Honouring the Past and Celebrating the Present. One Hundred Years of English Studies at the University of Warsaw 1923-2023
Author: red. Babilas Dorota (ORCID 0000-0001-5055-2741)
Date: 2023-04-17 00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: anglistyka; filologia angielska; Instytut Anglistyki; Uniwersytet Warszawski; UW; English Studies; English Philology; Institute of English Studies; University of Warsaw
Description: Published on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of English Studies at the University of Warsaw, this book documents the academic and institutional development of the discipline and its academic seat. It pays tribute to scholars whose contribution made this development possible, and showcases research areas currently explored by academics employed at the Institute of English Studies. The publication is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Poland license (CC BY 3.0 PL) (full license available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode). Książka, wydan
Publisher: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego

Commissioning editor

Ewa Wyszyńska

Proofreading

Natalia Kłopotek

Layout editing

Maryla Broda

Cover design

Anna Gogolewska

Cover illustrations

Students in front of the gate of the University of Warsaw, 1933, National Digital Archives

The building at Dobra 55, photo University of Warsaw / Promotion Office

Layout and typesetting

Dariusz Górski

Published with the financial support of the University of Warsaw and the Institute of English Studies, University of Warsaw.

Publication under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 PL (CC BY 3.0 PL) license (full text available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/pl/legalcode)

Dorota Babilas, University of Warsaw, ORCID 0000-0001-5055-2741

ISBN 978-83-235-6104-0 (print)

ISBN 978-83-235-6112-5 (pdf online)

ISBN 978-83-235-6120-0 (e-pub)

ISBN 978-83-235-6128-6 (mobi)

University of Warsaw Press

PL 02-678 Warsaw, 5/7 Smyczkowa St.

e-mail: wuw@uw.edu.pl
www.wuw.pl

1st edition, Warsaw 2023

Table of contents

Introduction (Agnieszka Piskorska)

Acknowledgements (Dorota Babilas)

Part 1. The history of English Studies at the University of Warsaw (Dorota Babilas)

1.1. The condition of English Studies in Poland since the beginning of  he 20th century

1.2. English Studies within the organisational structure of the University of Warsaw

1.3. The premises of the Institute

1.4. Changes in the official name of the Institute

1.5. Heads of Department

1.6. The history of the Institute

1.7. The Institute at 50 (1973)

1.8. The Institute from the late 1970s into the 21st century

1.9. Administrative offices (Sekretariaty)

1.10. The Institute library

1.11. The students

Part 2. The Institute of English Studies today (2023)

2.1. Department of British Literature

2.2. Department of North American Cultures and Literatures

2.3. Department of British Culture

2.4. Department of the English Language

2.5. Department of Applied Linguistics and Translation Studies

Part 3. In memoriam

3.1. Andrzej Tretiak (1886–1944) by Anna Cetera-Włodarczyk

3.2. Wacław Borowy (1890–1950)

3.3. Tadeusz Grzebieniowski (1894–1973)

3.4. Alfred Reszkiewicz (1920–1973)

3.5. Margaret Schlauch (1898–1986)

3.6. Stanisław Helsztyński (1891–1986)

3.7. Wanda Krajewska (1927–1989) by Emma Harris

3.8. Wanda Rulewicz (1948–1995)

3.9. Maria Jędrzejkiewicz (1942–1998) by Emma Harris

3.10. Grzegorz Sinko (1923–2000)

3.11. Bronisława Bałutowa (1919–2005) by Emma Harris

3.12. Nancy Burke (1935–2006) by Ewa Łuczak

3.13. Nancy Burke (1935–2006): A life well-lived by Cecelia Lawless

3.14. Irena Dobrzycka (1909–2007) by Emma Harris

3.15. Teresa Kieniewicz (1944–2008)

3.16. Wiesław Furmańczyk (1926–2011)

3.17. Stanisława Kumor (née Skrodzka) (1922–2012) by Bożenna Chylińska

3.18. Alicja Kędzielska (1933–2013)

3.19. Jan Rusiecki (1926–2015) by Agnieszka Otwinowska-Kasztelanic

3.20. Michał Rozbicki (1946–2019)

3.21. Maria Łyżwińska (née Bachman) (1942–2021)

3.22. Maria Birkenmajer (1942–2021) by Klaudyna Michałowicz and Dorota Babilas

3.23. Maria Dakowska (1950–2022) by Katarzyna Hryniuk

Part 4. Remembering the Past. Reminiscences of the Professors of the Institute of English Studies

4.1. Andrzej Kaznowski, “We shall overcome” or a struggle for academic autonomy; First “Solidarity” movement – memories of the time

4.2. Jerzy Wełna, Reminiscences

4.3. Zbigniew Lewicki, Those were the days

4.4. Emma Harris, Recollections: the Institute of English Studies, 1974–2023

4.5. Jerzy Rubach, Recollections

4.6. Jerzy Rubach, A short story about [closure in (sic!) the mouth] and the fall of the communist system

4.7. Grażyna Bystydzieńska, Recollections

4.8. Grażyna Bystydzieńska, A short history of the Department of English Literature

4.9. Aniela Korzeniowska, Reflections on the history of the Department of Applied Linguistics and Translation Studies

4.10. Jerzy Zybert, My work at the Institute of English Studies

Appendices

Receivers of the doctoral degree in the years 1930–2022 (Dorota Babilas)

Habilitacje (post-doctoral degrees)

Bibliography of works consulted

List of illustrations

Illustrations

Introduction

When Professor Andrzej Tretiak established the English Seminar at the University of Warsaw, Poland had been an independent state for only five years. Recovering from the 123 years of political non-existence, the country was struggling to re-establish its institutions, improve standards of living, and provide education to its citizens. It also had to contend with severe economic hardships, including mass unemployment and hyperinflation; and was awaiting reforms intended to underpin basic common prosperity. Although the University of Warsaw had already had a history of over a hundred years, it was in 1918 that it started to enjoy freedom and independence from political interference. In 1923, this seat of learning was therefore a rapidly developing but still very young academic institution. These may be well-known historical facts, but we need to bring them to the forefront of our minds in order to fully appreciate the courage and visionary spirit which Professor Tretiak embodied. The inter-war years offered great promise, but such promise would only be dashed by the outrage of Nazi occupation, tragically followed by decades of political oppression. The year 1989, which is within the lifespan of many of us faculty members, ushered in halcyon days of unconstrained research opportunities, and also the exponential development of English Studies as an educational discipline. English, perceived as a “window to the Western world”, was the language of both the academia and international organizations. Needless to say, the great demand for English teachers and competent English speakers was conducive to the growth of our Institute. Not only did we expand in size, but we also modernized curricula so that students could be offered tailored options for the construction of their individual paths of educational development.

In recent times, English as a foreign language has become ubiquitous, and so today it is rather a language of instruction as opposed to being an object of study, albeit we still offer classes intended to improve the mastery of language skills. Furthermore, we participate in international projects and explore research topics relevant to contemporary literature studies, culture studies, and linguistics. We foreground 21st-century methodologies and share our research interests and academic pursuits with our students, with whom we engage as active participants and the co-creators of our achievements.

At the same time, we are facing the same questions and uncertainties as other scholars within the field of humanities. Namely, how can we contribute to solving global crises by facilitating critical thinking? And how can we exploit literatures and cultures to enhance our understanding of the human condition? The study of language and communication is key in approaching these questions, too.

Spearheading change in what is an ever-transforming world, we have become the first department in Poland to offer separate degrees in English Studies – Literature and Culture, and English Studies – Linguistics. This gives our students an opportunity to focus on the discipline of their choice and to have their specialism recognized on their diploma. It should be also mentioned that with 61 faculty members and a number of Emeritus Professors actively involved in research and teaching, we are the largest institute at the University of Warsaw. As the future may pose new challenges to the humanities, we shall continue to remain relevant and inspire generations of students.

This book documents the achievements of my illustrious mentors, their predecessors, and my colleagues currently working in the Institute. I would like to thank all contributors, whose involvement and efforts have made this publication so impressive. My special thanks go to Prof. Dorota Babilas, who authored the first part of the book (aided by Prof. Emma Harris and Prof. Jerzy Wełna), and who also edited the entire volume. I would like to acknowledge the precious help of Prof. Aniela Korzeniowska and Prof. Barry Keane, who ensured the coherence and language quality of the text.

The Institute of English Studies owes a great debt of gratitude to the Rector of the University of Warsaw, Professor Alojzy Nowak, for his generous support of our centenary celebration, and the Vice-Rector for Research, Professor Zygmunt Lalak, for granting a part of the funds for the publication of this volume. We are grateful to the Dean of the Faculty of Modern Languages, Professor Robert Małecki, for the faculty’s financial and organizational support, thanks to which we have been able to make the celebrations genuinely memorable. I would also like to express my heartfelt thanks to Prof. Ewa Łuczak for coordinating the jubilee celebrations, which often required superhuman skills. I extend this sentiment of appreciation to the members of the Jubilee Committee: Prof. Bartłomiej Czaplicki, Prof. Katarzyna Kociołek, Dr. Agnieszka Kałdonek-Crnjaković, and Dr. Maciej Rosiński, and also to our students, for their share in preparing the jubilee’s programme. And finally, many thanks must be extended to the Section for PR and Communication at the Faculty of Modern Languages, who handled all practical and indispensable issues.

Dr hab. Agnieszka Piskorska, Head of the Institute of English Studies

Warsaw, February 2023

Acknowledgements

The centenary of English Studies at the University of Warsaw is an occasion filled with gratitude. In autumn 2022, when I was asked by the Head of the Institute of English Studies, Professor Agnieszka Piskorska, to edit the present volume, I expected to encounter some interesting stories and minor obstacles. However, the scale both of both the achievements of my predecessors at the Institute and of the difficulties in gathering information about them surprised me. During the last few months, I embarked on a fascinating journey into the history of the University of Warsaw, as well as the personal lives and professional accomplishments of the founders and luminaries of our Institute. I hope this commemoration preserves the stories of remarkable people who established it and sought its preservation during the trying times of World War II and the political turmoil of the 20th century.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to those employees of the Institute of English Studies who contributed their memories, shared personal photographs, helped with accessing (sometimes elusive) archival documents, and assisted at various stages of this book’s development. Special thanks go to Professor Ewa Łuczak who took on the organisational aspect of this volume’s creation, contacting retired professors, collecting photographs, and tirelessly fundraising. Invaluable help was given by the staff of the offices of the Institute – Lidia Matuszewska, Barbara Walkiewicz, Joanna Sokołowska, Marta Czyżewska, and Małgorzata Bednarek – who shared their memories and assisted in retrieving archival materials. I would also like to express my thanks to the staff of the Faculty Office for Doctoral Studies, especially Martyna Cinak-Modzelewska, for helping me in compiling the list of doctoral and post-doctoral degrees conferred in English Studies at the University of Warsaw. The staff of the Institute library, especially Dorota Traczewska and Anita Dołęgiewicz, were instrumental in finding and facilitating access to the materials from 1973, when the Institute was celebrating its fiftieth anniversary.

Several professors in the Institute took time to read through various chapters of the present book, correcting factual errors and language mistakes. I would like to express my deep gratitude to Professors Emma Harris and Jerzy Wełna, whose vivid recollections of the life of the Institute have proven to be a real treasure. Professors Aniela Korzeniowska and Barry Keane undertook to proofread large sections of this volume, offering valuable linguistic and factual help. Professors Izabela Szymańska, Barbara Kowalik, and Elżbieta Foltyńska (Head of Student Affairs) provided further assistance with facts and documents.

Unless the exact version of the name is essential, to avoid unnecessary confusion the term “the Institute” will be used even when referring to the Institute of English Studies in its former incarnations.

Dr hab. Dorota Babilas, editor of this volume

PART 1.

The history of English Studies at the University of Warsaw

1.1. The condition of English Studies in Poland since the beginning of the 20th century

The story of English Studies in Poland “has been a history of high drama, heart-breaking tragedy, labyrinth twists and turns under a variety of governments both foreign and domestic, and the victim of such infernal forces that one can only wonder how it survived during the dark times of the Partitions (until 1918), two World Wars, six years of Nazi occupation, and Stalinist purges” (Carter, 5). After the worst Stalinist repressions were over in the late 1950s, the discipline started the slow process of regeneration and growth which in time gained momentum. Following the democratic changes of 1989, English has become the most popular foreign language taught in Poland at all levels of education, and the condition of the academic discipline with its various aspects of the literatures, cultures, and languages of English-speaking countries is now better than ever.

The first Polish university to establish a chair in English was the Jagiellonian University in Kraków in 1908. In 1909, the first degree in English literature was awarded there, the doctorate of Andrzej Tretiak (the future founder of English Studies in Warsaw) on the language of Shakespeare, prepared under the supervision of Professor Wilhelm Creizenach, a respected German historian of literature working in Kraków (Mazur, 10). After the end of World War I, university departments devoted to the study of English literature and language were opened in Poznań (1921), Warsaw (1923), and Lwów (1924). Professor Jacek Fisiak points out that in the interwar period, these departments were rather small, “roughly 30 students per department, which made about 120 students in the whole of Poland” (Fisiak 1983, 17). Much of the documentation of the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees granted then would be lost during World War II, when many of the university buildings, archives, and libraries were destroyed. Warsaw was the most affected with the loss of not only the infrastructure, but also its entire staff, including Professor Andrzej Tretiak and his assistant Stanisław Andrzej Mikułowski. All Polish universities were closed after the German invasion in 1939; still, both Warsaw and the Jagiellonian Universities tried to continue their language and literature programmes in underground universities. Thus, Antoni Prejbisz, for example, completed his doctorate (on Polish-English diplomatic relations in the 18th century) at the University of Warsaw in 1942.

In his account of English Studies in Poland in the 20th century, Ronnie D. Carter calls the interwar period “the Era of Birth and Death” (14), and the period immediately after World War II the time of “Rebirth and Near Death” (14). When the war ended, Lwów was in Soviet hands, but the English departments at the universities of Warsaw, Kraków, and Poznań reopened. Some newcomers were added to the list – Łódź, Wrocław, and Toruń – in 1945. In 1946, the Catholic University of Lublin (KUL) created its English department. Unfortunately, in 1949 the Ministry of Education suspended admissions to all English institutes at state universities except Warsaw (and the private KUL), so with the awarding of their last M.A. degrees in 1952, five English departments closed their doors. The official reason was the low academic performance of the students who were admitted with no entrance exams, often without prior knowledge of English. However, as Professor Wojciech Lipoński notes, for the Stalinist regime, English Studies were suspicious, as the knowledge of a foreign language made it possible for students and graduates to gain access to information from beyond the Iron Curtain, with the United States being seen as the biggest enemy (Lipoński, 11). Many specialists were transferred to other departments or left teaching altogether – some decided to move to the capital city.

The English Seminar at the University of Warsaw continued working, attracting professors, and library donations, from the closed departments. When English institutes reopened amid the new political atmosphere after 1956, competitive entrance exams were introduced, and the course of study was extended from four to five years. A positive aspect of the reform was special emphasis put on intensive language training; students were given up to ten hours a week of practical English classes, held in small groups. Much of the earlier curriculum, including up to 40% of subjects unrelated to English Studies, was reorganised and reduced by a professorial committee appointed by the Ministry of Higher Education (Lipoński, 26).

A “Decade of Slow Recovery” (Carter, 17) began. Łódź started admitting students in 1957, Kraków in 1958, Wrocław and Poznań in 1965. In 1963, under pressure from the communist regime, KUL closed down its English Institute (to be reopened eighteen years later, in 1981). In the same year, the public-sector institution of higher education in Lublin, the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University (UMCS), established its own English department. In 1973, an English Studies department was opened at the University of Gdańsk, and at the University of Silesia in Katowice. New English departments were created at the School of Higher Education in Bydgoszcz in 1975, and in Opole in 1978. The last of the early universities to reopen for students was Toruń in 1987 (taking many of the professors and staff over from Bydgoszcz, which temporarily closed down in 1988; Carter, 8). This was the time of development for English Studies in Poland. The graduates of the Institute of English Studies in Warsaw facilitated this post-1956 expansion. Jacek Fisiak and Tomasz Krzeszowski moved to the University of Łódź when it was re-opened in 1957; Jacek Fisiak later moved on to the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań in 1963. Professor Witold Ostrowski (1914–2006), an expert on Tennyson and Conrad, a former student of Professor Tretiak and assistant to Professor Grzebieniowski, became in 1964 Head of the English Institute in Łódź. In the 1960s, four Warsaw graduates, Grażyna Bystydzieńska, Edmund Gussmann, Bogusław ‘Bob’ Marek, and Michał Rozbicki, moved to the new department at UMCS. Eventually, Professors Bystydzieńska and Rozbicki returned to Warsaw, while Professor Gussmann moved on to KUL.

In 1972, Professor Franciszek Grucza founded the Institute of Applied Linguistics (ILS) at the University of Warsaw “with the aim of training foreign language teachers and translators, not philologists” (Dakowska, 1594). English was one of the languages taught there – beside German, French, and Russian – all of which were “studied against the necessary Polish background” (Krzeszowski, 1047). There was a hint of competition between the two departments of the University of Warsaw with similar aims, but over time friendly relations prevailed, marked by frequent staff collaboration at an institutional and personal level.

After the fall of communism in 1989, interest in British/Commonwealth and American Studies virtually exploded. At the crucial moment, between October 1988 and August 1989, Jacek Fisiak, an eminent linguist, Professor (and former Rector) at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, held the post of the Minister of National Education – new prospects were opening for English Studies. The Institute of English Studies at the University of Warsaw took the opportunity to expand the numbers of students, and, most importantly, to introduce an innovative programme of studies.

New university departments offering instruction in the field of English Studies appeared. The American Studies Center launched formal degree programmes in 1991 (they had given courses since 1975), becoming the third department at the University of Warsaw (beside the Institute of English Studies and the English section of the Institute of Applied Linguistics) allowed to grant master’s degrees in English Studies. In 1992, thanks to incentive from our English Institute members working in this area and British Council funding, an inter-faculty British Studies Centre was created by the University of Warsaw. It was headed by Professor Emma Harris, and from 1999, by Professor Grażyna Bystydzieńska.

