Cultural problems of the countries of the region - Belarus, Lithuania, Poland 3224-D2PKKRBLP
The purpose of the class is to show the peculiarities of Belarussian, Lithuanian and Polish culture to the 20th centuries, the factors that shape its specificity and those that determine its complexity and heterogeneity. The various aspects of culture are discussed by the prism of selected problems, phenomena and processes of society, national, ethnic, ethnolinguist, literary, artistic and ideological, perceived here in terms of their influence on the shape of culture. All of these shots are to be adopted as a source of the anthropological perspective of the categories and methods of description and analysis of the cultural planes in question. The issues raised are also presented in the context of problems characteristic of the whole of Central and Eastern Europe.
The Student in the course develops his research skills, learns to acquire knowledge independently, using the support of a scientific supervisor.
The following topics will be discussed during the classes:
1. Cultures in the history of Belarus, Lithuania, and Poland: processes of shaping national identity.
2. Religion and culture: the influence of Christianity, Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and the Reformation on the cultural life of the region.
3. Folk tradition and folklore versus elite culture: the role of customs, rituals, and folk literature in shaping national consciousness.
4. Language, literature, and cultural codes in the formation of national identity in Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus.
5. Art and architecture as spaces of cultural dialogue and conflict: between tradition and external influences in the region.
6. Realism in 19th-century art and literature: historical painting, critical realism, and art under partitions and Russification.
7. Philosophical and aesthetic foundations of 20th-century cultural transformations: from modernism and national revival movements to the crisis of identity and the role of the intelligentsia.
8. The experience of war, occupation, and violence in the literature and art of Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus.
9. Transformations of media and forms of expression in 20th-century literature and art in Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus.
10. Memory, trauma, and the reckoning with the past in cultural narratives of Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus.
11. Center and periphery: the region’s culture in relation to dominant European models.
12. Emigration, exile, and diaspora culture as spaces of alternative identity in Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus.
13. Tradition and modernity in the culture of Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus: dialogue, conflict, and adaptation.
14. Myth, symbol, and history as tools for representing collective experience in literature and art of the region.
15. The role of individuals and elites in shaping cultural processes: from literary creators to cultural organizers.
Student workload includes:
Classroom participation – 30 hours (1 ECTS)
Preparing for classes – 30 hours (1 ECTS)
Preparation for the oral exam – 30 hours (1 ECTS)
Course coordinators
Mode
Learning outcomes
Knowledge: the graduate knows and understands:
- at an advanced level the specificity of various anthropological models of culture (traditional, noble, bourgeois, mass), evaluates the processes of their transformation and interrelationships, and interprets their manifestations in the symbolic and semiotic domains, including culture, art, literature, and the historical contexts of Belarus, Poland and Lithuania (K_W03)
- at an advanced level, the student comprehensively investigates the history and contemporary realities of the Belarus, Poland and Lithuania, synthesizes historical issues, concepts, and ideas concerning the demarcation of Central and Eastern Europe as a region, and assesses cultural processes and phenomena in relation to social and political changes (K_W04)
- at an advanced level, the student examines the formation of national, religious, socio-political, and economic relations in the Central and Eastern European context (K_W06)
- at an advanced understanding of the broadly understood intercultural context; has knowledge of humans as entities constructing social structures and cultural products, and is aware of the principles of their functioning (K_W07)
- at advanced level understanding of the principles governing the operation of cultural institutions and national heritage, and is familiar with contemporary cultural life and its entanglements in political and social discourses in Belarus, Poland and Lithuania (K_W10).
Skills: the graduate is able to:
- search for, select, analyse and use necessary information from various sources (K_U01)
- independently formulate and critically assess research questions, select and apply appropriate qualitative and/or quantitative research methodologies, and conduct supervised research projects within cultural studies and cognate disciplines focused on Central and Eastern Europe (K_U02)
- develop their research skills, independently acquire knowledge with the support of a research supervisor; skillfully formulate thoughts, and present research results in the form of oral or written statements (of various types) (K_U03)
- conduct a critical analysis of cultural products specific to a given era in the development of Bialorus, Lithuania and Poland; recognize different types of cultural products of Central and Eastern European countries, analyze them, distinguish different perspectives on the development of culture, being aware of the existence of differences in cultural identities and context (K_U05)
- independently prepare a written and oral statement in Polish and a foreign language on selected topics in the field of literature and present the results of their work to the group (K_U08).
Social competences: the gaduate is prepared to:
- critical assessment of existing knowledge, continuous learning and supplementing acquired knowledge and skills (K_K01)
- effective communication and living in society, including in a culturally diverse society, working in a team, coping with typical professional situations, verifying one's views through factual discussion and evaluating one's knowledge (K_K02)
- participating in cultural life, enjoying its various forms, as well as initiating activities in society and presenting tasks in an accessible form, including using information technology (K_K05).
Assessment criteria
I. The organization of classes:
1) Attendance at all classes, covered by the plan, shall be compulsory.
2) It is not possible to have a resit if the reason of failing the credit was noncompliance with the requirement to participate in them. In such a case a student can be conditionally registered in an successive stage of study and can repeat the failed course.
3) In case of 30 hours in semester, 2 absences without justifying are acceptable. Missed classes must be made up in accordance with the requirements of the lecturer. The requirements are provided by the lecturer during the first class.
II. Assessment Criteria:
The final grade is composed of:
Substantive participation in classes (25%)
Presentation on a topic assigned by the lecturer (25%)
Final oral statement (50%)
Grading system:
99 – 100% - 5 (excellent)
93 - 98% - 5 (very good)
87 - 92% - 4,5 (fairly good)
77 - 86% - 4 (good)
71 - 76% - 3,5 (satisfactory plus)
60 - 70% - 3 (satisfactory)
Bibliography
Katarzyna Błachowska, Wiele historii jednego państwa. Obraz dziejów Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego do 1569 roku w ujęciu historyków polskich, rosyjskich, ukraińskich, litewskich i białoruskich w XIX wieku, Warszawa 2009.
Henry Chadwick, Historia rozłamu Kościoła wschodniego i zachodniego, Kraków 2009.
Andrzej Chwalba, Historia Polski 1795-1918, Kraków 2001.
Karol Estreicher, Historia sztuki w zarysie, Kraków 1990.
Roman Grodecki, Stanisław Zachorowski, Jan Dąbrowski, Dzieje Polski średniowiecznej, Kraków 2011.
Marian Kallas, Historia ustroju Polski X-XX w., Warszawa 1997.
Zigmantas Kiaupa, Juratė Kiaūpienė, Albinas Kuncevičius, Historia Litwy od czasów najdawniejszych do 1795 roku, Warszawa 2008.
Juliusz Kłos, Wilno, Wilno 1937.
Artur Konopacki, Życie religijne Tatarów na ziemiach Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego w XVI-XIX wieku, Warszawa 2010.
Tadeusz Manteuffel, Historia powszechna. Średniowiecze, 2007.
Poczet królów i książąt polskich, red. Andrzej Garlicki, Warszawa 1991.
Jan Tyszkiewicz, Z historii Tatarów polskich 1794-1944, Pułtusk 2002.
Katarzyna Węglicka, Białoruskie ścieżki. Gawędy kresowe, Warszawa 2006.
Katarzyna Węglicka, Wędrówki kresowe. Gawędy o miejscach, ludziach i zdarzeniach, Warszawa 2006.
Zbigniew Wójcik, Historia powszechna wiek XVI-XVII, Warszawa 2008.
Władysław Zahorski, Podania i legendy wileńskie, Gdańsk 1991.
Source texts and studies will be verified on an ongoing basis by the lecturer.