the historical background and creating a kind of "summary of the century."
The course consists of a prologue, 10 distinct thematic modules (which form the core part of the course, dedicated to the most important phenomena, works, and creators of 20th-century Polish literature and culture), and an epilogue.
Each module includes:
- A brief video introduction,
- A chapter from a custom-written textbook specifically for the course, provided to participants in PDF format,
- An original lecture in video format,
- Selected poems or excerpts from other literary works (in PDF format), which illustrate the issues discussed in the textbook and the video lecture,
- Quiz and test questions based on the text and lecture, for the evaluation of the intended learning outcomes.
The course begins with a prologue, featuring a nearly hour-long film created using animation, collage, and "reviving" newspaper columns from the era. The film is based on a script written by Professor Andrzej Zieniewicz (the text is included as a separate chapter in the course textbook). The film briefly presents the most important phenomena and transformations in 20th-century literature and culture using various aesthetics.
The course concludes with an epilogue that briefly outlines the perspective of Polish literature after 1989. Like the prologue, it consists of an animated film and a text by Professor Andrzej Zieniewicz (which serves as the basis for the recording).
Additionally, the prologue and epilogue include video-recorded discussions (each lasting about 25 minutes) titled "Literary Panorama of the 20th Century" and "Polish Literature after 1989," featuring conversations between Professors Andrzej Zieniewicz and Andrzej Stanisław Kowalczyk, specifically created for the course.
The total length of the audiovisual materials produced for the course is nearly 550 minutes.

Prerequisites (description)

The course is designed for: - Foreigners studying at the University of Warsaw, including recipients of the Polish Government scholarships and participants in the Erasmus program, as well as those studying Polish studies. - Students at the University of Warsaw in non-humanities disciplines, whose study programs do not include courses in the history of Polish literature or the history of 20th-century Polish culture. - To participate in the course, a B2 level proficiency in Polish is recommended.

Course coordinators

Karol Hryniewicz
Jagoda Wierzejska

Type of course

general courses

Mode

Remote learning

Learning outcomes

A graduate of the course:
- Is familiar with representative works of 20th-century Polish writers, poets, and dramatists, and is able to interpret them using both academic knowledge of Polish literary history and insights gained from their own cultural education from their home country.
- Understands (and can identify) the cultural centers, peripheries, and boundaries within different internal periods of the 20th century: the interwar period, wartime and occupation, and the years 1945-1989.
- Knows the programs of various artistic movements and groups in 20th-century Polish literature and can identify key differences among them.
- Can independently and critically analyze major literary contexts of the 20th century using tools from literary and cultural geography.
- Recognizes the role of literature as a valuable and irreplaceable testimony to significant historical events and cultural processes of the past century.
- Is capable of characterizing both domestic and émigré literature and identifying different aesthetic programs.
- Can, by identifying masterpieces of the 20th century and the historical contexts in which they were created, define the identity-forming character of the literature of that time.
- Appreciates and assesses the social and political impact of literature in the 20th century.
- Is proficient in selecting and applying advanced and innovative information and communication techniques to discuss topics related to 20th-century literature and culture.
- Is prepared to recognize various ideological stances expressed in literary works.
- Demonstrates an understanding of diverse viewpoints while being able to present and defend their own perspective rationally.
- Is ready to competently and respectfully present knowledge about Polish literature and culture within their own environment.

Assessment criteria

Grading Criteria:
Points Allocation for Activities:
• Lecture Quiz: Up to 6 points each (not included in the final grade)
• Textbook Quiz: Up to 6 points each (not included in the final grade)
• Prologue and Epilogue Tests: Up to 15 points each (included in the final grade)
• Module Tests: Up to 15 points each (included in the final grade)
• Short Written Response to Questions on Module Content: Up to 7 points each (included in the final grade)
• Final Exam (UW: in a classroom; 4EU+ students: online): Up to 100 points (included in the final grade).