With the rise of democracy and the free market economy, English replaced Russian as the main foreign language taught in Polish primary and secondary schools, therefore several thousand teachers of English were needed by the school system. The Ministry of National Education responded by allowing the mass opening of Teacher Training Colleges that offered three-year B.A. (licencjat) programmes. Colleges could be organised by local government authorities or private firms, on the condition of finding an established university as patron for the project (Mazur, 27). In 1991, 68 teacher training language colleges were created (catering for over 5500 students), 56 of these schools had English as their dominant section (French and German, for example, were also taught). The University of Warsaw, with the Institute of English Studies in the forefront, became patron of eight such colleges.

New universities were established, some of them offering English Studies courses and degrees: Opole University (1994), the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn (1999). The School of Higher Education in Rzeszów (given a University status in 2001) established their Institute of English Philology in 1995. The University of Białystok (until 1997 a branch of the University of Warsaw) followed. The University of Szczecin opened their English Philology programme in 1999. The numbers of M.A. candidates pursuing English Studies in Poland skyrocketed from 5,400 in 1991 to 13,800 in 2000 (Carter, 517). In 2005, the Bydgoszcz School of Higher Education received its University status as the Kazimierz Wielki University (the English Studies department had been re-established in 2000).

Since 1st May 2004, Poland has been a member state of the European Union, with English being one of its official (and most widely spoken) languages. Within the free market economy, commercial schools of higher education started multiplying, many of them teaching English as a foreign language. In time, they expanded their range of subjects to include courses in English-language literature and culture, sometimes eventually obtaining official authorisation to award bachelor’s degrees. The new state-funded University of Zielona Góra opened in 2001, and their Institute of Modern Languages was created in 2006. The Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce started accepting candidates for master’s degrees in English in 2013.

In 1999, Poland signed the Bologna Accord, becoming a member of the European Higher Education Area. This access required a thorough remodelling of university education to allow easier international co-operation of participant states and institutions. The most important aspect of the Bologna Process was the creation of the three-cycle higher education system consisting of bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral studies. The five-year M.A. programme was gradually phased out and replaced with a dual programme consisting of a three-year undergraduate (B.A.) and two-year graduate (M.A.) studies programmes.

At the time of writing this in early 2023, there are 33 public and 20 private Universities and Schools of Higher Education offering programmes in English Studies at bachelor’s and/or master’s level in Poland. It is an exponential growth compared to the early, or even post-war decades. The old Universities remain prestigious and boast the highest academic achievements in the field in Poland, but candidates for higher education are now spoilt for choice with schools catering for every professional purpose, academic aptitude, and budget. According to various sources, there are between 350 and 450 post-secondary educational institutions in Poland (the difference in the numbers resulting from hazy definitions), out of which 131 are public (that is government-funded), including technical universities, teacher training universities, life sciences universities, colleges of physical education, and a wide range of specialist universities (medical, artistic, business, theological, military etc.). However, according to national ranking lists (Perspektywy, Wprost), for many years the Institute of English Studies at the University of Warsaw has been a leader in offering the highest quality of academic courses in its field in Poland.

1.2. English Studies within the organisational structure of the University of Warsaw

Literature and foreign language studies have been present at the University of Warsaw from the very beginning in 1816. One of the initial Faculties, the Faculty of Arts and Humanities (Wydział Nauk i Sztuk Pięknych), grouped literature scholars and linguists together with representatives of other disciplines, such as music or painting.

In 1831, the University was closed by a decree of the Emperor of Russia (Warsaw was under Russian rule after the partitioning of Poland) as part of the repressions after the defeat of the November Uprising. It was re-established in 1862 as the Warsaw Main School (Szkoła Główna Warszawska), one of whose departments was the Faculty of Philology and History (Wydział Filologiczno-Historyczny). The lecturers in English in 1872–1880 included Herman Benni (1834–1900), an Evangelical pastor from Tomaszów Mazowiecki, whose mother was British. Benni was a native speaker of English, also fluent in Polish, Russian, German, and French. His son, Tytus Junius White Benni (1877–1935), became a distinguished linguist, expert in phonetics and foreign language teaching. From 1920, he held the chair of Phonetics at the University of Warsaw and later headed its Institute of Phonetics, although he declined to lecture on health grounds.

After Poland regained independence in 1918, the University of Warsaw opened a Faculty of Humanities (Wydział Humanistyczny) offering degree courses in German, French, English, and (from 1932) Oriental literatures, cultures, and languages. It was within this structure that the first English Seminar was established, headed by a literary studies scholar, Professor Andrzej Tretiak. One of the early students in 1923 was the poet Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński. He studied both English and Polish, but eventually failed to graduate in either. His youthful pranks, though, became legendary. The story goes that once he submitted an essay to Professor Tretiak in which he presented the life and works of a made-up 15th-century Scottish poet, Sir Gordon Morris Cheats, including fragments of his ballads in translation. Gałczyński admitted his guilt after some time, but, according to this tale, the hoax was so convincing that Professor Tretiak did not believe him (Kowalik, 15). Another notable student from this period was Felicja Kruszewska, a gifted poet who, like Gałczyński, studied English and Polish. She was one of the first outstanding female students of English after the University started admitting women in 1915. In 1932, Kruszewska published the volume Twarzą na zachód (Facing West), in which she dedicated one of the poems, entitled “Chatterton”, to Professor Tretiak (Kowalik, 16).

At the beginning of the academic year 1939/1940, Professor Tretiak was elected Dean of the Faculty of Humanities; he continued this work in secret for three more years during the German occupation. While engaging in conspiracy work, he remained active as a scholar; he translated T. S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral, fragments of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, he also wrote original poetry (Borowy, 262–264). Tragically, Professor Tretiak was abducted from his home by the German occupiers and shot on the third day of the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944 (Jaworska, Cetera-Włodarczyk).

After the end of World War II, the University was rebuilt. All modern languages departments, including the Polish and Slavic departments, were situated within the Faculty of Philology (Wydział Filologiczny). In 1968, it was divided into the Faculty of Polish and Slavic Languages and Literatures (Wydział Filologii Polskiej i Słowiańskiej), and the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures (Wydział Filologii Obcych). In 1975, the latter was renamed the Faculty of Modern Languages (Wydział Neofilologii). It includes the Institute of English Studies, the Institute of German Studies, the Institute of French Studies, the Institute of Iberian and Ibero-American Studies (since 1972), the Chair of Hungarian Studies, the Chair of Italian Studies (since 1982), the Chair of Formal Linguistics, and the interdisciplinary Foreign Language and Culture Studies programme (SFK, since 2000). The Institute of Oriental Studies, also at first part of the Faculty of Modern Languages, became an independent faculty in 2005. Several professors from the Institute of English Studies served as Deans of the Faculty over the years: Jacek Wiśniewski, Marek Gołębiowski, Emma Harris, Maria Dakowska, Bartłomiej Błaszkiewicz (acting). At present, two professors, Anna Cetera-Włodarczyk and Anna Wojtyś, are Deputy Deans. Moreover, Professor Hanna Komorowska was Deputy Rector of the University of Warsaw for Student Affairs in 1993–1996.

1.3. The premises of the Institute

Initially, the Institute (as the English Seminar) was located in a single room in the Former Rector’s Building (Gmach Porektorski). After the end of World War II, it was transferred to two rooms in the Archaeology and Anthropology building, and later to four rooms in the building of the Faculty of Law. During the next few years, the Institute was situated within the premises of the Faculty of Philosophy in the former Collegium Theologicum, Traugutta Street.

1967–1992 – Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28

1992–2014 – Nowy Świat 4

2014–2022 – Hoża 69

2022– – Dobra 55

In 1967, the Institute was moved to the Czetwertyński-Uruski Palace in Krakowskie Przedmieście, located on the main University campus. English Studies occupied the Eastern annex, adjacent to the more representative edifice that still houses the Faculty of Geography. The palace has a long and interesting history. It was originally built in the Baroque style for the Poniatowski family in the first half of the 18th century, possibly by Saxon architect Johann Sigmund Deybel von Hammerau (Kwiatkowska). The original owner was Stanisław Poniatowski, Castellan of Kraków and father of Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last king of Poland. It was in this palace that Stanisław August learnt of his election to become King of Poland in 1764. In 1778, the old palace featured in the painting Krakowskie Przedmieście Seen from Nowy Świat by Canaletto. By that time, the palace had been handed over to the Tyszkiewicz family as part of a dowry. As owners of the more splendid residence next door, they rented the old palace out, and eventually sold it. It changed hands a few times in the first half of the 19th century, and in December 1843 it was bought by Count Seweryn Uruski. The palace was thoroughly rebuilt for him in 1844–1847 by Andrzej Gołoński in the neo-Renaissance style; it took the shape which has largely been kept till today. A large decorative cartouche with the Uruski coat of arms, called Sas, was set above the main entrance, on top of the front elevation; three annexes were also added. After the death of Uruski in 1890, the palace passed to his widow, Ermancja, and in the following year, to their daughter, Maria Wanda, who was married to Count Włodzimierz Czetwertyński-Świętopełk. Some redecoration was done to the annexes by architect Józef Huss in 1893–1895. After the death of Czetwertyński in 1918, his widow rented parts of the palace to the Persian Consulate, which remained there until the outbreak of World War II. In 1929, Count Seweryn Czetwertyński bought the estate from his mother. The palace was badly damaged during the war; it was hit by a German bomb in September 1939 and burnt down after the fall of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944.

The palace was handed over to the University of Warsaw in 1947; in 1948–1951, it was remodelled by architect Jan Dąbrowski to suit academic purposes. Although the outward shape of the main building was mostly kept unchanged, the annexes were modernized. The location in the Eastern annex, partially reconstructed in 1966–1967, was the first “proper home” for the Institute of English Studies, even if the connection to other parts of the former Czetwertyński palace was lost. The building provided a moderate-sized lecture hall (named after Professor Wacław Borowy) on the ground floor and some classrooms on two upper floors. There was a library, and office rooms for professors and administrative staff. As the size of the Institute started to grow over time, it was necessary to hire larger halls on the campus for lectures and exams. These were most often held in Auditorium Maximum, the Palace of Culture, and later also in the Modern Languages and Applied Linguistics building in Browarna Street, erected in the 1970s in the modernist style.

The location on the main campus has left warm memories in the minds of students and staff working there. When I started my studies in 1990, it felt cosy and inviting. The rooms were relatively modern; the fact that the Institute did not have to share the building with any other University department added to the atmosphere of conviviality and promoted friendships. It was a proud and happy moment to walk through the main University gate each morning, facing the old University Library (BUW) and Auditorium Maximum lecture halls nearby, as well as the green campus, which provided ample space for relaxation and socializing. It was a time filled with laughter and youthful merrymaking. A persistent legend among the students at the Institute was that one of the classrooms (mostly used for linguistics courses) on the second floor was haunted by a ghost. Almost everybody experienced the doors mysteriously opening by themselves, and some of the more imaginative spread rumours of a shadowy figure disappearing in the corridors during the long evenings of the winter semester. When lecturers were asked, some told flamboyant stories of forbidden romances, secret trysts in the offices of the former palace, and even suicides of love-struck aristocrats. These were recorded in 1992 in the Institute’s student journal, Paperback. Some professors even hoped that the protective ghosts of the Czerwertyński palace would follow the Institute to the new location in Nowy Świat Street.

If the old home of the Institute was rumoured to have its own ghost, the new one surely looked like a labyrinth with its two courtyards and a complex system of stairwells. The academic year of 1992/1993 started in the new premises at Nowy Świat 4, in a 19th-century building formerly used briefly as a dormitory for the imposing Dom Partii, the headquarters of the communist Polish United Workers’ Party (later housing the Warsaw Stock Exchange). The Institute occupied the entire fourth floor and in time also parts of the first and second floors. It shared its home with the British Studies Centre (Ośrodek Studiów Brytyjskich), the English Teacher-Training College (Nauczycielskie Kolegium Języka Angielskiego), the University of Warsaw Press (Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego), parts of the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Management, and the offices of the Kościuszko Foundation and Fulbright Foundation. After the transitory period when the Institute library was still in Krakowskie Przedmieście, the library was enlarged and located on the first floor, with the reading room in the inner courtyard, where for a time there was also a convenient cafeteria.

It was an attractive location near the elegant Plac Trzech Krzyży. The building was erected in 1822 for Adam Pajkowski – there was a smaller tenement on this site built in 1770 for a Mrs Zakrzewska, replacing an even earlier wooden structure (Zieliński, 192). In 1882, the next proprietor, a Jewish merchant Markus Celnikier, ordered a thorough remodelling of the building, changed the façade, added the top floor and some annexes at the back. After World War I, the Polish Tobacco Monopoly offices were housed there, following a renovation by Juliusz Dzierżanowski (it was probably then that another floor was added). The edifice survived World War II. It was taken over by the Polish United Workers’ Party (PZPR) and used as a boarding house for the two-year political administration school organised by the Party (Szkoła Partyjna przy KC PZPR, 1948–1957). Later it housed the Party’s College of Social Sciences (Wyższa Szkoła Nauk Społecznych przy KC PZPR, 1957–1984). After the fall of communism in Poland, the (somewhat neglected) building was passed on to the University of Warsaw in 1990, following the decision of Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki. The new Head of the Institute of English Studies, Professor Emma Harris, with the support of the Institute Council and staff, decided to take the opportunity to improve the Institute’s housing conditions and requested for it to be moved there.

Some moments of the relocation looked like a cross between a carnival and a students’ parade. At the end of the academic year 1991/1992, a small procession of professors and students marched from the Krakowskie Przedmieście campus along the street of Nowy Świat to the new location, carrying with them chairs, maps, and other elements of academic interior design. The jolly pageant reached the Institute’s new home in high spirits. The conditions had indeed improved, even if they were not ideal. In the first few years it was still possible to discover forgotten beds and other hotel equipment left behind in remote rooms of the building. There was only one lecture hall, so some of the classes – and especially large exams held at the end of each academic year – had to be conducted in rented halls, Auditorium Maximum again being the most popular choice. This time, however, the Institute was not situated within walking distance from the main campus, so the necessity to commute created logistic problems. This became especially visible when in 2000 the interdisciplinary Modern Languages programme, Western European Foreign Language and Culture Studies (SFKEZ) was opened – it allowed students to participate in different courses offered by the Institutes, including two chosen foreign languages at an advanced level. The English Studies lecturers and administrative staff were closely involved with the creation of this programme from the beginning.

In 2014, there was an unexpected occurrence. Soon after the new Head of the Institute, Professor Małgorzata Grzegorzewska, was elected, it turned out that the building at Nowy Świat 4 was unsafe for use. A construction site on the adjacent plot of land, including heavy machinery and digging deep trenches in the ground, was threatening the stability of the building, especially as it was continually used by large numbers of students. Ominous cracks started to appear in the walls and some doors would not close at all. Professor Grzegorzewska reacted immediately, demanding the Institute to be relocated to a safer place. An opportunity appeared, as the building hitherto occupied by the Faculty of Physics remained mostly empty after it had recently moved to a new campus in the Ochota district. In autumn 2014, without even a break in classes, the Institute was “temporarily” rehoused in the spacious building at Hoża 69. Fortunately, with the students gone and the dangerous vibrations reduced, the old site in Nowy Świat survived – right now it awaits major renovation.

The new headquarters of the Institute was once again a historical edifice with an interesting history. In 1913, a new building for the Department of Physics of the Imperial University of Warsaw (under Russian administration) was to be constructed on the grounds formerly belonging to the Pomological Garden – an old fruit orchard converted to a public park in 1870. The design by Piotr Fedders, a professor of architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology, was to be brought to life by the engineering firm of Bronisław Colonna-Czosnowski. The completion of the works was planned for summer 1914, but the outbreak of World War I (and the Polish-Russian War in 1920) interfered, and it was finally completed in 1921.

In the inter-war period, the building at Hoża 69 became the most important place of research in physics in Poland, using state-of-the-art equipment donated by the Rockefeller Foundation and housing international conferences frequented by Nobel Prize winners. The edifice survived World War II rather well, but it was emptied and devastated inside. After the war, the building was renovated and significantly enlarged. The last extension was completed in 1993 (Wróblewski). In 1950, the Atomic Hall was inaugurated, boasting a Cockcroft-Walton generator. In 1991, the first computer network in Poland was created in the building and in August that year, the very first email was sent, marking the country’s entry into the Internet age (Karpieszuk).

Professor Grzegorzewska’s quick decision to move into Hoża 69 meant arriving in a building that was going through a period of relative neglect, in need of hasty renovation. The Institute of English Studies settled mostly in the extension to the Western wing, as it was the most modern part that required few modifications. There were, however, many intriguing (and amusing) discoveries made in the rooms as we arrived – washbasins with running water still available, innumerable sockets of different types and fragments of mysterious gear left behind by the physicists. The portrait of Professor Borowy on the wall of the main amphitheatrical lecture hall on the third floor received a new companion in the large reproduction of a photograph of Albert Einstein.

The Institute library, located on the ground floor, enjoyed a beautiful reading room and ample storage space. The British Studies Centre, which in 2016 ceased to exist as an independent unit within the university and was incorporated into the Institute as a sub-section of the library, was equipped with a set of comfortable reading rooms, perfect for meetings, consultations, and small exams. The administrative offices on the third floor were sunlit and spacious. Over the years, more and more rooms were modernised and refurbished. The cafeteria from Nowy Świat did not move with us, but the local area was popular with small and stylish eateries, and in case of acute hunger there was a catering stall near the side entrance to the building. It was even farther from the main campus, and the interdisciplinary students had to struggle with the commute through the jammed streets of central Warsaw during rush hours, but soon most of the staff and students came to like the new location.

Sometimes, unusual things would happen. A few times the building in Hoża served as a filming set. For a couple of days in the early 2020s, the sign POLICJA was displayed above the main entrance, as the area was transformed into a police station for Netflix’s two crime mini-series The Woods (2020) and Hold Tight (2022), based on the prose of Harlan Coben. The building at Hoża 69 housed performances by the student theatre, The Cheerful Hamlets, and in 2018 and 2019, the lively English Studies part (Anglonalia) of the Juwenalia students’ festival, with a beer garden and an inflatable castle in the courtyard.

