Russian and East European Institute

The study of Poland, its language, culture, and history, has been a part of Indiana University’s curriculum for decades. Polish studies has continued to expand as an area of focus in IU coursework with the support of the Polish Studies Center (PSC). Through the IU Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures and the Russian and East European Institute (REEI), the university offers:

• Polish language training through the third-year level during the academic year and a summer intensive language program;
• A large collection of Polish materials to support dissertation and other advanced research;
• Faculty and student exchange programs with Warsaw University and Jagiellonian University (Krakow);
• Courses about Poland and Eastern Europe in a variety of fields (history, literature, politics, anthropology).

Faculty
Academic Program
Alumni
Summer Language Study
Exchanges
Resources

Faculty

Justyna Beinek, assistant professor of Slavic languages and literatures (Ph.D, Harvard University, 2001), specializes in Polish and Russian nineteenth- and twentieth-century literature, with a particular focus on Romanticism, cultural studies, and comparative literature. Her research interests include the engagement of Polish and Russian literatures with issues of memory, nation, gender, authorship, the body, and the idea of the “West.” She is currently completing her book, The Album in the Age of Russian and Polish Romanticism: Memory, Nation, Authorship, based on extensive archival research in Poland and Russia. Read Dr. Beinek's profile in the October 2006 REEIfication.

Jack Bielasiak, professor of political science (PhD, Cornell University, 1975) is a specialist in the field of comparative politics. His major research emphasis is on the transformation of communist societies and the entry of EE states into the European Union. He has published numerous journal articles and edited books on East European and communist/post-communist politics, including one volume addressing the political crisis in Poland. He is currently working on a project on Elections and Party Systems in Emerging Democracies, and on the integration issue in EE party politics. In conjunction with these interests, Professor Bielasiak teaches courses on Transitions to Democracy, East European Politics, and Post-Communist Politics, as well as courses on Comparative Revolutions, The Politics of Genocide, and Political Tyranny. He received a Fulbright Scholarship for the fall semester 2004 to serve as the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Central, East European, and Russian Studies at Warsaw University.

Lech Walesa visits IU

Bill Johnston, associate professor of Teaching English as a Second or Other Language (TESOL) and Applied Linguistics (PhD, University of Hawaii, 1995), is Director of the Polish Studies Center. His main interest is in the translation of modern Polish literature. He also focuses on language teaching methodology, language teacher education and teacher development, and the teaching of indigenous and less commonly taught languages. He has translated Andrzej Szczypiorski’s The Shadow Catcher and Self-Portrait with Woman, Jerzy Pilch’s His Current Woman, and Boleslaw Prus’s The Sins of Childhood and Other Stories.

Padraic Kenney, professor of history (PhD, University of Michigan, 1992) is an expert on Eastern Europe, and focuses specifically on Poland. He has published many monographs, including A Carnival of Revolution: Central Europe and, more recently, Shock of the New: Eastern Europe Since 1989. Kenney has also authored countless articles and essays and is the recipient of several awards including the AAASS/Orbis Book Prize and was the August Zaleski Lecturer at Harvard University in 2001. He is also interested in the fate of political prisoners throughout the world in the modern context.

Beate Sissenich, assistant professor of political science (PhD, Cornell University, 2003) is a specialist in European Union enlargement to the east. She is completing a book manuscript titled “State-Building by a Non-State: European Union Enlargement and the Transfer of EU Social Policy to Poland and Hungary.” Her research interests include the formation and functioning of regional systems; transnational policy networks; intergovernmental, state and non-state actors; and transnational contentious politics.

Several other IU faculty members specializing in Eastern European studies also contribute to scholarship on Poland:

Ronald Feldstein (Slavics) and Steven Franks (linguistics) recently published a book on Polish linguistics; Jean Robinson (political science) works on family response to state policies in post-socialist societies; Maria Bucur (history) teaches East European history and gender studies; Owen Johnson (journalism/history) researches mass media in East Central Europe; Daniel Cole (IUPUI – Law) works on environmental law in Poland; Michael Alexeev (economics) studies the economic transformation of former centrally planned economies; Sarah Phillips (anthropology) works on the anthropology of post-socialist societies; and Beverly Stoeltje (folklore) teaches on nationalism, difference, and gender in East Europe; Halina Goldberg (Musicology) teaches Chopin and the Music and Politics of Eastern Europe; Charles Wise (SPEA) teaches about democratization and transition in Eastern Europe and the CIS; Sue Grimmond (Geography) researches urban and rural climate changes in Poland.