Final Grade Calculation: The final grade will be the sum of points obtained from the module tests, prologue and epilogue tests, and written responses to descriptive questions (a maximum of 250 points from the online part) combined with the points earned from the final exam (a maximum of 100 points).
Conversion of Points to Final Grade:
• 0 – 175 points: Fail
• 176 – 209 points: Sufficient (3)
• 210 – 244 points: Sufficient + (3+)
• 245 – 279 points: Good (4)
• 280 – 314 points: Good + (4+)
• 315 – 345 points: Very Good (5)
• 346 – 350 points: Excellent (5!)

Bibliography

The order and themes of the texts and lectures created for the course (along with their authors) are as follows:
Prologue (Andrzej Zieniewicz)
Module (1): The Novel After the Great War. Farewell to Epic, Welcome to Diaries
- Text: Prose of the Interwar Period. Zofia Nałkowska (Andrzej Stanisław Kowalczyk)
- Video Lecture: Maria Dąbrowska – From Epic to Diaries (Andrzej Stanisław Kowalczyk)
Module (2): The Golden Age of Polish Drama and Theatre
- Text: 20th-Century Polish Drama. Witkacy, Mrożek, Różewicz (Michał Bandura)
- Video Lecture: Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz and Catastrophism (Jagoda Wierzejska)
Module (3): Transformations of Epic and Poetry
- Text: Aestheticism, Realism, and History. Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz (Jan Potkański)
- Video Lecture: The Skamander Poets – A Poetic Constellation (Andrzej Zieniewicz)
Module (4): Mythical Space and Literature
- Text: Writers and the Myth of Galicia. Bruno Schulz (Julian Stryjkowski, Włodzimierz Odojewski, Andrzej Kuśniewicz) (Jagoda Wierzejska)
- Video Lecture: Bruno Schulz as a Literary Hero (Alina Molisak)
Module (5): The Game of Self-Creation. The Writer and Poland
- Text: The Game with the Reader. Witold Gombrowicz (Michał Bandura)
- Video Lecture: Witold Gombrowicz and Emigration (Andrzej Stanisław Kowalczyk)
Module (6): Europe and the Poet's Fate. Witness of the 20th Century. Extremes of Poetry.
- Text: The Poet and the Eternal Moment. Czesław Miłosz (Andrzej Zieniewicz)
- Video Lecture: Czesław Miłosz in the Circle of Jerzy Giedroyc's "Kultura" (Andrzej Stanisław Kowalczyk)
Module (7): Literature in the Face of Catastrophe. The Departure and Return of the Poet
- Text: Poetry After Auschwitz. Tadeusz Różewicz (Jan Potkański)
- Video Lecture: Tadeusz Borowski and Tadeusz Różewicz on the Holocaust (Andrzej Zieniewicz)
Module (8): The PRL in the Perspective of Politics and Everyday Life
- Text: The PRL in Ruins and Under Construction. Konwicki, Tyrmand, Hłasko (Andrzej Zieniewicz)
- Video Lecture: Jerzy Andrzejewski and the Transformations of His Writing (Jan Potkański)
Module (9): Visions of the Future and Civilizational Pessimism
- Text: Chance, Pessimism, and Evolution. Stanisław Lem (Alina Molisak)
- Video Lecture: Stanisław Lem and Civilizational Pessimism (Andrzej Zieniewicz)
Module (10): The Heirs of the War Generation Facing a Crisis of Values
- Text: The Poet of Tenderness and Passion. Zbigniew Herbert (Karol Hryniewicz)
- Video Lecture: Wisława Szymborska and the Project of Poetic Cosmology (Karol Hryniewicz)
Epilogue (Andrzej Zieniewicz)

Notes

Term 2024Z:

None

Term 2024L:

- We especially invite students whose study programs do not include courses on the history of Polish literature or 20th-century Polish cultural history to participate.
- The course is delivered via Google Classroom using Google Workspace for Education tools.
- Modules will be published on the platform with intervals of no less than 7 days.
- The course lasts for one semester.
- The course materials and Instructions will be published in Polish.
The Google Classroom link will be shared with registered participants during the first week of the second semester (17-21 II 2025) via an email sent through the USOS-mail system (to the address provided in USOS)

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 3001-MKH-OG in USOSweb