Nevertheless, changes were brewing, and, after a few years of waiting for the construction work to be finished, the decision was made to move the Institute again, this time to the new building at Dobra 55. We started the academic year 2022/2023 in the new place. Our neighbours at Hoża 69, the Department of Korean Studies, remained in the building.

In a way, the relocation of the Institute of English Studies to the Powiśle campus was the fulfilment of the wish already expressed in 1973 by Professor Irena Dobrzycka, the then Head of the Institute: “The small building of the Institute [i.e. its first home in Krakowskie Przedmieście] is becoming more cramped each year,” she wrote. “We hope that in a few years’ time the new buildings for the Faculty in Powiśle will be ready and the situation will improve” (“Anglistyka w Warszawie – Rys historyczny”).

The new building houses the Faculty of Applied Linguistics (Wydział Lingwistyki Stosowanej) and the Faculty of Modern Languages. It appeared on the former site of the Modern Languages and Applied Linguistics building, which some of the members of the staff might remember from earlier days. Until 2001, it also housed the Faculty offices. Then it was an “aesthetic eyesore” (Wojtczuk) built in the 1970s using potentially hazardous (but cheap) materials and finally torn down in 2017 – the new project was the extension of the modern Dobra 55 building designed by the Kuryłowicz & Associates Studio and inaugurated in 2012. The website of the studio boasts that “the project unites the universities’ [sic] linguistics departments into one location and brings a high level of transparency to the traditionally enclosed urban courtyard block, creating a green heart for the Powiśle riverbank district campus community” (Kuryłowicz & Associates). Located just opposite the new University of Warsaw Library (BUW, opened in 1999), the completed building spans 140 square metres and attracts the eye with bold colours and interesting, glass-covered architecture. Like the new BUW, it has a garden on the roof and five atrium courtyards named after the five continents. The most memorable element is perhaps the monumental yellow staircase which greets people arriving via a small park from the old University campus situated on the Vistula escarpment. In the words of its designers, “[t]he unexpected yellows of the building raises the visitors interest as to what else may be encountered. Here yellow isn’t just a colour, but a promise of a kind of life, to which the education in this building may lead” (Kuryłowicz & Associates, original grammar). Jerzy Majewski sees this as a metaphor for aspiring towards the heights of knowledge combined with common-sense practicality; according to the need, the staircase may serve different functions such as an open lecture hall, a forum for students, or an attractive place for official meetings (Majewski). The University building at Dobra 55 received awards for outstanding public architecture and accessibility from the President of Warsaw in 2011.

The ultra-modern working environment probably takes a little getting used to, but the staff of the Institute are generally optimistic when facing the second century of English studies in Warsaw in this new building. A recent amusing blunder illustrates it well – when one of the students wanted to use the new address in an email, their computer automatically corrected the words “Dobra 55” to “OK 55.” The phrase has caught on, becoming an unofficial motto of the Institute’s new headquarters.

1.4. Changes in the official name of the Institute

1923–1959 Seminarium Anglistyczne (English Seminar)

1959–1965 Zakład Filologii Angielskiej (Department of English Philology)

1966–1967 Katedra Filologii Angielskiej (Chair of English Philology)

1968–1972 Instytut Filologii Angielskiej (Institute of English Philology)

1972– Instytut Anglistyki (Institute of English Studies)

1.5. Heads of Department

I chose to omit the full titles for the sake of clarity, as the careers of these illustrious academics often lasted and developed over decades.

Andrzej Tretiak – Head of the English Seminar, 1923–1944

Wacław Borowy – Head of the English Seminar, 1945–1948

Stanisław Helsztyński – Head of the English Seminar, 1949–1954

Margaret Schlauch – Head of the Department of English Philology, 1954–1965

Grzegorz Sinko – Head of the Chair, and later Institute of English Philology, 1965–1970

Irena Dobrzycka – Head of the Institute of English Philology, later of English Studies, 1971–1978

Deputy Head for Research – Alfred Reszkiewicz, 1971–1973

Deputy Head for Research – Wanda Krajewska, 1973–1978

Deputy Head for Student Affairs – Zofia Dziedzic

Jan Rusiecki – Head of the Institute of English Studies, 1978–1984

Deputy Head for Research – Jerzy Wełna, 1979–1980, 1983–1984

Deputy Heads (at different times) – Marek Gołębiowski, 1978–1981

Michał Rozbicki, 1978–1981

Andrzej Weseliński, 1981–1983

Jacek Wiśniewski, 1981–1984

Jerzy Rubach – Head of the Institute of English Studies, 1984–1990

Acting Head (during Professor Rubach’s leave) – Zbigniew Lewicki, 1985–1986

Deputy Head for Research – Jerzy Wełna, 1984–1990

Deputy Head for Student Affairs – Alicja Kędzielska, 1984–1985

Barbara Dancygier, 1985–1990

Jacek Wiśniewski – Head of the Institute of English Studies, 1990 (May–September)

Deputy Head for Student Affairs – Barbara Dancygier

Emma Harris – Head of the Institute of English Studies, 1990–2014

Deputy Head for Research – Zbigniew Lewicki, 1990–1995

Jerzy Wełna, 2000–2005

Ewa Mioduszewska, 2005–2008

Dominika Oramus, 2008–2014

Deputy Head for Student Affairs (at different times) – Maria Birkenmajer

Zofia Piekarec

Marek Gołębiowski

Joanna Krasowska

Elżbieta Foltyńska, 2005–2014

Małgorzata Grzegorzewska – Head of the Institute of English Studies, 2014–2020

Deputy Head for Research – Dominika Oramus

Deputy Head for Student Affairs – Elżbieta Foltyńska

Agnieszka Piskorska – Head of the Institute of English Studies, 2020–

Deputy Head of Research – Dominika Oramus, 2020–2022

Bartłomiej Czaplicki, 2022–

Deputy Head for Student Affairs – Elżbieta Foltyńska, 2020–

(later: Head of Studies for English Philology)

Deputy Head for International Cooperation – Ewa Barbara Łuczak, 2021–

1.6. The history of the Institute

During the first academic years of the functioning of the English Seminar, its size was decidedly small. In 1922/1923, while the Seminar was being organised, some practical English classes (four hours a week) were given by Zofia Miklaszewska, a daughter of law Professor Walenty Piotr Miklaszewski (Podhajecka, 222). An Irishwoman, Kathleen O’Donoghue-Herman, taught courses in English literature and advanced English grammar (two hours a week each). Professor Andrzej Tretiak gave his first lectures in 1923/24, when the Seminar was put on the list of University departments. He taught courses of Old English Grammar, Elizabethan Theatre (mostly Shakespeare), and Pre-Raphaelite Poetry.

Kathleen O’Donoghue-Herman continued working as a lecturer until 1928/1929, teaching, among other practical subjects, English stylistics, when her position was taken over by another expatriate, Hilda Motler. Miss Motler’s courses were frequented by all students of the Faculty of Humanities, often up to three hundred people at a time. Docent Róża Jabłkowska (1910–2003), writing on the history of the Institute for its 50th anniversary, wonders how Hilda Motler managed to teach this enormous class of students to speak and write fluent English: “After a 3-year lectorate her students could apply for a scholarship to study abroad, read professional literature and use their English on daily occasions” (13–14). She was a well-loved, but very demanding teacher with a penchant for sarcasm if she considered students lazy and wasting their time. She was a member of animal protection societies and enjoyed choral music, which also inspired her teaching methods (Podhajecka, 240).

Professor Tytus Benni gave lectures in phonetics in 1926/1927 and taught classes in English syntax in 1928/1929. In 1927/1928, the Seminar had 26 students, but the number declined to 18 in the next academic year. Besides the classes closely related to English Studies, the students were expected to attend lectures and seminars in other areas of the humanities, such as history, Polish and foreign literature, or philosophy (Jabłkowska, 14). Some of the admired professors at the Faculty of Humanities in this period were Julian Krzyżanowski (a specialist in Polish literature), Józef Ujejski (an expert on Joseph Conrad), Marceli Handelsman (historian), Zygmunt Batowski (historian of Fine Arts), Stefan Bayley (an authority on child psychology), and philosopher Władysław Tatarkiewicz. Even though fluency in English was not a prerequisite for enrolment, many students had at least some knowledge of the language; a large proportion had studied at the popular Warsaw English College run by Methodists in Plac Zbawiciela from 1921.

On 1 October 1929, Stanisław Helsztyński (who had obtained a doctoral degree from the Jagiellonian University for a dissertation written under the supervision of Professor Roman Dyboski) was appointed part-time assistant at the English Seminar. However, as Jabłkowska notes, Professor Tretiak was the “one-man English Department” (15), lecturing on any subject that he deemed necessary, including linguistics. One doctoral degree in English was conferred in the academic year 1929/1930, but neither the title of the dissertation nor the name of its author could be established (Birkenmajer, Morawska, 8). There were 25 students at the Seminar.

Professor Benni continued teaching until 1931/1932; giving a series of lectures on didactics of the English language, part of the syllabus being obligatory for future teachers of English. Later, his lectures were cancelled on account of his bad health. In 1930, the Learned Society of English Students was established with Stanisław Mikułowski as its chairman. In the academic year 1930/1931, it had 26 members, and a year later 32 members (the chairman was Sylweriusz Kociącki). Three doctoral degrees were conferred between 1930 and 1932, but only one name and title (Jerzy Zaczkiewicz: A Comparative Study of the Prose of Henryk Sienkiewicz and Charles Dickens) could be found (Birkenmajer, Morawska, 8).

In 1932/1933, 25 students attended the Seminar; Stanisław Mikułowski continued as the chairman of the Learned Society, and Witold Chwalewik was its very active member. Three doctoral degrees in English were awarded: to Rachela Hercygier, Halina Kuropatwińska, and Helena Reynel. In 1933/34, the number of students increased to 27, and Halina Węglińska was the chairwoman of the Learned Society. In 1934, Sara Szymonowicz-Rosenwein received a doctoral degree for her thesis on William Morris. The importance of women students and young scholars for English Studies is observable. In 1935/1936, Katarzyna Taszycka became the chairwoman of the Learned Society (25 members) and continued in this capacity in the following year.

In the interwar period, the division of the academic year was into three trimestres: October to Christmas, Christmas to Easter, and Easter to early June. Andrzej Tretiak was given sabbatical leave in the third term of 1935/1936 to write a book on modern English lyrical poetry, and in the following year he was appointed Full Professor. In 1936/1937, the position of part-time assistant, hitherto held by Stanisław Helsztyński, was taken over by Stanisław Mikułowski. Twenty-eight students were members of the Learned Society, with Halina Węglińska as its chairperson. Just before the outbreak of World War II, Stanisław Mikułowski was given a year’s leave, and his post as assistant was taken over by Antoni Prejbisz (Birkenmajer, Morawska, 9). Stanisław Helsztyński was gaining an excellent reputation as a scholar, translator, and literary critic. Some of the graduates, like Zofia Bastgen, Klara Jastroch, and the poet Xenia Żytomirska, started their careers as secondary school teachers in Warsaw (Jabłkowska, 16).

Professor Tretiak engaged in the work of the underground university. Róża Jabłkowska remembers his lectures as “always informative but at the same time comforting and filling [the students] with strength and determination to fight and win” (16). Professor Wacław Borowy recalled the clandestine conferences Tretiak organized for the Warsaw Learned Society, as well as practical help he provided for prisoners escaping from Nazi camps (Borowy, 263). After his involvement had been discovered, he went into hiding. After months of dramatic occurrences involving his arrest under an assumed name, imprisonment in the notorious Pawiak prison, and subsequent release, Professor Tretiak was abducted from his home at the University “Professors’ House” and promptly executed. His wife Ada and one of his sons survived the war and continued to live in Warsaw. Stanisław Mikułowski was executed in 1942.

Apart from Professor Tretiak, several members of the faculty of the University of Warsaw’s English Seminar were active in various forms of resistance against the German invasion during World War II. Professors Wacław Borowy, Tadeusz Grzebieniowski, and Stanisław Helsztyński took part in the underground university. Stanisław Kryński served in the Polish Army. Wiesław Furmańczyk, Halina Kuropatwińska, Zofia Fabry-Garczyńska, and Jan Rusiecki fought in the Warsaw Uprising. Stanisława Skrodzka (Kumor) and Wiesław Furmańczyk were members of the Home Army (AK).

Professor Wacław Borowy became Curator of the English Seminar between 1945 and 1948. He was a student of Ignacy Chrzanowski, professor of Polish literature at the Jagiellonian University. After obtaining his doctoral degree in 1914, he came to work in the Warsaw University Library, where he reformed the cataloguing system. He lectured on Polish literature (Mickiewicz, Żeromski, Reymont, Wyspiański, Kasprowicz) at the London School of Slavonic Studies in the early 1930s and held a chair in Polish literature at the University of Warsaw after his return in 1937 (Jabłkowska, 19). His academic work combined a keen interest in Polish and English writers (esp. Shakespeare, Sterne, Conrad, and T.S. Eliot).

As Head of the English Seminar, Professor Borowy received valuable help from British Council lecturer Edgar C. McGahan, who came to Warsaw in the academic year 1947/1948. He taught seminars on both linguistic and literary subjects, as well as holding popular English-speaking and play-reading clubs (Corse, 238). In 1949, McGahan was informed that, by decision of the Polish authorities, his contract with the University would not be extended. He continued to work for the British Council in Warsaw, and eventually was relocated to Kraków in 1960. He stayed for 15 years at the Jagiellonian University Institute of English Philology and “obtained quasi-legendary status there” (Mazur, 17).

The post of the Head of the English Seminar passed in 1949 to Professor Stanisław Helsztyński, “a phenomenon among Polish humanists as regards his interests, steady and regular writing of books and essays, and excellent standards of pedagogy” (Jabłkowska, 20). He held this position until 1954. Docent Jabłkowska also remembers other influential scholars connected to English Studies at the University of Warsaw in the period following World War II. Among them was Professor Tadeusz Grzebieniowski (1894–1973), a respected linguist and author of scholarly studies on Polish-English relations (Jabłkowska, 22). He was one of the students of Professor Dyboski at the Jagiellonian University and later a lecturer of English at the Warsaw School of Economics. During World War II, Grzebieniowski taught at the underground university in Warsaw and after the war, he was involved in the establishment of English Studies at the University of Łodź. After their suspension there by the communist authorities, he returned to the University of Warsaw and worked as professor of English philology in the years 1954–1962.

Another notable academic of this period was one of Professor Tretiak’s former students, Dr. Witold Chwalewik (1900–1985), who became a specialist in Shakespeare and Joseph Conrad. Dr. Antoni Prejbisz (1909–1980) also worked from 1970 as editor of the journal Języki obce w szkole, an important forum for the teachers of foreign languages in Polish schools (Jabłkowska, 22).

Professor Helsztyński, who was retired at the time of the Institute’s fiftieth anniversary in 1973, provided his account of the post-war history of English studies at the University of Warsaw for the jubilee volume. He recalled the re-establishment of the English Seminar after the war: “The staff was small in number and orphaned by Professor Andrzej Tretiak and his assistant [Stanisław] Mikułowski” (Helsztyński, 26). Professor Helsztyński, who took over from Professor Wacław Borowy, had to rebuild the faculty. He acknowledged his gratitude to Róża Jabłkowska, who worked for the Institute in various capacities in the course of her career, as a lecturer, a secretary, and a librarian, all the while researching for her doctoral degree. Some of the former graduates returned to offer their help: Zofia Bastgen, Witold Chwalewik, Stanisław Kryński (1912–1967, philologist and translator), Antoni Prejbisz, Janina Smólska. In 1950, they were joined by Wiesław Furmańczyk (1926–2011) and Alfred Reszkiewicz (1920–1973), a graduate of both the Jagiellonian University and the University of Notre Dame, Indiana. The lecturers had to cope with an increased number of students after the war hiatus; the problem became even more acute when English departments at other Polish universities stopped recruitment in the early 1950s.

In 1951, Professor Margaret Schlauch came to Warsaw from New York University. She became Head of the Department in 1954 and continued in this post until 1965. In 1953, Dr. Irena Dobrzycka (later Professor), earlier Head of English studies at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, joined the Warsaw faculty after the Poznań centre was (temporarily) closed. Professor Grzegorz Sinko became a member of the faculty in 1958. Other full-time members of the Institute staff in this period were: Czesław Ferens, Małgorzata Rouppert, Viola Sachs (1929–2020, a specialist on Herman Melville), and Bronisława Bałutowa (1919–2005). They were helped by part-time members of the faculty, including Sabina Jędraszko, Zofia Fabry-Garczyńska (1911–2010), and George Bidwell (Helsztyński, 28).

George Bidwell (1905–1989) is an especially interesting case. He was a British historical writer and Head of the British Council in the years following World War II. He organized substantial donations of English books for Polish university libraries and negotiated with the University of Warsaw authorities the creation of a permanent position of professor of English (Gdaniec, 203). He gained considerable notoriety when in 1949 he announced that he had married a Polish woman, become a Polish citizen. and resigned from his post (Corse, 233). After his break with the British Council, Bidwell continued to enjoy a considerable literary career in Poland and occasionally taught practical English courses as a native speaker.

A 2004 interview with Zofia Fabry-Garczyńska sheds some light on the difficulties English Studies scholars were facing in communist-governed Poland. Professor Helsztyński encountered serious problems when intending to employ Fabry-Garczyńska, a librarian at the American Embassy and a former English language teacher dismissed from the Stefan Batory grammar school in Warsaw for punishing an unruly pupil with strong Party connections. “A Ms Rupert called me and invited me to her home,” Fabry-Garczyńska recollected. “She said I would not be accepted as Assistant. […] She was from Belgium; she did not even speak fluent Polish, but she was a Party official at the Department of English Studies. […] And then Professor Schlauch arrived from the States. She was the sister of [Professor Leopold] Infeld’s wife, and Professor Infeld [an eminent physicist] was a big fish in communist Poland. Ms Schlauch was a renowned scholar, a mediaevalist, but she had to leave the US because of her communist sympathies. […] She saw me teach, wrote me an enthusiastic letter, and told me to go straight to the Rector of the University. And thus, I was saved” (Archiwum Historii Mówionej).