Academic Program

Indiana University offers students a number of ways to engage in Polish studies. Students can enroll in three years of language instruction, including summer intensive language training, which is available for introductory level Polish. Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships are available for graduate students pursuing Polish-language study during both the academic year and summer session.

Undergraduate students can include Polish language and Polish studies as part of most major academic courses of study and graduate with a minor in Russian and East European Studies from REEI.

REEI offers a master’s degree in Russian and East European Studies for students seeking professional careers in government, non-profit organizations, or private businesses that require advanced knowledge of the language and culture of Poland. Students pursuing a PhD in most disciplines and professional schools can include course work in Polish studies toward a dual degree, Graduate Area Certificate in Russian and East European Studies, or PhD minor. IU MA and PhD graduates of Polish studies go on to successful careers in government, international exchange organizations, higher education, journalism, and business. To read more about opportunities in Polish Studies read the Polish Studies Center Newsletter here.

Alumni

The following list gives the career choices of some recent IU graduates who have included Polish studies in their curriculum.

Mark Betka (MA/MPA REEI/SPEA 2003) works with the Bureau of International Information Programs at the U.S. Department of State.

Elizabeth Coughlan (Political Science PhD 1993) is a professor of political science, Salem State College

Richard Knepper (MA REEI 2002) is a System Administrator for Digital Media Network Services at Indiana University.

Lynn Lubamersky (History PhD 1998) is a professor of history at Boise State University.

Zachary Morford (MA REEI 1998) is a member of the development staff at Development Alternatives, Inc.

Peggy Simpson (REEI MA 1998) spent the 1990s as a freelance reporter in Poland and taught at the American Studies Center in Warsaw. She recently began teaching at George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs as a visiting professor.

Summer Language Study

Indiana University’s summer language program is open to IU students, students from other universities, upper-level high school students, non-degree students and members of the community. The Summer Workshop in Slavic, East European, and Central Asian Languages (SWSEEL) offers a full year of beginning Polish-language training in a single eight-week, intensive summer session, mid-June to mid-August each year. By special agreement with the Indiana state legislature, all summer intensive language students pay tuition at the in-state rate. Fellowship awards for tuition and a stipend are available on a competitive basis. During some summers, Polish-language study is ACLS funded, providing a tuition waiver to graduate students.

Exchanges

Indiana University has active exchange programs with both Warsaw University and Jagiellonian University (Krakow). Faculty members and students are given the opportunity to study Polish and conduct research in Poland each year. In addition to the year-long programs with both universities, Indiana University also participates in a summer exchange program with Warsaw University, in which one faculty member and one graduate student are funded to pursue language training and research.

Graduate students at IU are regularly awarded national grants to fund dissertation
research and language study in Poland. Recent awards include language grants from the Kosciuszko Foundation and Fulbright-Hays dissertation fellowships.

Polish Resources

Main Library

The Polish collection at Indiana University is second only to our Russian/Soviet holdings. It contains 57,100 volumes, 48,800 in Polish. It supports graduate research in most areas of the humanities and social sciences. It has the only holding of Czas (1848-1900 on 50 reels of microfilm) in the U.S. Émigré publications are well-represented, as is Polish literature in English translation. Included in the collection of Polish periodicals are Gazeta Wyborcza, Rzeczpospolita, Tygodnik Powszechny, Nowy Dziennik, the Polish Sociological Review, and the Polish Economic Review, among numerous others.

Video Library

Polish Films can be checked out from the Russian and East European Institute or Polish Studies Center for loan without charge to instructors and students for use in the classroom and curricular development. Some of the Polish films in the library include: The Decalogue (1988-89), Everything for Sale (1968), Europa Europa (1991), The Spring to Come (2001), and Trip Down the River (1997). Many other feature films and documentaries are also available. Please view our library website for listed materials.

Coffee Hours

Polish coffee hour convenes every week at a local cafe for students of the language to practice conversation with native-speakers. Please view the Coffee Hours flier for complete information.

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Russian and East European Institute | College of Arts and Sciences | Ballantine Hall 565, Bloomington, IN 47405 | Ph: (812) 855-7309 | Fx: (812) 855-6411 | reei@indiana.edu | Copyright 2006 Trustees of Indiana University