Dr. Wiesław Furmańczyk had better memories. When asked in 2005 if the fact that he had served in the Home Army during the war was a hindrance to obtaining a job at the University, he admitted he encountered no problems: “Belonging to the Home Army was then a good ‘pass’ for admittance to the University of Warsaw. I worked there from February 1950 until 1991, for forty-one years” (Archiwum Historii Mówionej).

Professor Schlauch’s academic interests were divided between literary and linguistic studies, and her influence brought about a significant increase in the popularity of linguistics among English Studies scholars in Warsaw, the most illustrious of them perhaps being Tadeusz Grzebieniowski and Alfred Reszkiewicz, who both passed away in 1973, just as the Institute was celebrating its fiftieth anniversary.

The next Head of the Institute, Professor Grzegorz Sinko, who held the position between 1965 and 1970, is the Great Absent One in the 50th jubilee volume. His protectiveness towards the students during the riots of 1968, as well as his subsequent resignation from his post in the Institute probably left some bad blood between him and some of the remaining members of the faculty (Winnicka). Therefore, the next section in the jubilee volume was provided by the then Head of the Institute, Professor Irena Dobrzycka, who took over from Professor Sinko in 1970.

In 1968, the English Department became the Institute of English Studies and consisted of three departments according to the research interests of the staff. A new advisory board, still active in 2023, was established, the Institute Council, to be consulted whenever important decisions were to be made. Representatives of students were given a voice through the Council of Student Affairs (Dobrzycka, 33). In 1970, a Doctoral Studies programme was opened, admitting a group of ten candidates in either English language or literature every three years.

In 1973, forty members of the academic staff were employed at the Institute, including two professors (Irena Dobrzycka, Alfred Reszkiewicz), two docents (Dr hab. Wanda Krajewska and Dr. Stanisława Kumor), and eight holders of doctorates (Alicja Kędzielska, Jerzy Szkup, Andrzej Weseliński, Teresa Kieniewicz, Wiesław Furmańczyk, Bronisława Bałutowa, Leszek Biedrzycki, Jan Rusiecki). Foreign visiting professors were welcome. In 1973, these were Professor Charles W. Mignon (1933–2009) from the University of Nebraska, who lectured in American literature, and James Pankhurst M.A., who taught linguistics (Dobrzycka, 34). Professor Dobrzycka mentions several scholars from English-speaking countries who came to Warsaw on one-year-long teaching scholarships, including the journalist and novelist Derwent May. There were also some visitors who came to deliver guest lectures (Dobrzycka, 34). The number of students at the Institute reached 350, with approximately fifty graduating each year. They had a choice between English and American literature, descriptive and applied linguistics, and they all had the opportunity to get some school teaching experience (Dobrzycka, 35).

In the post-war period, linguistics was a discipline of increasing interest to scholars working in the area of English Studies in Warsaw. An eminent structuralist, Professor Alfred Reszkiewicz, and an internationally-recognised mediaevalist, Professor Margaret Schlauch, brought inspiration in the 1950s. But until Professor Jerzy Rubach obtained the appropriate qualifications in 1981, many doctorates in English linguistics were supervised by linguists from other universities or other departments within the Faculty. Jerzy Rubach’s own doctorate had been supervised by Professor Tomasz Krzeszowski, a graduate of this Institute but later employed at the Universities of Łódź, Gdańsk, and the Institute of Applied Linguistics of the University of Warsaw; Professor Jerzy Wełna’s doctorate was supervised by Professor Jacek Fisiak, another graduate of the Warsaw Institute who had moved on first to Łódź and then to Poznań. Professor Andrzej Bogusławski was also involved in the development of certain branches of linguistics in the Institute of English Studies. A Slavicist renowned for his work in all branches of linguistics and in particular on the theory of language and the intersection of linguistics and philosophy, Professor Bogusławski has taught generations of scholars, including Professor Anna Wierzbicka (Australian National University, Canberra). In the 1980s and 1990s, Professor Bogusławski supervised the doctoral dissertation of, for example, Professor Romuald Gozdawa-Gołębiowski, a leading exponent of syntax in the Institute of English Studies, while Professor Paweł Kornacki is a former Ph.D. student of Professor Anna Wierzbicka.

1.7. The Institute at 50 (1973)

The Department of English and American Literature

Irena Dobrzycka – Head of the Department

Members of the faculty: Maria Bachman (Łyżwińska), Bronisława Bałutowa, Maria Birkenmajer, Joanna Ciecierska, Wiesław Furmańczyk, Marek Gołębiowski, Maria Jędrzejkiewicz, Alicja Kędzielska, Teresa Kieniewicz, Wanda Krajewska, Stanisława Kumor, Elżbieta Kurowska, Zbigniew Lewicki, Wanda Rulewicz, Adam Rustowski, Teresa Sieradzka-Grymińska, Jerzy Szkup, Andrzej Weseliński

The study of British literature and culture dominated English departments in Poland in the first half of the 20th century. Within this specialization, the predominant role was held by research devoted to William Shakespeare. Some of the reasons for this unquestionable dominance were the long tradition of theatre in Poland with many live performances available especially in academic centres like Kraków or Warsaw, the acknowledged reputation of Shakespeare as the greatest of all dramatists, and, last but not least, the multiple translations of Shakespeare’s plays into Polish.

The second position on the list of popular academic interests (measured by the numbers of theses and publications) was held by Charles Dickens (Carter, 506). Shortly after the war, the socially conscious novels of Dickens could be fitted to fulfil propaganda purposes with relative ease. His anti-capitalist bias was emphasised to suit the predominant Marxist worldview, and, with the encouragement of their professors, “students could always find something rotten and horrid about Anglo-Saxon culture in Dickens” (Carter, 506). However, especially as the most dogmatic years of Stalinism passed, the scholarly output devoted to Dickens’ prose at the University of Warsaw was increasingly of high merit. “Dissertations of Bachman and Weseliński must be seen as the beginning of systematic scholarly interest in [the reception of Dickens’s prose in Poland]. They are pioneering in terms of bibliographical research and still remain pertinent. […] They complement each other in their scope: Bachman explored the reception of Dickens in 1839–1887, while Weseliński its next stage between 1887 and 1918” (Budrewicz, 23).

In the 1950s–60s, there was a visible emergence of studies analysing the works of Joseph Conrad in Poland. As Wojciech Lipoński notes, Polish scholars were justifiably proud of their compatriot who achieved international fame as an English-language novelist, but also many of them sympathised with “the ideals of Conradian fidelity towards traditional human values, despite the progress of inhuman reality” (Lipoński, 16). However, the scholarly interest in Conrad at the Warsaw Institute was relatively limited.

In 1973, Maria Bachman (Łyżwińska), Irena Dobrzycka, and Andrzej Weseliński all wrote about Dickens, and some of their colleagues researched other areas of 19th-century British literature (Maria Jędrzejkiewicz, Marek Gołębiowski, Adam Rustowski), but there was also considerable interest in contemporary prose (Bronisława Bałutowa, Joanna Ciecierska, Teresa Sieradzka-Grymińska, and in part Andrzej Weseliński). Reception and translation studies were popular (Maria Birkenmajer, Stanisława Kumor, Elżbieta Kurowska), emphasizing the role of Polish culture in dialogue, in historical and modern contexts, with the West. Drama remained inspirational (Alicja Kędzielska, Wanda Krajewska, Wanda Rulewicz), but in the early 1970s it was contemporary theatre rather than Shakespeare, who, however, was still popular with students as a subject of their M.A. theses.

American and cultural studies were integrated with British/Commonwealth studies within the single department. Teresa Kieniewicz’s and Jerzy Szkup’s research centred on the reception of American literature in Poland; Wiesław Furmańczyk was studying Theodore Dreiser, and Zbigniew Lewicki William Faulkner (among others).

The Department of the English Language

Alfred Reszkiewicz – Head of the Department (d. 1973)

Members of the faculty: Leszek Biedrzycki, Zofia Dziedzic, Anna Kaznowska, Andrzej Kaznowski, Stefan Konderski, Bogusław Lawendowski, Monika Ostaszewska, James Pankhurst, Jerzy Rubach, Piotr Ruszkiewicz, Jerzy Wełna

In the overview of the Department of the English Language, Professor Reszkiewicz noticed that in 1945 “there was literally nothing” happening in the field of English linguistics in Warsaw, “there were no specialists in linguistics, no textbooks, no linguistic seminars” (39). Some of the future experts in the field – notably Professor Jan Rusiecki – wrote their M.A. theses in literature. The situation started to improve with the arrival of specialists from other universities in the early 1950s: Alfred Reszkiewicz from Kraków, Tadeusz Grzebieniowski from Łódź, and Margaret Schlauch from New York. By 1965, the first scripts and textbooks had been written, the first M.A. seminars organised resulting in an increased interest in the discipline. Professor Schlauch tutored a new generation of Warsaw linguists, including Zofia Dziedzic, Leszek Biedrzycki, Stefan Konderski, and Jerzy Wełna.

Tomasz Krzeszowski observes that “in Poland, English linguistics emancipated itself in the early 1960s as a result of the rapid growth of American Structuralism and the imminent birth of generative transformational grammar associated mainly with Noam Chomsky and his associates” (1033). Structuralism, as a new and exciting method, was gaining ground in Warsaw, together with contrastive and transformational grammar (Reszkiewicz, 40).

The Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań remained the major centre of linguistics in Poland, but the relatively small language studies section at the Warsaw Institute was gaining reputation. In 1973, the linguistic staff (which had doubled since 1965) included phoneticians (Leszek Biedrzycki, Jerzy Rubach, Piotr Ruszkiewicz), specialists in syntax (Andrzej Kaznowski, Stefan Konderski, Monika Ostaszewska), and experts in the history of the English language (Zofia Dziedzic, Jerzy Wełna). Five of these (Andrzej Kaznowski, Stefan Konderski, Monika Ostaszewska, Piotr Ruszkiewicz, and Jerzy Wełna) were finishing their doctoral dissertations (Reszkiewicz, 43). Time verified these plans. Andrzej Kaznowski and Jerzy Wełna defended their Ph.D.s in 1974 in Poznań (supervisor: Professor Jacek Fisiak), followed in 1975 by Anna Kaznowska (supervisor: Professor Jacek Fisiak). Stefan Konderski obtained the degree in 1973 in Warsaw (supervisor: Professor Irena Dobrzycka), Piotr Ruszkiewicz in 1974 in Warsaw (supervisor: Doc. Dr. Tomasz Krzeszowski from the University of Łódź). In 1974, Bogusław Lawendowski received his Ph.D. in Warsaw (supervisor: Professor Jacek Fisiak) writing about emotive and paralinguistic phenomena in English.

The Department of English Applied Linguistics

Jan Rusiecki – Head of the Department

Members of the faculty: Teresa Głębicka, Zofia Kapczyńska, Hanna Morawska, Elżbieta Ryszka, Bogna Sikora

The Department of Applied Linguistics, created in 1969, was predominantly concerned with teaching as well as organising and facilitating the development of practical language skills in English among the students at the Institute (Rusiecki, 47). The groundwork for the formal establishing of this department was laid earlier by Professor Grzegorz Sinko, during his tenure as Head of the Institute. Its members were responsible for teaching practical English classes, and from 1972/1973, also life and institutions in the contemporary UK and USA (Rusiecki, 47). Additionally, the Department was in charge of teacher training and teaching English as a foreign language. This was a relatively modest unit, consisting of practitioners rather than theoreticians (except for the brilliant polymath Professor Rusiecki); therefore their academic output measured in publications and conferences was small. Out of the members of the Institute’s Department of English Applied Linguistics, most were interested in various aspects of error analysis (Teresa Głębicka, Zofia Kapczyńska, Hanna Morawska) and developing the skill of writing, essential for the students’ ability to write M.A. theses in English (Elżbieta Ryszka, Bogna Sikora).

As Professor Maria Dakowska points out, during the early years of communist rule in Poland, the English language was rarely taught at schools (the predominant foreign language was Russian), and most of the available materials were old-fashioned, unattractive, and scarce (Dakowska, 1591). Exposure to authentic resources and opportunities to converse with native speakers were limited. Luckily, this sad reality was about to change soon. The first harbingers of this shift could be observed already in the late 1960s. The centre for linguistics of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, headed by Professors Jacek Fisiak and Waldemar Marton, took active interest in establishing English language teaching as an academic field in its own right, and Professor Rusiecki contributed greatly with his work on courses, textbooks, and method, while Dr. Antoni Prejbisz became a leading expert in teacher-training methodology. Furthermore, Professor Reszkiewicz was the author of the first English course to be broadcast on the Polish radio.

1.8. The Institute from the late 1970s into the 21st century

In 1975, the single literature department was divided; American Literature formed a separate unit, leaving the Department of English Literature to deal with all other English-language writing. At the same time, the innovative Department of Cultures of the English-Speaking Countries was established by Professor Stanisława Kumor (1922–2012; Chylińska, vii). This was one of the very first departments with this profile in Poland (Kujawińska-Courtney, 174). These changes reflected the shifting interests within English-language studies in Poland. Cultural studies came into its own, answering the demand for broader historical and social perspectives for literary scholarship. American studies became a distinctive discipline, with a younger generation of professors bringing in new subjects, such as African-American or Jewish-American writers. Also, contemporary and especially female authors started appearing in abundance in literature curricula (Carter, 35). After all, about 85% of students at the Institute were women (Carter, 514).

The period between 1977 and 1987 was a difficult time in Poland. Political repressions against the democratic opposition were matched by the deepening economic crisis with raging inflation and food shortages in shops that in turn led to workers’ strikes which brought about the emergence of the “Solidarity” movement. The unrest time of the early 1980s found many of the Institute staff engaged in political activity. At that time, Dr. Andrzej Kaznowski became the head of the “Solidarity” union at the Institute. When martial law was declared on 13 December 1981, many activists were detained. Others began conspiracy work, producing and distributing clandestine publications, including translations of forbidden foreign books. The staff and students in the Institute took active part in the protests, and sit-in strikes were organised on the premises.

Moreover, the 1980s and early 1990s were also a time of intensified political and later economic emigration from Poland (Komorowska, 50). The Institute lost some if its staff members who decided to leave the country: Michał Rozbicki, Barbara Dancygier, Ewa Foeller-Pituch, Piotr Sadowski, Elżbieta Grużewska-Kwaśniewska, Jarosław Anczewski, Piotr Kuhiwczak, Stefan Konderski. For some, this marked a beginning of their international academic careers.

As the political situation began to normalise, student life revived. From 1986 onwards, the Drama Festival of plays performed in English by student groups was first organised annually by the Warsaw Institute, and in the last years of the 20th century it moved to Gdańsk (Kujawińska-Courtney, 171). The fall of communism in Poland in 1989 marked a veritable sea-change in English Studies. As mentioned before, the interest in studying English increased dramatically.

At the same time, new theoretical approaches were reaching Polish humanities, with the English institutes always at the forefront of intellectual debates and social change. English-language popular culture, from British music and fashion to American films, took hold for good among teenagers and students. Fast-food chains and internationally popular shopping outlets were mushrooming across the country. Foreign travel became easier, so staff and students were bringing newly-published books, including the much-discussed postmodernist and feminist titles. Cultural studies became fashionable, stimulating mass interest in journalism, film and TV, advertising, politics, and economics.

In the 1970s, Professor Emma Harris came to the University of Warsaw after completing her doctorate in economic history. She started teaching courses on British history and culture with a special focus on the 19th century. In time, she would take on many organisational responsibilities as Dean of the Faculty of Modern Languages (1999–2005) and, between 1990 and 2014, also the Head of the Institute of English Studies. She initiated many important reforms that would transform the Institute into a modern university centre of research and education.

From the early 1990s, the Institute of English Studies took part in European Community Tempus Mobility projects, and later also in Erasmus/Socrates programmes. These international programmes financed the visits of staff and students to Western European countries. The contacts with the international academic community added impetus to developing new areas of study, such as Commonwealth, postcolonial, or gay/lesbian studies that started to be visible in staff publications and M.A. titles (Carter, 520). The Institute co-operated with the universities of Warwick, Rome, and Bratislava, and many students and scholars went there to participate in academic courses and do research.

Things were changing for the study of linguistics. The last decades of the 20th century “witnessed a virtual explosion of cognitive linguistics” (Krzeszowski, 1035). In Applied Linguistics, teacher training became of paramount importance. As Professor Dakowska notes, opening Polish markets to Western publications and culture – including manuals, magazines, films, satellite TV, and soon also computer technology – increased the effectiveness of teaching English as a foreign language (1588). Secondary and primary schools were looking for teachers of English in their thousands, and “the blossoming of privately run courses and schools of English as well as private universities created alternative, fairly attractive job opportunities” (Dakowska, 1588). When Poland joined NATO and the European Union, English became an indispensable tool of international communication and many graduates found work as interpreters and translators.

The changing political climate created splendid opportunities for the Institute, allowing for a significant increase of the number of students admitted, followed by increases in the numbers of staff. In 1993, the Institute introduced evening (“wieczorowe”) degree courses, which made it possible to practically double the number of students and obtain additional funds. In 1995, an extramural “weekend” programme was initiated to meet the increased demand for M.A.-level studies prompted by the success of the Teacher Training Colleges. It offered a three-year (later reduced to two years) curriculum for the graduates of the Colleges, allowing them to complete their master’s degrees.

Most importantly, however, a new programme of studies was implemented. The idea came from Professors Zbigniew Lewicki and Barbara Dancygier, and was supported by Professor Emma Harris, Head of the Institute of English Studies. After much discussion, the new programme received the acceptance of the Institute and Faculty Councils. It was an innovative system based on the concept of points (in a way, a predecessor of the ECTS system) granted for the completion of courses chosen by the students from a wide array of academic topics taught by specialists. After completing some propaedeutic classes in English, American, and linguistic subjects in the first year of studies, students effectively designed their own educational paths according to their interests in various aspects of English Studies. They chose their ‘major’ and ‘minor’ specialisations from the areas of research in the Institute, and between years 2 and 4 they had to collect a specified number of points in each category by attending thematic courses. In the fifth year of their studies, they concentrated mostly on attending M.A. seminars and writing their theses under the academic supervision of professors.

One of the innovations was voluntary training of future foreign language teachers. Before, becoming a teacher of English was an expected outcome of studying at the Institute of English Studies, with professional instruction and school teaching practice as obligatory parts of the curriculum. In the new programme, students could choose to follow ELT methodology courses and take part in school practice if they wished to obtain professional qualifications, but the obligation to do so was lifted. Furthermore, the so-called “students’ labour practice” (studenckie praktyki robotnicze), a relic of communist times according to which all university students were required to spend one month of the summer doing physical labour in order to “get acquainted with the life of the working classes”, was finally abolished.

The new programme, the first of its kind in Poland, allowed maximum individual choice in academic development, as – with the exception of a few obligatory subjects, like physical education or another foreign language – each student was free to choose whatever subjects interested them most. Thus, each graduate’s path to their master’s degree was slightly different and specialisation started early. On the other hand, the system also allowed more free choice for the lecturers and professors, who could design and give courses based on their current research topics, rather than fulfil the requirements of inflexible academic curricula.

In 1990, some of the luminaries listed in the 50th anniversary book as young scholars were still teaching, their careers fully developed. Professor Jan Rusiecki, Professor Jerzy Wełna, Professor Jerzy Rubach, and Dr. Andrzej Kaznowski lectured on various aspects of linguistics. Professor Wanda Rulewicz taught courses on British theatre, Professor Andrzej Weseliński lectured in the history of British literature, and Dr. Maria Łyżwińska taught courses on the Victorian novel. Professor Zbigniew Lewicki, Professor Marek Gołębiowski, and Dr. Wiesław Furmańczyk taught American literature and culture. Among the large number of experienced lecturers in Applied Linguistics teaching practical English courses, let me just mention here Zofia Kapczyńska, Bogna Sikora (who also taught TEFL methodology), Maria Birkenmajer who moved from literature to language studies, pioneering Business English courses in the Institute. Ludmiła Sobolew, who mostly taught TEFL methodology, became the head of the extramural studies programme after its creation. Stefan Sikora, the Practical Phonetics teacher with a remarkable knowledge of variations of the English language, headed the “evening” studies programme.

The Institute collaborated with several visiting lecturers from English-speaking countries, so students had access to practical language courses taught by native speakers. Many graduates have fond memories of Creative Writing classes with Richard Ramsbotham, Journalistic Writing with Ed Top, translation courses with Philip Smith, Academic Writing with Jonathan Baines or Eric Baker, and Speaking courses with Dorinda Drury. British Council lecturers came to teach literature courses. Professor Patrick ‘Paddy’ Lyons from Glasgow University was first a full-time British Council lecturer, and later delivered intensive fast-paced guest courses in English literature of the 17th and 18th centuries. Dr. Paul Innes ran several courses on Shakespeare, and I was one of the lucky students to attend his M.A. seminar on Elizabethan theatre. Other foreign scholars teaching at the Institute for longer periods of time were Dr. Dr. Felicity Rosslyn, Lavinia Davenport, and Erich Schneiderman. Philip Sturgess, a British Council lecturer in Łódź, was employed in Warsaw for two years.

According to the official “Informator” of the Institute from 1987, in the 1970s and ’80s there were about ten guest lectures a year given by visiting foreign professors, including Edward M. Anthony, Pit Corder, Frank R. Palmer, Glynne Wickham, and Maurice Harmon. Barry O’Connell was a Fulbright professor for a year. The list is also impressive as regards American studies professors who came to teach courses in American literature (some of them as Fulbright scholars): Holli Levitsky, Shelley Armitage, Ann Colley, Lawrence C. Hussmann, John R. Leo, Carlos Morton, Andrea Herrera, and Lennard J. Davis. Occasionally, internationally renowned writers and poets would visit the Institute, including Robert Pinsky (1980), Margaret Drabble (1981), Raymond Federman (1981), David Lodge (1983), and Nikki Giovanni (1985).

Opportunities were taken to experiment with new forms of academic activity. Between 1981 and 1985, annual ELT summer schools for English language teachers at university level were held in Augustów and Ustroń-Zawodzie (“Informator”). In 1992 and 1994, Professor Elżbieta Górska organised two pioneering Summer Schools in Linguistics which the Institute Council finally agreed could be credited to students as part of their degree requirements in the new course-based programme of studies. Internationally recognised scholars, including Anna Wierzbicka, Henryk Hiż, Ronald Langacker, and our own Jerzy Rubach made these schools a dazzling display for Warsaw linguistics. In 1994, the British Council funded a month’s summer school at the University of East Anglia for the students of the then British Studies M.A. seminar in the Institute. In the summer of 1996, it sponsored a series of research visits for doctoral students at the University of Glasgow.

Following the University’s access to the Bologna system, the Institute of English Studies introduced the two-level B.A. and M.A. programme, gradually phasing out the unified 5-year studies programme. The first students were admitted to the bachelor’s degree programme in 2007, and to the master’s degree programme in 2010. Archival materials from the Institute’s offices testify that the surge in the number of students reached its peak in the first decade of the 21st century, when the Institute of English Studies was teaching up to 1,600 students a year.

In the last decade of the 20th century, the numbers of staff at the Institute of English Studies grew, and many outstanding scholars joined the team. The Department of Cultures of the English-Speaking Countries was an important forum of co-operation between English and American studies scholars. Professors at the Department accepted the role of academic advisors to doctoral students researching the English-language cultures on both sides of the Atlantic. Professor Marek Gołębiowski, whose own academic interests shifted in time towards the history of the USA, supervised the Ph.D.s of both British literature and culture scholars (Paweł Rutkowski, Dorota Babilas) and those more interested in American studies. Professor Piotr Skurowski’s output as an academic advisor took a similar path, as his former doctoral students include, among others, Aneta Dybska, Lucyna Krawczyk-Żywko, Mirosław Miernik, Justyna Wierzchowska, Katarzyna Kociołek, and Anna Pochmara-Ryżko, who are now members of the Institute staff. Professor Bożenna Chylińska, another former student of Professor Kumor, remained faithful to her research in American culture, introducing new perspectives to culture and history studies at the Institute in her courses on Jewish and African-American identities. In 1987, Professor Michał Rozbicki became Head of the American Studies Center, an independent unit at the University of Warsaw, and in 1990 he left Poland to later join the University of Saint Louis, Missouri. Other American studies scholars at the Department of Cultures of the English-Speaking Countries were Dr. Marek Szopski, Elżbieta Grabczak-Ryszka, and Elżbieta Foltyńska, a specialist in Polish-American cultural relations, and for many years the Deputy Head of the Institute of English Studies for Student Affairs.

After Professor Gołębiowski and Dr. Szopski retired in the 2010s, and Professor Skurowski joined the private SWPS University, there appeared an imbalance between the British and American tiers of the Department. Eventually, in 2021, the remaining Americanists decided to join the reorganized Department of North American Literatures and Cultures, so Bożenna Chylińska, Elżbieta Foltyńska, together with Aneta Dybska, Justyna Wierzchowska, and Mirosław Miernik, moved there. When Professor Dominika Oramus moved in from the Department of English Literature, it was renamed the Department of British Culture.

Over the years, the Department of English Literature grew considerably. Since the 1970s, there has been an increase in the co-operation between Poland and the United Kingdom, initially marked by the active involvement of the British Council and, following the political changes of the early 1990s, the growing interest in all things British that attracted ever more students to the Institute.

Professor Grażyna Bystydzieńska, a specialist in 18th, and 19th-century literature, came from the Maria Skłodowska-Curie University in Lublin in 1993. She became the teacher of a whole generation of English literature scholars, supervising the doctorates of, among others, Bartłomiej Błaszkiewicz, Małgorzata Łuczyńska-Hołdys, Magdalena Pypeć, Przemysław Uściński, who would in time join the staff of the Institute of English Studies. Professor Andrzej Weseliński, a specialist in the modern British novel, mentored several scholars, including Irena Księżopolska, who would later be employed at the Institute. A list of former doctoral students of Professor Jacek Wiśniewski includes Dominika Oramus, Marzena Sokołowska-Paryż, and Maria Błaszkiewicz, whose research interest corresponded to that of Professor Wiśniewski’s involvement in contemporary British poetry and prose. His own doctoral thesis (1976) dealt with the British literature of World War I (Ph.D. supervisor: Professor Irena Dobrzycka). Later, Professor Wiśniewski joined the SWPS university in Warsaw. Professor Barbara Kowalik, a respected mediaevalist, moved from the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin; she has supervised many Ph.D. projects on mediaeval literature and its subsequent cultural resonance. Her former Ph.D. student, Przemysław Grabowski-Górniak, is a member of staff in the Institute.

Theatre has always been an important area of scholarly interest in the Institute of English Studies with the pride of place held by the works, legacy, and reception of William Shakespeare. Among the eminent professors who devoted their careers to studying Shakespeare is Małgorzata Grzegorzewska, whose Ph.D. dissertation in 1995 was supervised by Professor Jerzy Limon from the University of Gdańsk. She enjoyed a distinguished career in the Institute, becoming academic advisor to many doctoral candidates. Professor Grzegorzewska was Head of the Institute between 2014 and 2020, instrumental in the relocation from Nowy Świat to Hoża. In 2020, she moved to the Faculty of Artes Liberales at the University of Warsaw. Another notable Shakespeare scholar is Professor Anna Cetera-Włodarczyk, who completed her Ph.D. at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań in 1998 (supervisor: Professor Alicja Pisarska).

Among the former members of staff at the Department of English Literature are Dr. Alicja Kędzielska (d. 2013), Dr. Maria Łyżwińska (d. 2021), who devoted their whole careers to the Institute of English Studies, and Dr. Maria Jędrzejkiewicz, whose promising work on the novels of Iris Murdoch was cut short by her untimely death in 1998. Former collaborators of the Department were Professors Jacek Fabiszak and Jerzy Jarniewicz, a renowned literary translator and poet (recipient of the 2022 Nike Award). Professor Klaudia Łączyńska, one of Professor Bystydzieńska’s former students, an expert on the poetry of Andrew Marvell, moved to the Faculty of Artes Liberales in the early 2020s.

The Department of American Literature was another of the beneficiaries of the political and economic changes of the 1980s and 1990s, but the academic co-operation with American universities has been continuing since the late 1960s, involving staff members and students from both literature and linguistics departments. American studies became the space of exciting intellectual developments where new theoretical approaches were most eagerly discussed.

In the earlier years, some of the professors of literature shared their interest between British and American studies. Such was the case of, among others, Professor Sinko and Professor Krajewska, whose former students delved into American literature. Professor Zbigniew Lewicki, who defended his Ph.D. under Professor Sinko’s supervision, became one of the leading scholars in American studies, in 1995 moving to chair the American Studies Center (OSA). He was followed by his own former student, Professor Tomasz Basiuk, who, before moving to OSA, pioneered Queer Studies at the Institute. Professor Krajewska’s former doctoral student, Professor Agata Preis-Smith, became one of the prominent Americanists supervising multiple doctorates, including those of Marek Paryż, Julia Fiedorczuk-Glinecka, Zuzanna Ładyga-Michalska, and Justyna Włodarczyk. Another of Professor Krajewska’s former Ph.D. students, Professor Teresa Kieniewicz, was already a respected specialist in the American novel when in the 1980s she decided to leave the academia and join the order of Carmelite nuns. Dr. Wiesław Furmańczyk (d. 2011) continued teaching in the Institute until his retirement in 1991. In 1993, Ewa Barbara Łuczak, a former M.A. student of Professor Nancy Burke, joined the Department, beginning her successful career in modern American literature and culture and especially in the critical study of eugenics. Professor Tadeusz Pióro, a Ph.D. graduate from Berkeley and a renowned poet, joined the team. A special mention should be made concerning Professor Nancy Burke, the founder of Canadian studies in the Institute, whose academic and literary pursuits were sadly cut short by her death in 2006.

The Department grew again in the 21st century. Anna Pochmara-Ryżko and Joanna Ziarkowska-Ciechanowska were employed, and five other American studies scholars (including Professor Chylińska) moved from the Department of Cultures of the English-Speaking Countries within the Institute. Recently, they were joined by Kamil Chrzczonowicz, a former Ph.D. student of Professor Ewa Łuczak.

In the Department of Applied Linguistics and Translation Studies, Professor Jan Rusiecki mentored several Applied Linguistics scholars including Agnieszka Otwinowska-Kasztelanic, Zbigniew Możejko, and Magdalena Kizeweter. Professor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska (who was employed in the Institute from the early 1990s) and Professor Jerzy Zybert (who completed his Ph.D. in Poznań and joined the Institute from the department of Iberian Studies in the mid-1980s) gave courses on the specialist aspects of foreign language teaching. They have been instrumental in developing the field of Applied Linguistics and furthering the careers of many TEFL specialists. A good example could be Professor Paweł Poszytek, a linguistics expert for the Polish government, educator and musician who defended his Ph.D. in 2007 under the supervision of Professor Komorowska. Professor Zybert’s former doctoral student, Agata Klimczak-Pawlak, currently works in the Institute. Dr. Tatiana Kamińska, a former doctoral student of Professor Rubach, started teaching in the late 1980s. In the 1990s, Izabela Szymańska and Grzegorz Śpiewak, both former doctoral students of Professor Henryk Kardela (UMCS), were employed in the Institute. Dr. Śpiewak contributed to the ELT studies there, but subsequently left for a career in teacher training. In 2002, Professor Maria Dakowska transferred from the Faculty of Applied Linguistics (the University of Warsaw); her former doctoral student, Dr hab. Katarzyna Hryniuk, is now working in the Institute. In 2018, Dr. Agnieszka Kałdonek-Crnjaković joined the Department. Professor Szymańska’s interests in translation studies, and her collaboration in this respect with Professor Aniela Korzeniowska, would in time contribute significantly to the development of Translation Studies. Working in the same field of studies are also Professors Barry Keane, Anna Rędzioch-Korkuz, Dr. Dr. Dominika Lewandowska-Rodak, Magdalena Kizeweter, Tatiana Kamińska, and Wojciech Kasprzak. Professor Agnieszka Piskorska also contributed to Translation Studies, whilst her main area of interest is Pragmatics and Communication Studies.

In the past, a vital part of the Department of Applied Linguistics (now the Department of Applied Linguistics and Translation Studies) was the Practical English section. In 2001, the staff of the Institute of English Studies started providing English language courses for other University departments. This momentous operation was possible owing to the managerial skills of Dr. Wojciech Kasprzak. The new system allowed the Institute to provide funding for the growing numbers of doctoral students who participated as teachers.

Since 2011, practical language instruction in the Institute has been co-ordinated by Dr. Wojciech Kasprzak; the employment strategy changed as hiring for the position of language teacher (the Polish “lektor”) was gradually phased out. The changes were caused by new financial algorithms used by the Ministry of Education and implemented at the University of Warsaw, which started favouring research staff, including Ph.D. students, at the expense of fully didactic employees who usually ended their research careers at the level of their M.A. and then concentrated on teaching.

Formerly, language teachers were essential for the Institute. Beside the already mentioned native speakers, there have been many specialist teachers of English who helped generations of students develop their reading, writing, and speaking skills at various thematic courses. Just to mention those who were the last to retire or leave the Institute:

Maria Bylina

Maria Birkenmajer

Zofia Kapczyńska

Joanna Krasowska-Chlabicz

Elżbieta Sieniutycz

Alicja Petrus-Zagroba

Zofia Piekarec-Papuzińska

Ewa Truszczyńska

Bogna Sikora

Stefan Sikora

Ludmiła Sobolew

Barbara Szymańska

Anna Weselińska

Jerzy Wiśniewski

The Department of the English Language survived with the least changes over the decades. At least since the 1960s, there has been a steady inflow of students and young scholars fascinated with various aspects of the English language and linguistics in general, from both synchronic and diachronic perspectives. Professors Jerzy Rubach and Jerzy Wełna have continued their illustrious careers well into the 21st century, gathering enthusiastic followers. The list of Professor Wełna’s former Ph.D. students includes Anna Wojtyś, Joanna Przedlacka (now at the University of Oxford), Joanna Janowska-Esquibel, Jack Newman (now professor at the University of Texas), and many others. Professor Rubach’s former doctoral students who remained in the Institute of English Studies are Elżbieta Górska (she obtained her Ph.D. in Poznań), Tatiana Kamińska, Beata Łukaszewicz, Monika Opalińska, Bartłomiej Czaplicki, Paweł Rydzewski, Dariusz Zembrzuski, as well as Adam Wójcicki and Piotr Bański, who worked there in the past. Later, Professor Elżbieta Górska supervised the doctorates of Agata Kochańska and Maciej Rosiński.

Two other linguists connected with the Institute of English Studies, Barbara Dancygier and Ewa Mioduszewska-Crawford, wrote their doctoral dissertations under the academic supervision of Professor Olgierd Wojtasiewicz (1916–1995), an eminent sinologist, translatologist, and formal linguist, former Dean of the Faculty of Modern Languages at the University of Warsaw. Professor Dancygier left Poland in 1992, first working at the Linguistics Department of the University of California, Berkeley, to later move to Canada, where she is currently affiliated with the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Professor Mioduszewska’s academic career is linked with the Institute; she supervised the doctorates of many scholars, including Ewa Wałaszewska, Aniela Korzeniowska, Agnieszka Piskorska, and Marta Kisielewska-Krysiuk. As mentioned before, Professor Romuald Gozdawa-Gołębiowski’s academic advisor was the distinguished linguist, Professor Andrzej Bogusławski. In turn, Professor Gozdawa-Gołębiowski supervised the Ph.D. dissertations of Błażej Gałkowski, Marcin Opacki, and Magdalena Walenta.

Academic activities have always been a vital part of life at the Institute of English Studies. Many members of staff belong to Polish and international scholarly associations. At the national level, scholars of the Institute have been instrumental in establishing and managing the Polish Association for the Study of English (PASE), with Grażyna Bystydzieńska serving as President, Elżbieta Foltyńska as Honorary Secretary, and Wiesław Furmańczyk as a member of the audit committee. Jan Rusiecki and Maria Birkenmajer were involved in setting up IATEFL Poland (Stowarzyszenie Nauczycieli Języka Angielskiego) and both served in turn as Presidents of the organisation. Ewa Łuczak is currently President of the Polish Association for American Studies (PAAS).

Conferences organised by the Institute have attracted Polish and international scholars specialising in literary and linguistic studies. Some of the memorable conferences of the 1970s and 1980s were: Problems of American Literature (Jabłonna, 1978), Literature, Culture and Society (Jadwisin, 1980), English Literature of the 19th and 20th c.: The Search for Identity (Jabłonna, 1981), The Theory and Practice of Language Testing (Rynia, 1983), The Meaning of Linguistic Forms and How to Teach Them (Rynia, 1983), Cognitive Linguistics Seminar (Radziejowice, 1984), Teaching English Literature at University Level (Jadwisin, 1984), Semantics Seminar (Radziejowice, 1986), New Directions in Literary Theory (Warsaw, 1986) (“Informator”).

From the 1990s onwards, Warsaw hosted the annual PASE conferences three times. Between 2002 and 2009, Professor Mioduszewska organised four editions of the conference on Relevance theory. In 2016, an inter-disciplinary conference Światy równoległe (Parallel Worlds) addressed the issues of similarities and differences between the fields of humanities and physics. Currently, the cyclical conferences include biennial From Queen Anne to Queen Victoria (seven editions, beginning in 2007), Scotland in Europe (five editions), Redefining Australia and New Zealand (two editions), Warsaw Literary Meetings (organised bi-annually, 11 editions), Warsaw Literary Meetings Rising Stars (for young scholars). Most of these conferences were followed by edited volumes of essays. Beside the cyclical meetings, there are several active research groups at the Institute: The From Queen Anne to Queen Victoria Research Group, The Scottish Studies Research Group, The Research Group for the Study of Manuscripts SIGLUM, Supporting Content and Language Learning Across Diversity SCALED, the Humor Lab Research Group.

The volume commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of English Studies at the University of Warsaw, edited by Zofia Dziedzic (1975), includes an impressive list of publications by staff members from the years 1922–1973. The following decades were marked by an even more prolific output of professors, lecturers, and doctoral students in the Institute. An extensive bibliography of all the articles, chapters, and books would exceed the capacity of this volume, also taking into consideration the fact that many scholars also publish original fiction and poetry, write press articles and reviews, give interviews, and participate in cultural life both in Poland and abroad. A special place is held by translations and editions of literary works, both classical and contemporary. Another prolific area of activity is the publication of dictionaries, EFL textbooks, methodology handbooks, and computer programmes for teachers and learners of English.

The Institute’s annual, peer-reviewed scholarly journal Anglica: An International Journal of English Studies publishes articles in literary, cultural, and linguistic studies by international researchers. It was established in 1988 and in 2022, Volume 31 (Nos. 1 and 2) appeared. The archived issues since 2012 are available in open access: https://anglica-journal.com/resources/html/cms/MAINPAGE

The Institute also collaborates with the journal of the Faculty of Modern Languages, Acta Philologica, a multi-lingual, peer-reviewed scholarly journal established in 1968. The archived issues from Volume 31 (2005) onwards are fully available online: http://acta.neofilologia.uw.edu.pl/ together with the lists of contents for earlier issues. The importance of English Studies is evident from these archival materials. The very first issue of Acta Philologica (1968) comprises five articles written by English language and literature scholars:

Maria Birkenmajer, “Frankenstein Mary Shelley jako romantyczna opowieść grozy”. (Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as a Romantic Gothic Story).

Wiesław Furmańczyk, “Koncepcja ‘sił zewnętrznych’ w notatkach filozoficznych Teodora Dreisera”. (The Concept of ‘External Forces’ in Philosophical Notes of Theodore Dreiser).

Alicja Kędzielska, “Głosy polskiej krytyki literackiej o literaturze angielskiej w latach 1950–1965”. (Polish Literary Criticism of English Literature, 1950–1965).

Krystyna Przybylska, “Condition humaine w dramatach Eugene O’Neilla”. (‘Condition Humaine’ in Eugene O’Neill’s Drama).

Jerzy Szkup, “Recepcja prozy Ernesta Hemingwaya w Polsce Ludowej (1945–1965)”. (The Receptions of Ernest Hemingway’s Prose in the People’s Republic of Poland, 1945–1965).

Several special issues of journals and collections of essays have been edited as special tokens of commemoration of deceased professors and gratitude for eminent scholars on their important anniversaries or at their retirement:

Studies in Language and Literature in Honour of Professor Margaret Schlauch. Edited by Mieczysław Brahmer, Stanisław Helsztyński, Julian Krzyżanowski. 1966.

Issue 9 of Acta Philologica was dedicated to Professor Stanisław Helsztyński on his 85th birthday. 1976.

Crosscurrents: Literature, Culture and Language. Essays in Honour of Professor Irena Dobrzycka. Edited by Andrzej Weseliński, Jerzy Wełna. 2000.

Issues in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching. Festschrift for Professor Jan Rusiecki Presented on the Occasion of His 80th Birthday. Edited by Jerzy Zybert. 2006.

Mosaics of Words. Essays on the American and Canadian Literary Imagination. In Memory of Professor Nancy Burke. Edited by Agata Preis-Smith, Ewa Łuczak, Marek Paryż. 2006.

Revolutions, Evolutions, and Devolutions in Europe, America and Elsewhere. [A volume commemorating the 35th anniversary of Zakład Kultury Krajów Anglosaskich and in honour of Professor Stanisława Kumor]. Edited by Bożenna Chylińska. 2010.

Explorations in the English Language: Middle English and Beyond. Festschrift for Professor Jerzy Wełna on the Occasion of His 70th Birthday. Edited by Joanna Esquibel, Anna Wojtyś. 2012.

Investigations in Teaching and Learning Languages. Studies in Honour of Professor Hanna Komorowska. Edited by Danuta Gabryś-Barker, Ewa Piechurska-Kuciel, Jerzy Zybert. 2013.

Exploring History: British Culture and Society 1700 to the Present. Essays in Honour of Professor Emma Harris. Edited by Lucyna Krawczyk-Żywko. 2015.

The Light of Life. Essays in Honour of Professor Barbara Kowalik. Edited by Maria Błaszkiewicz, Łukasz Neubauer. 2017.

Studies in English Literature and Culture. Festschrift in Honour of Professor Grażyna Bystydzieńska. Edited by Anna Kędra-Kardela, Aleksandra Kędzierska, Magdalena Pypeć. 2017.

Phonology, Fieldwork and Generalizations. Essays in Honour of Professor Jerzy Rubach. Edited by Bartłomiej Czaplicki, Beata Łukaszewicz, Monika Opalińska. 2018.

Between Cultures, Between Languages. Essays in Honour of Professor Aniela Korzeniowska. Edited by Izabela Szymańska, Agnieszka Piskorska. 2020.

Texts, Images, Practices. Contemporary Perspectives on American, British and Polish Cultures. Essays in Honour of Professor Marek Gołębiowski. Edited by Paweł Rutkowski, Justyna Wierzchowska. 2021.

Token. A Journal of English Linguistics. Vol. 14/2022. (Dedicated to Professor Jerzy Wełna). Edited by Marta Sylwanowicz, Anna Wojtyś. 2022.

Guest lectures organised in the Institute of English Studies for the staff and students have constituted an important part of research activities. Many of them attracted other scholars of the Faculty of Modern Languages, and some were open to the general public. The full list of lectures, even limited to the last few years, would be too long for this publication. Some of the recent ones (from 2014) can be found online, on the Institute’s website: https://ia.uw.edu.pl/badania/wyklady-goscinne

Another interesting initiative were the two Oxford-style debates organised by the Institute’s Library Committee in 2017 and 2018 on the subject of traditional vs digital books and libraries.

Before the mid-1990s, doctoral students pursuing their Ph.D.s were employed as assistants in the Institute. If they completed their dissertations and received doctoral degrees, they were usually offered teaching and research positions as Assistant Professors. In many cases, this meant stable employment and an opportunity for professional development until the end of their academic careers. In 1995, the system was changed and the doctoral students’ special status was recognized (reflected, among others things, in the number of weekly teaching hours), yet most of the candidates still had a chance to teach classes to students as soon as they were enrolled, often just months after receiving their own M.A. diplomas. The new arrangement resulted in the exponential growth of the number of doctoral candidates, which was soon reflected in the lists of doctorates conferred. After receiving their Ph.D.s, many young scholars continued their academic careers at universities in Poland and abroad; some chose other professional paths, becoming teacher trainers, specialist translators, or managers at international companies. The list of doctorates conferred at the turn of the 21st century also shows the growth of interest in tertiary education at the University of Warsaw from international students, sometimes (especially in the discipline of linguistics) coming from non-European countries. In 2019, the old system of doctoral studies at the University of Warsaw, closely connected to the division into Faculties, was replaced by the newly created, more centralised Doctoral Schools divided according to the academic disciplines they teach (Humanities, Social Sciences, Exact and Natural Sciences, and Interdisciplinary).

1.9. Administrative offices (Sekretariaty)

The administrative and secretarial offices have always been a vital part of the Institute. The administrative staff has helped Heads and Deputy Heads of the Institute, academic teachers, doctoral candidates, and students at both bachelor’s and master’s levels. They have been responsible for innumerable daily tasks, such as managing the paperwork, managing exam logistics, handing out diplomas, and, last but not least, before the computerised USOS system was introduced, they registered students for the different university courses. At present they are:

Małgorzata Bednarek

Marta Czyżewska

Lidia Matuszewska

Joanna Sokołowska

Barbara Walkiewicz

We owe a debt of gratitude and many fond memories to the retired (or deceased) Institute administrative staff. Mrs Zofia Filipowicz (who died in 2014) and Mrs Alicja Miłek (who retired in 2022) helped run the Institute since the 1970s. Mrs Katarzyna Kłosińska also retired in 2022. Mrs Maria Szabelska (d. 2018) was the Institute Head’s secretary for a number of years, while her husband, Mr Tadeusz Szabelski (d. 2022), held sway as the person responsible for registration for courses. Mrs Leokadia ‘Lodzia’ Szyndler provided invaluable help as janitor (‘woźna’) in the early days of the Institute. We also remember fondly our kind and helpful cloakroom staff, who were also in charge of the ingenious “pigeon-hole post”: Mr Karol Chełchowski and Mr Jerzy Mieszkowski.

1.10. The Institute library

Until 2022, the library was an important part of the Institute, yet its full history remains unwritten. It is known that the collection of books had to be rebuilt after World War II, because the volumes stored at the main University Library for safekeeping were lost. After the war, the library, headed by Dr. Natalia Batowska (a graduate of Professor Tretiak and wife of Professor Zygmunt Batowski), relied largely on donations from institutions and private collections. The US Embassy, the British Council, UNESCO, and UNRRA contributed books for the Institute, as did some foreign professors visiting Warsaw (Traczewska). After the closing of Wrocław University’s Department of English in 1953, some of the books from their library were donated to Warsaw. At the time of the Institute’s 50th jubilee in 1973, the Head of the library was Mrs Barbara Łapińska, who was helped by three librarians. In 1961, the English Studies library at the University of Warsaw held almost 18,000 volumes; in 1973 it was about 24,000 volumes; at the turn of the 21st century, the collection expanded to over 40,000 items, and in 2020 – to over 70,000 books plus thousands of digitised materials. It had access to many prestigious scholarly journals, online and in print form.

The library followed the Institute in our relocations over the years. Between 1996 and 1999, the computer cataloguing system was introduced, and from 2000, students and staff could use it to reserve and borrow books. In 2014, the British Studies Centre joined the Institute library as a special, thematic, open-access collection devoted to the study of the history and culture of the United Kingdom.

Over the years, many librarians have provided necessary assistance to the staff and students. They have been valued members of the Institute community. Jolanta Stępniak, Katarzyna Ślaska, Roman Ranisz, and Krystyna Dolega were successive Heads of the library from 1993, when Barbara Łapińska retired. Their qualifications and professional attainments are attested by the fact that Jolanta Stępniak went on to be Director of the Library of the Warsaw University of Technology, and Krystyna Ślaska, after a spell as Deputy Director of the National Library, is now Deputy Director of the Warsaw University Library.

The staff of the Institute library in spring 2022:

Krystyna Dolega

Anita Dołęgiewicz

Wiesław Łabunko-Łabuński

Joanna Pajestka

Jacek Podlasin

Dorota Traczewska

Robert Żmijewski

We also hold the retired Institute librarians, and those who left for other jobs, in grateful memory: Maria (Muszka) Blus, Agnieszka Floriańczyk, Barbara Łapińska, Anna Podsadni, Hanna Piechucka-Maksymiuk, Irmina Timoszuk.

Former IT specialists at the Institute were: Paweł Sobecki, Rafał Odrobiński, Tomasz Odziemczyk, Marek Romanowski.

In Autumn 2022, after the relocation of the Institute of English Studies to the new Modern Languages building at Dobra 55, the Institute library was merged with the libraries of other Faculty Departments.

1.11. The students

The Institute would be nothing without its students. Their dedication, intellectual curiosity, and untameable youthfulness have contributed enormously to the atmosphere, creating a friendly and stimulating environment for academic research, personal development, heated discussions on pertinent matters, to say nothing of innumerable life-changing private experiences of camaraderie, friendship, and even marriage. This was a century of powerful emotions, sometimes intense drama, occasional heartbreak, inspiration, discovery, and growth.

At the time of writing, there are about 600 students enrolled in the Institute.

Over the decades, there have been a few student journals, varying in their profiles. The very first was Paperback, which started appearing in 1962 and continued until 1967, first as a monthly, later as a bi-monthly or quarterly. The magazine, subtitled ‘The English Department Student Review’, included a mixture of light and scholarly texts. There were some critical essays (possibly related to courses that their authors attended), book and theatre reviews, sections on translation and poetry, and humorous materials (such as documentation of a students’ Christmas show featuring rewritten songs from popular musicals in the December 1963/January 1964 issue).

Paperback was briefly revived as a light-hearted and humorous students’ magazine (with a distinct fan-zine charm) whose three issues appeared in 1991/1992, just as the Institute was relocating from Krakowskie Przedmieście to Nowy Świat. It featured funny phrases overheard from the lecturers, students’ drawings and poems in English and Polish. The editors’ list includes some names of the later professors in the Institute.

The longest-running title is Folio (1997–2002; 2009–2010; 2015–), where students can publish their best research papers, recommended by their lecturers. This has proved to be a springboard for many future doctoral students and academics. The past issues are archived on the Institute website: https://ia.uw.edu.pl/folio/past-issues

A relatively new addition to the list is Second Thoughts (2019–) – a more relaxed publication, featuring not only scholarly essays, but also reviews of cultural events, interviews and more: https://ia.uw.edu.pl/en/for-students/clubs-and-societies/second-thoughts

The most recent student magazine is Anything Goes (2022–) – a journal devoted to creative writing. It welcomes contributions of poems, short stories, and other works of fiction from students regardless of their faculty and programme. The first issue is currently under production. https://ia.uw.edu.pl/en/anything-goes

One of the most visible forums of student activity at the Institute has been the theatre club The Cheerful Hamlets, working (almost) nonstop since its creation in 1996, following an even earlier tradition of the students’ theatre club in the 1980s. The current academic advisor is Professor Anna Wojtyś. Generations of students have developed their acting, directing, screenwriting, and other theatre-related skills with new plays staged almost every year. The Cheerful Hamlets have performed in BUW Library Theatre, CK Łowicka, Za Daleki Theatre, SOHO Theatre, and at the Pyrkon festival of fantasy. Some of the recent productions include: William Shakespeare’s Macbeth (2022), Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap (2021), William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of King Richard III (2019), Bill Robens’s Kill Me Deadly (2019), Virginia Woolf’s Freshwater (2018), and Nöel Coward’s Still Life (2017). The Cheerful Hamlets have also produced their own original plays (Bard Fiction, 2019; Lairmates, 2015). During the Covid-19 pandemic, they staged online productions of Irish poems and monologues from Hamlet.

There have been several Young Scholar clubs and societies at the Institute over the years. The ones currently in operation are:

The Flying School of Linguistics Applied (advisor Professor Agnieszka Otwinowska-Kasztelanic)

The Fellowship of the Book (Fantasy and Science-Fiction, advisor Professor Maria Błaszkiewicz)

A list of defunct groups (possibly awaiting revival) includes:

The Mediaevalist Section

O Raju! The Miltonian Club

The Withered Rose Debating Society (Romantic and Gothic Studies)

Vanity Affair (Victorian literature and culture)

Brave New Literature (contemporary literature)

Sekcja Komiksu i Literatury Graficznej (comics and graphic novels)

Book to World (literary translation club)

Translate it!

Over the years, the students at the Institute of English Studies have organised Christmas meetings, “Juwenalia” festivals, Open Days for applicants, film evenings, charity actions, and many other social events. After the war in Ukraine began in 2022, they responded by organising a charity campaign of collecting gifts for the people affected by the conflict.

Dorota Babilas

PART 2.

The Institute of English Studies today (2023)

2.1. Department of British Literature

Head of the Department: prof. ucz. dr hab. Bartłomiej Błaszkiewicz

Faculty team:

prof. dr hab. Grażyna Bystydzieńska
prof. dr hab. Barbara Kowalik
prof. ucz. dr hab. Anna Cetera-Włodarczyk
prof. ucz. dr hab. Małgorzata Łuczyńska-Hołdys
prof. ucz. dr hab. Marzena Sokołowska-Paryż
dr hab. Maria Błaszkiewicz
dr hab. Magdalena Pypeć
dr Przemysław Grabowski-Górniak
dr Irena Księżopolska
dr Przemysław Uściński

The Department of British Literature offers courses on English literature from the early mediaeval period up to the 21st century century conducted from different methodological and theoretical perspectives. They include textual versus cultural studies; current semiotic, sociological, historical, anthropological, and philosophical approaches; postcolonial, feminist, and psychoanalytical theories; memory and trauma studies; translation studies and studies of literary space.

Within the scope of mediaeval literature, innovative readings of mediaeval texts and writers are proposed, including Chaucer and the Gawain-poet; our research focuses on genre conventions underlying the lyrical, dramatic, and epic modes of writing; mediaeval narrative is studied in the historical context and with specific emphasis on the cultural interactions between oral and written cultures, which is the focus of oral-formulaic studies. The mediaeval carnivalesque and the various aspects of the concept of the “Other” are also explored, as well as the heroic versus the social-critical modes of literary representation.  Another important aspect within mediaeval studies is the exploration of the cultural context of mediaeval modes of time/space perception and the literary resonances of mediaeval intellectual model which emerged at the meeting point of the legacy of the classical philosophy and the Christian theological heritage.

Many studies are devoted to mediaevalism: the reconstructions of the mediaeval past in the subsequent epochs, particularly in contemporary literature, for example in the work of J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, as well as the continuations of mediaeval tradition in the modern genre of fantasy fiction and other forms of speculative fiction.

Our research on Renaissance literature gives precedence to Elizabethan and Jacobean dramatic output interpreted against the backdrop of cultural and scientific revolutions of the early modern age. Central here are Shakespeare studies with particular emphasis on critical inquiries, performance analysis, and wide-ranging reception studies of Shakespeare rewritings in particular. The latter interest led to the establishment of the digital repository of Shakespeare translations Polski Szekspir UW (http://polskiszekspir.uw.edu.pl) as well as of the critical series of Shakespeare plays published (since 2009) by Warsaw University Press, both projects unique in their conceptual design and academic relevance. In 2021, the state-funded project of Shakespeare repository was indicated as one of the four key achievements of literary studies at the University of Warsaw with the highest impact on contemporary society, a choice well-confirmed by excellent expert opinions in the ministerial evaluation procedure. The current Shakespeare ventures (both state-funded and international) aim at elucidating the Central and East-European history of Shakespeare reception, the political uses of drama, and the specificity of post-communist critical discourse.

The Department’s research in the genre of the epic allows for both the study of particular texts and their background, historical and cultural significance, and the diachronic study of development of the genre. Scholars specialising in the study of mediaeval, early modern, and modern literature offer unique insights on the functioning of the genre in various epochs, whereas the diachronic perspective makes it possible to trace interrelationships, divergencies, and influences of the genre over time. Particularly, the study of such genres as mock-heroic, mock-epic, the novel, and the development of the fantastic demonstrates how the epic has been a vital force in literature even though its primary generic form might be considered historical at the moment. The development of various forms of mediaevalism and the popularity of modern re-tellings of classical texts also offer rich material for the study of the genre. The research is conducted using a variety of theoretical and ideological approaches.

Our research on 18th- and 19th-century literature revolves round issues of pastoral versus urban landscapes, literary and socio-political appropriations of satire, constructions of the female voice and female characters, and the uses of ekphrasis. Special interest lies here in exploring the relation between the Enlightenment and Romanticism with reference to the diverse discursive and cultural shifts in the perception of nature, travel, walking, solitude, and death in the mid- to late 18th century. Research also concerns travel literature, peripatetic poetry, letters and travel journals of 18th-century authors, for instance the writings of Thomas Gray and William Beckford, as well as early-Romantic poetry, especially by William Blake and William Wordsworth. Also important is the topic of hypocrisy as a literary theme, continuously prominent in British literature from the early modern the Victorian period and beyond, chiefly in satire and the novel, focusing on the relation between hypocrisy, subjectivity, and morality, including with reference to religion, class, and sexuality. Other ongoing research projects include the history of satire and parody, theories of the novel, and, generally, queer and deconstructive critical thought applied to literary texts.

The Department’s work in the field of British Romanticism particularly focuses on scholarly readings, of poetry and fiction, Romantic visual culture and its legacy, gender relations and Romantic philosophy. In the courses we offer in the field, we strive to include both canonical and less-known texts and examine them from diverse theoretical perspectives: ecocriticism, affect theory, reception studies, HAS (Human-Animal Studies), posthumanism. Our research in Romanticism explores intricate relations between literature, culture, art, politics, religion, and science. We also offer courses within the field of Victorian studies on the conventions of realism, the uses/abuses of melodrama, and the historical versus contemporary meanings underlying literary exploitations of crime.

Our research on 20th- and 21st-century literature (prose, drama, poetry) revolves around contemporary theories of narratology and genre, interdisciplinary and comparative studies, and film adaptations. We offer courses on post-realist, modernist, and postmodernist literature, feminist and postcolonial writing, popular genres, literary versus documentary modes, as well as contemporary theoretical approaches to literature. In addition, our courses pursue “readings against the grain”, studying the texts from novel perspectives, deliberately deconstructing “authorial” interpretations and creating fresh readings which may modify the existing critical consensus. The studies of fictions by such writers as Ian McEwan, Julian Barnes, John Banville, Kazuo Ishiguro, Graham Swift, Salman Rushdie, Peter Ackroyd, Martin Amis, and many others analyze their works as complex narrative puzzles, as well as contemplations of key contemporary issues. In our classes we discuss the troubled relations between history and memory, the embeddedness of a human being in social and political discourse, contemporary theories of identity, the tensions between ethics and aesthetics, the self and the Other, literature and science, etc. Through the study of unreliable narrative we introduce rhetorical and cognitive perspectives on memory and language and approach the posthumanist ideas via discussions of contemporary science-fiction; our students explore the notions of power relations, desire and transgression, self-awareness and existential anxiety by examining metafictional works and try out their own creative powers by writing short stories as part of their immersion into fictional worlds. Our research projects include investigation of the struggle between voices in contemporary fiction, unreliable and unnatural narration, models of time and space in contemporary texts, metanarratives, comparative studies across world literature, adaptation studies, and visual studies.

In film and adaptation studies we focus on the ways in which a work of art finds a new expression in a new medium, rather than on fidelity issues. We examine contemporary re-writings of classic works (e.g. The Tempest as reinvented by John Banville in Ghosts) and cinematic recreation of literary works (e.g. Karel Reisz and Harold Pinter’s The French Lieutenant’s Woman), visual reformulations of a text (e.g. Salvador Dali’s lithograph illustrations to Romeo and Juliet) and “feigned” adaptations – films which only profess to be based on literary works (e.g. Wes Anderson’s films).

Prof. ucz. dr hab. Bartłomiej Błaszkiewicz, Associate Professor of Mediaeval Literature at the Department of English Studies, University of Warsaw. He has published extensively on literature and culture of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and continuation of these traditions, on mediaevalism and various aspects of oral culture in the Middle Ages, mediaeval versification, the genres of the romance and folk ballad, as well as modern fantasy literature.

His book publications include Oral-formulaic Diction in the Middle English Verse Romance (2009), George R. R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” and the Medieval Literary Tradition (editor, 2014), and Medieval Contexts in Modern Fantasy Fiction (2021).

Prof. dr hab. Grażyna Bystydzieńska, Professor at the Institute of English Studies, University of Warsaw. Her research interests focuses on 18th- and 19th-century English literature. She has written books on the English mock-heroic poem of the 18th century (The Mock-Heroic Poem of the 18th Century, PWN, Warsaw 1982), two books on Edward Young (Między Oświeceniem a Romantyzmem. Studium o twórczości Edwarda Younga [Between the Enlightenment and Romanticism. A Study of the Writings of Edward Young], Wyd. UMCS, Lublin 1982, and Edward Young’s Night Thoughts, Wyd. Gdańskie, Gdańsk 1995) and on Laurence Sterne (W labiryncie prawdy. Studia o Twórczości Laurence’a Sterne’a [In the Labyrinth of Truth. Studies in the Writings of Laurence Sterne]). She has been the editor or co-editor of 24 books, for instance, Things and Images in 18th and 19th century British Literature, vol. 1 in the series Texts and Contexts. Studies in 18th and 19th century British Literature and Culture (Warsaw 2016), Gothic, Sensation, Detection, vol. 2 in the same series (Warsaw 2017) and, with Emma Harris, all the volumes of From Queen Anne to Queen Victoria. Readings in 18th and 19th century British literature and culture, the last one, vol. 7 (WUW, Warsaw 2021). Grażyna Bystydzieńska has written numerous chapters in monographs and articles on Laurence Sterne, Jane Austen (her most recent article “From Nobody to Somebody. Romantic Epistemology in Jane Austen’s Persuasion” is published in Special Issue [ed. Sandie Byrne] – Jane Austen: Work, Life, Legacy, in open access journal Humanities 11(4)93, Oxford 2022). She has written chapters and articles on Charles Dickens, John Henry Newman, on the landscape in 18th- and 19th-century English literature, on the reception of Laurence Sterne and Jane Austen in Poland in The Reception of Laurence Sterne in Europe and The Reception of Jane Austen in Europe (both published in Thoemmes Continuum, London, New York; the chapter on Sterne [with Wojciech Nowicki] in 2004 and on Jane Austen in 2007), as well as articles and chapters on the reception and translations of English 18th-century poetry in Poland. She has been the supervisor of 17 doctoral dissertations. Many of her former doctoral students are now professors themselves at the University of Warsaw, the UMCS, the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, the Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, and the Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz. In the Institute of English Studies in Warsaw, Grażyna Bystydzieńska has been the co-organiser (with Emma Harris) of the conference on Irish and Scottish literature held in Kazimierz in 1997. Since 2007, she has co-ordinated, together with Professor Emma Harris, a series of biennial international conferences From Queen Anne to Queen Victoria. Readings in 18th and 19th Century British Literature and Culture and has been the organiser of numerous seminars called Warsaw Literary Meetings.

Dr hab. Maria Błaszkiewicz, Associate Professor at the Institute of English Studies, Faculty of Modern Languages, Warsaw University. Graduated from the Institute in 1992, has been working there since 1995. In 2000, she completed her M.A. programme at the Faculty of Theology, the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw. Her interests and research include the diachronic study of the epic (with special emphasis on Milton), literature as locus theologicus, the fantastic in literature, folk, and fairy tales, the English oratorio, and the novel. She teaches English literature focusing on the epic and the fantastic. She has published on Milton, Handel, J. R. R. Tolkien, R. R. Martin, Terry Pratchett, Susana Clarke, Patrick Rothfuss, and the Victorian novel. A member of research groups: Interdisziplinärer Märchenkundlicher Forschungskreises and From Queen Anne to Queen Victoria Research Group. She has co-organised the international conference Culturae Memoriae and has participated in the formation and development of a number of student research groups, including an association of Milton lovers “O Raju!”, Unseen Academicals, The Fellowship of the Book, and the creative writing journal Anything Goes.

Dr hab. prof. ucz. Anna Cetera-Włodarczyk, Associate Professor of English literature at the University of Warsaw, with a special interest in Renaissance studies, literary translation, and digital humanities. Her publications include several monographs centred on Shakespeare and translation either in theatrical context or within Polish cultural history (Enter Lear [2008], Smak morwy [2009], Polskie przekłady Shakespeare’a w XIX wieku [co-authored, 2019]), and a number of essays on interpretative analysis and literary translation (CUP, Palgrave, Shakespeare, Cahiers Élisabéthains). Since 2009, she has been editing a critical series of new translations of Shakespeare (Richard II [2009], Macbeth [2011, 2022], Twelfth Night [2012], The Tempest [2012, 2022], The Winter’s Tale [2014], and The Merchant of Venice [2015, 2021]), and since 2016 managing two state-funded projects aimed at digitising Polish 19th–21st century Shakespeare translations (http://polskiszekspir.uw.edu.pl). Member of ISA, ESRA, CEESRA, and Polskie Towarzystwo Szekspirowskie. Since 2020 Vice-Dean for Faculty Appointments and Promotion.

Dr. Przemysław Grabowski-Górniak, Assistant Professor at the Institute of English Studies, University of Warsaw. His research focuses on chivalric romance, mediaevalism in heroic fantasy, and the mediaeval martial tradition in historical and modern literature. He has published a number of publications on the mediaevalist fantasy of Robert E. Howard and its relation to ancient and mediaeval epic tradition, including “Robert E. Howard’s Conan Cycle as Modern Epic” (Cambridge Scholars Publishing 2014), and “The Age Undreamed of: Reality and History in Robert E. Howard’s Fantasy” (Temida, 2 2019). His main interest lies with the chivalric tradition of the Late Middle Ages, be it chivalric romances or mediaeval manuscripts and treatises on the art of war, with special focus on the English literary portrayals of Sir Gawain in the period of the Hundred Years’ War and the Wars of the Roses. At times, he combines his passion for modern fantasy and mediaeval history, conducting research into the links between the two, as evidenced with his latest publication “Tournaments and Judicial Duels in the World of Ice Fire” (Bloomsbury Academic, 2022). His admiration for the Middle Ages goes beyond the academia, as he is also a historical reenactor and a HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) instructor, combining his knowledge of the period, as well as his experience in working with mediaeval manuscripts, with practical approach in order to reconstruct martial techniques of the 14th and 15th centuries. His current focus is on studying the traces of mediaeval English martial systems in the pages of the Middle English romances.

Prof. dr hab. Barbara Janina Kowalik, a full professor from 2012, joined the Department of British Literature in 1999 after an academic career at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University of Lublin, during which she was a visiting scholar at the Universities of Oxford, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, and a researcher at the University of London. During her Warsaw years, she published the monograph A Dialogic Poetics in Medieval English Religious Lyric (Peter Lang, 2010), edited the volume Tolkien and Medieval Literature. A View from Poland (Walking Tree Publishers, 2013), published numerous articles and book chapters, gave countless conference papers, and wrote published and unpublished reviews. Her principal research areas include mediaeval literature (G. Chaucer, the Gawain-poet, R. Henryson, T. Malory), mediaevalism (J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, C. Williams, N. Gaiman, E. Muir,), women writers (J. Austen, K. Mansfield), underrated women writers (B. Pym, A. Finch, C. Smith, R. Pitter), English-Polish comparative studies (Henryson versus Biernat of Lublin; Dickens versus Bolesław Prus). She has published articles on other British writers (W. Blake, W. Shakespeare, J. Keats, C. Dickens, G. K. Chesterton) and essays on the Polish interwar cabaret singer Ordonka. For eight years, from 2008 to 2016, she served as the editor-in-chief of Acta Philologica, the journal of the Faculty of Modern Languages, crowning her term with a special volume for the 200th anniversary of the University of Warsaw. She has supervised dozens of M.A. theses and nine doctoral dissertations. She acted as the academic advisor to the student scholarly society devoted to mediaeval and mediaevalist literature and helped the society to organise guest lectures and conferences and to prepare publications.

Dr. Irena Księżopolska, Assistant Professor at the Department of British Literature, Institute of English Studies, University of Warsaw. She authored the monograph The Web of Sense: Patterns of Involution in Selected Fictions of Virginia Woolf and Vladimir Nabokov (2012) and co-edited with Mikołaj Wiśniewski the collection of essays Vladimir Nabokov and the Fictions of Memory (2019). She published numerous essays on contemporary fiction and is currently working on a monograph on Ian McEwan. She received the Kościuszko Foundation scholarship and studied McEwan’s archives at Harry Ransom Center in 2019. She teaches Introduction to Literary Studies and courses on unreliable narrators, metafiction, and female British writers of the 20th century.

Prof. ucz. dr hab. Małgorzata Łuczyńska-Hołdys has been working in the Institute of English Studies since 2003. The University of Warsaw is her Alma Mater – she received both her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the Institute of English Studies, the Faculty of Modern Languages. Her scholarly interests focus on Romantic and Victorian poetry, the relationships between poetry and the visual arts, and the representations of gender in literature and painting. These interests have resulted in a number of scholarly articles published in renowned journals, e.g. “‘Life Exhal’d in Milky Fondness’: Becoming a Mother in William Blake’s The Book of Thel” (Blake/An Illustrated Quarterly 46.4, Spring 2013), “(In)significant Details: Vision and Perception in Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s My Sister’s Sleep and The Blessed Damozel” (Zeitschrift fur Anglistik und Amerikanistik 61.2, Summer 2013), “‘For Where Thou Fliest I Shall Not Follow’: Memory and Poetic Song in Algernon Charles Swinburne’s Itylus” (The Journal of Pre-Raphaelite Studies 23. Fall 2014), “The Experience of Female Embodiment in William Blake’s Visions of the Daughters of Albion” (Nordic Journal of English Studies, 2020), as well as two monographs: Soft-Shed Kisses: Re-visioning the Femme Fatale in English Literature of the 19th Century (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013) and The Written and the Visual: Representations of Women in English Nineteenth-Century Poetry and Art (Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht Verlage, 2021) and two co-edited volumes. She still continues her academic work in these areas. At the Institute of English Studies, she teaches courses on Romantic and Victorian poetry, on representations of women in poetry and painting of the 19th century, on relationships between the verbal and the visual, and on the poetry and art of William Blake. In 2022, she received the Rector of the University of Warsaw Award for outstanding research.

Dr hab. Magdalena Pypeć is Associate Professor at the Department of British Literature of the Institute of English Studies at the University of Warsaw. Her publications include a monograph on Tennyson’s The Princess (Peter Lang, 2016). She has co-edited three volumes of Texts and Contexts. Studies in 18th and 19th Century British Literature and Culture series: Literature, Music, Drama and Performance; Landscapes and Townscapes; and Travel and Otherness (Warsaw University Press, 2019, 2021, 2022). Her most recent publications are a chapter “Opium as a Keyword in Dickens’s Novels” included in Some Keywords in Dickens (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlage, 2021), and “Literary Criticism as Women’s Rights Activism in Anna Jameson’s Shakespeare’s Heroines” included in Female Voices: Forms of Women’s Reading, Self-Education and Writing in Britain 1770–1830 (Presses universitaires de Franche-Comté, 2022). Her current research focuses on the literary output of Charles Dickens, its cultural legacy, and global circulation with an agenda of revisionism in mind. The topics discussed in her university courses, publications, and conference papers are concerned with such diverse aspects of Dickens’s writings as the relation of Dickens’s fiction to Victorian psychology, the Gothic, the visual, Victorian popular culture, the postcolonial, theatre and theatricality, the Victorian melodrama, film and adaptation, education, or the development of detective and thriller fiction.

Prof. ucz. dr hab. Marzena Sokołowska-Paryż is University/Associate Professor at the University of Warsaw, Poland. Her research interests include representations of 20th- and 21st-century wars in literature and film (the Great War, the Spanish Civil War, World War II, the Vietnam War, the Falkland/Malvinas War, the USA-led military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan), the normalization of the Third Reich in “cultural memory”, documentary versus fictional writings/showings of gendercide (the Bosnian War and Rwanda). Her theoretical perspective comprises theories of memory versus history, the memorial versus the monument, and trauma versus affect. Her interests also encompass crime as a signifier of social and political violence. She teaches courses which include an analysis of different genres and media, with particular interest in the national guilt novel and film, counterfactual and alternate fictions, the war film, the war memorial, and war photography. Apart from the numerous articles and chapters published internationally in journals and edited volumes, she is also the author of Reimagining the War Memorial, Reinterpreting the Great War: The Formats of British Commemorative Fiction (2012) and The Myth of War in British and Polish Poetry, 1939–1945 (2002), and co-editor (with Martin Löschnigg) of The Great War in Post-Memory Literature and Film (2014) and The Enemy in Contemporary Film (2018). She has presented papers at international conferences in the USA, Canada, England, Ireland, Austria, France, Spain, Portugal, Finland, Norway, Switzerland, and Lithuania. She is also editor for the literature and culture issues of Anglica. An International Journal for English Studies.

Dr. Przemysław Uściński is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of English Studies, University of Warsaw (since 2016). He is a member of the editorial board of Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies, a peer-reviewed journal published by the University of Warsaw. His book Parody, Scriblerian Wit and the Rise of the Novel was published by Peter Lang in 2017. He has also published many articles on British literature and culture, the history of the English novel, the aesthetics of parody and satire. Together with Magdalena Pypeć he co-edited the volume Travel and Otherness in Nineteenth-Century British Writing (Warsaw University Press, 2022). In 2022, he received a research grant from the National Science Centre (NCN) to study 18th-century travel writing. He is also a member of the research group From Queen Anne to Queen Victoria and co-organizes the Warsaw Literary Meetings seminar cycle. He teaches courses concerning literature, film, cultural studies, and literary theory. His research interests include British studies, 18th-century studies, philosophy and literary history, in particular the Enlightenment and Romanticism.

2.2. Department of North American Cultures and Literatures

Head of the Department: prof. ucz. dr hab. Justyna Włodarczyk

Faculty team:

prof. dr hab. Bożenna Chylińska
prof. ucz. dr hab. Ewa Barbara Łuczak
prof. ucz. dr hab. Marek Paryż
prof. ucz. dr hab. Justyna Wierzchowska
dr hab. Aneta Dybska
dr hab. Julia Fiedorczuk-Glinecka
dr hab. Zuzanna Ładyga-Michalska
dr hab. Mirosław Miernik
dr hab. Tadeusz Pióro
dr hab. Anna Pochmara-Ryżko
dr hab. Joanna Ziarkowska-Ciechanowska
dr Kamil Chrzczonowicz
dr Jack Harrison
mgr Elżbieta Foltyńska

The Department of North American Cultures and Literatures was created in 2021. It brings together American Studies scholars from the former Department of American Literature and the former Department of Anglo-Saxon Cultures. The name reflects the interdisciplinary nature of American Studies and our faculty members’ broad range of interests: from Puritan literature and culture to contemporary digital cultures. We research and teach American literature and culture in all its diversity, including various minority groups within US society: Native Americans, African Americans, and others. Our faculty members use interdisciplinary methodologies taken from art history, philosophy, psychoanalysis, the environmental humanities, urban studies, gender studies, and consumption studies. Many of our faculty members have also published extensively on film, media, and digital cultures. Our interests include the literature and culture of Canada and Mexico, as reflected in the Department’s name, and our faculty have collaborated on creating the degree program in Canadian Studies currently offered by the Faculty of Modern Languages.

Our faculty are recipients of many awards and grants from various external funding agencies: The Fulbright Exchange Program, The Kościuszko Foundation, National Science Centre, NAWA (National Agency for Academic Exchange), and many others. We have been engaged in collaborative research projects with many international partners from Europe, the United States, and even China.

We have published many books and journal articles. Some of our recent monographs have touched on the following topics:

• American Westerns as a film genre and the popularity of westerns in Europe

• laziness in American fiction

• ecopoetry and ecocriticism

• African-American masculinity in the Harlem Renaissance

• the biomedicalization of indigenous bodies in Native American literature

• turn-of-the-century mulatto melodrama

• literary reactions to discourses of eugenics in the first decades of the twentieth century

• representations of motherhood in American literature and art

• the American city, social justice, and urban gardening

• the mystique of the Northwest Passage

• literary reactions to the financial crisis of 2008

• postmodern American writers

• representations of interspecies relations in American popular literature and culture

In collaboration with the American Studies Center UW, the Department of North American Cultures and Literatures provides institutional support for the Polish Journal for American Studies, the yearbook of the Polish Association for American Studies.

Marek Paryż and Ewa Łuczak are the editors of the “Masters of American Literature” (Mistrzowie literatury amerykańskiej) book series, published in Polish by Warsaw University Press. The goal of the series is to familiarize Polish audiences with American writers.

In 2017, we launched American Studies Encounters, a lecture series which introduces students to the most topical and current issues in American Studies and develops their interests in American culture, society, and institutions. Since then, we have hosted over thirty scholars from the USA and European and Polish universities who have spoken on topics ranging from leisure in colonial America to the 21st-century hip-hop scene. The series is accompanied by social media profiles (FB and IG) and a website (americanencounters.wordpress.com).

“Figurations of Interspecies Harmony” is a research team headed by Justyna Włodarczyk, with fellow scholars Joanna Ziarkowska, Jack Harrison, and doctoral students Julia Wilde and Sara Kruszona. The team has been granted funding by the National Science Centre to investigate depictions of interspecies relations in Anglo-American popular literature and culture. Our main task is to probe seemingly simple ideas of what harmonious coexistence means and reveal the bigger ideological projects that shape these texts: from talking animals in children’s fiction to Disney films and boy-and-his-dog stories. We take these seemingly innocent genres and show how they can be embedded in discourses of colonialism, racism, and eugenics. Our goal is also to trace how these idealized depictions of interspecies relations can have potentially harmful consequences for nonhuman animal and human-animal relations in the real world.

Prof. dr hab. Bożenna Chylińska is the author of books on Jewish American history (“In Search of Greener Pastures”: A Hundred Years of the Zionist Idea in the United States, 1996); American history (ed., Ideology and Rhetoric: Constructing America, 2009); Christian ethics (The Gospel of Work and Wealth in the Puritan Ethic: From John Calvin to Benjamin Franklin, 2012); and the Euro/Anglo–Atlantic connections (The Mystique of the Northwest Passage: Martin Frobisher’s Voyages to the Arctic Wasteland, 1576–1578, 2018). Her main research interests include history and culture of British Colonial America and the United States; British imperialism; texts of literature as texts of culture (Africa, British North America, Colonial Canada, the Caribbean); colonial religious thought; Renaissance geographical discoveries and the Atlantic world.

Her professional efforts have been rewarded when she received an invitation to join a select group of academics from the US and across the world to participate in a research program organized by Brandeis University and American learned societies, aimed at promoting efforts to diminish world antisemitism and secure peaceful coexistence in the regional tensions of the Near East. The program scheduled meetings with prominent Israeli and Palestinian political and community leaders representing both sides of the conflict (2019). Her other international research nominations include: the Fulbright-Hays senior fellowship at the History Department of the University of California at Berkeley; the Loevenstein-Wiener fellowship at the American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati; the American Council of Learned Societies fellowship at the Department of Near-Eastern Studies, Brandeis University; the Rockefeller Foundation grant at the Bellagio Study and Conference Center, Italy; and the De Brzezie Lanckoroński Foundation grant at the British Library, London.

As of the publication of this book, Dr. Kamil Chrzczonowicz is the latest addition to the Department of North American Cultures and Literatures, having joined in 2022. His area of expertise includes humor theory, the history of American comedy and satire, and the cultural construction of race and ethnicity in the United States. Kamil approaches these topics from an interdisciplinary perspective, incorporating humanities, philosophy of the mind, and new technologies. He has co-founded the Humor Lab UW research group and has contributed to the “Masters of American Literature” book series, writing on the comic aspects of literary classics.

Dr hab. Aneta Dybska’s research interests focus on 19th and 20th-century American city, race, ethnicity, biopolitics of the nation, and black social movements. Her 2016 book Regeneration, Citizenship, and Justice in the American City since the 1970s engaged with scholarly debates on urban revitalization and gentrification, theorizations of the “right to the city”, as well as grassroots struggles for the urban commons. This work built on her earlier interest in 1960s urban ethnography on black communities, which culminated in the publication of Black Masculinities in American Social Science and Self-Narratives of the 1960s and 1970s (Peter Lang, 2010). She is currently a Visiting Law Scholar at the University of Irvine, California, where she is working on a new project on the Black reparations movement and restorative justice. She is a member of The Cultural Politics of Reconciliation international scholarly network, affiliated with the Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt, Germany.

Dr hab. Julia Fiedorczuk’s research interests include modern poetry, ecocritical theory, psychoanalysis, and feminism. She has published extensively on those subjects, including books: Inne możliwości. O poezji, ekologii i polityce. Rozmowy z amerykańskimi poetami (W. N. Katedra, 2019); Złożoność nie jest zbrodnią. Szkice o amerykańskiej poezji modernistycznej i postmodernistycznej (Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 2015); Cyborg w ogrodzie. Wprowadzenie do ekokrytyki (W. N. Katedra, 2015) and, in collaboration with Gerardo Beltrán, Ecopoetics/Ecopoética/Ecopoetics (Muzeum Historii Polskiego Ruchu Ludowego, 2020). She has translated the works of many American poets, including Laura Riding, John Ashbery, and Forrest Gander. She coordinates the interdisciplinary Ecopoetological Laboratory within the Non-Anthropocentric Cultural Subjectivity Project at the University of Warsaw and is a co-founder of the Environmental Humanities Center at the Faculty of Modern Languages.

Julia Fiedorczuk is also an acclaimed author. The last of her poetry books, Psalms, received the Wisława Szymborska Award (2018) – Poland’s most prestigious poetry prize. Her fiction, including short stories and novels, has earned nominations for the Nike Prize, the Julian Tuwim Prize, and the Warsaw Literary Prize. She has presented her work at literary events in Europe as well as in the United States, Mexico, China, Japan, and India. Her work has been translated into over twenty languages. She is a member of ASLE (Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment).

Mgr Elżbieta Foltyńska is the Head of Student Affairs at the Institute of English Studies. Her research interests include history of culture, American Studies, ethnic relations, ethnic press, mass media, mass culture, and religion.

Dr. Jack Harrison is a postdoctoral researcher and member of the “Figurations of Interspecies Harmony” research team. Before moving to Warsaw in 2021, Jack studied at the University of Toronto, Canada, where he completed his Ph.D. in ethnomusicology. His doctoral dissertation examines how rhythm, melody, choreographic form, and musical recordings help to configure horse–human, dog–human, and human–human relations in British interspecies sports. His current writing has turned to the figure of the mosquito, exploring musical representations of the insect and the measurement and replication of mosquito sounds in strategies of mosquito control in the 20th and 21st centuries. Originally from the UK, Jack has enjoyed living in different cities around the world. Outside of his work at the Institute, he enjoys tap dancing, watching Rupaul’s Drag Race, and taking trips to the cinema.

Dr hab. Zuzanna Ładyga-Michalska has been recognized with several prestigious awards and fellowships, such as the Fulbright Senior Award in 2014/15 and the University of Warsaw Dean Award for outstanding academic achievement in 2019/2020. Her main research interests include 19th- and 20th-century philosophy, ethics, critical theory, psychoanalysis, modernist and postmodern culture, and memory studies.

Zuzanna’s main publications include books such as The Labour of Laziness in 20th Century American Literature (Edinburgh UP, 2019), Rethinking Postmodern Subjectivity (Peter Lang, 2009), and articles such as “Choked by the Brutal Fact of Being: The Concept of Pain in the Early Works of Emmanuel Levinas” (Routledge, 2019), and “Justice, Ethics, Violence: American Studies and the Ethical Controversy” (Routledge, 2016). She is also the editor and co-editor of volumes focused on posthumanist theories, and volumes dedicated to postmodern writers and thinkers: Susan Sontag, Donald Barthelme, John Barth, and Robert Coover.

Beyond her scholarly pursuits, Zuzanna has achieved great success in the field of organizational management and initiatives. From 2014–2022, she was Poland’s representative to the Board of the European Association for American Studies and in the years 2018–2022, she served as the association’s Vice President. She is one of the creators and organizers of international workshops for doctoral students “Methodologies in American Studies”, which continues to attract young scholars.

Prof. ucz. dr hab. Ewa Barbara Łuczak is the author of four books on American literature of the 20th century and the editor of eight other volumes. Her first monograph How Their Living outside America Affected Five African American Authors: Toward a Theory of Expatriate Literature (Mellen Press, 2010) explores the fiction of African American authors living in Europe in the 1960s. Three of Ewa Łuczak’s other monographs mirror her interest in the field of race studies, critical eugenic studies as well as medical humanities. They explore the presence of, or opposition to, the eugenic discourse of social engineering and human betterment in American literature and culture in the years 1890–1940: Breeding and Eugenics in the American Literary Imagination: Heredity Rules in the Twentieth Century (Palgrave, 2015), Mocking Eugenics: American Culture against Scientific Hatred (Routledge, 2022); Pathologizing Black Bodies: The Legacy of Plantation Slavery (Routledge, 2023, co-authored with Constante Gonzales-Groba and Urszula Niewiadomska-Flis). Ewa Łuczak’s edited or co-edited volumes reflect her interest in cosmopolitan studies and new approaches to the American literary canon. They include New Cosmopolitanisms, Race and Ethnicity: Cultural Perspectives (co-edited with Samir Dayal and Anna Pochmara-Ryżko, DeGruyter, 2019), William Faulkner (Warsaw University Press, 2022), Ernest Hemingway (2019) and Toni Morrison (2017). Ewa Łuczak was Kościuszko Foundation’s visiting faculty at the University of California, Irvine (2019) and Johns Hopkins University (2012–2013); Corbridge Trust Fellow at Cambridge University (2017, 2016, 2014), American Philosophical Society Research Fellow (2013), Fulbright scholar at UCLA and UC Riverside (2007–2008, 1996–1997), and a visiting professor at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in Nanjing, China (2019, 2020, 2022). She has been invited to speak on eugenics and American culture at American and European universities. For her academic achievements, Ewa Łuczak has been awarded the Medal of the National Commission of Education and the Medal of the Minister for Higher Education in Poland.

Dr hab. Mirosław Aleksander Miernik is engaged in research related to subcultural studies, American Studies, British fiction of the 1890s, and the contemporary American novel. He is the author of Rethinking Fiction after the 2007/8 Financial Crisis: Consumption, Economics and the American Dream (Routledge, 2021). He also is the author of Rolfe, Rose, Corvo, Crabbe: The Literary Images of Frederick Rolfe (Peter Lang, 2015) and numerous articles, including “A Vicious Circle: How Canon Continues to Reinforce Sex Segregation in Literature in the 21st Century”, “Whaddya Rebellin’ Against? Youth Rebellion and Domesticity in The Wild, One and Rebel Without a Cause”, “‘Everybody knows that the game was rigged’: Protests against the War on Terror in the Work of Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, and Tom Waits” and “Turmoil and Change: A View at the Legacy of the 2007–2008 Financial Crisis and Great Recession”. He has carried out research at the Bodleian Library at Oxford University, the Brotherton Collection at the University of Leeds, and, thanks to a grant he was awarded in 2016, the JFK Institute at the Freie Universität Berlin. He was a recipient of the Rector of the University of Warsaw Award for outstanding research achievements in 2021.

Prof. ucz. dr hab. Marek Paryż serves as the chief editor of the Polish Journal for American Studies and the senior editor for literature and culture of the European Journal of American Studies. He is the main editor of the book series “European Perspectives on the United States” (Brill) and co-edits the book series “Mistrzowie literatury amerykańskiej” (with Ewa Łuczak, University of Warsaw Press). For the latter series, he has edited collections of essays on Don DeLillo, Cormac McCarthy, the Beat writers, Thomas Pynchon (with Tadeusz Pióro), Annie Proulx, and Susan Sontag (with Zuzanna Ładyga). His academic interests include 19th-century American literature and contemporary American fiction, and his current research focuses on the Western across narrative arts, including transnational uses of the genre. He is the author of The Postcolonial and Imperial Experience in American Transcendentalism (Palgrave, 2012) and co-editor of The Post-2000 Film Western: Contexts, Transnationality, Hybridity (with John R. Leo, Palgrave, 2015) and The Western in the Global Literary Imagination (with Christopher Conway and David Rio, Brill, 2022). He has co-edited special issues of the journals Studia Filmoznawcze on “Contemporary Transnational Westerns: Themes and Variations Since 2000” (with Sławomir Bobowski, 2017), Papers on Language and Literature on “The Visual Language of Gender and Family in the Western” (with Matthew Carter, 2018), and Zeitschrift für Anglistik und Amerikanistik on “Degeneration of Settler Colonialism in Contemporary Cinematic Depictions of the US West” (with M. Elise Marubbio and Matthew Carter, 2020). His articles have appeared in the American Transcendental Quarterly, European Journal of American Culture, Western American Literature, and other journals and collections of essays. In 2007, he was a Fulbright senior scholar at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

Dr hab. Tadeusz Pióro has written extensively on American and European literary avant-gardes and literary translation. He is also a poet and translator. His monographic study, Funtime, Endtime: Reading Frank O’Hara, was published by Peter Lang in 2017. Szkice o sztuce przekładu i sztuce czytania (Essays on the Art of Translation and the Art of Reading) was published by Warsaw University Press in 2019. Before he turned his attention to academic literary research, he was a renowned food and wine writer.

Dr hab. Anna Pochmara is the author of The Making of the New Negro: Black Authorship, Masculinity, and Sexuality (Amsterdam UP, 2011) and The Nadir and the Zenith: Temperance and Excess in the Early African American Novel (U of Georgia P, 2021). She has edited a Polish companion to James Baldwin (2021) and co-edited On Uses of Black Camp, a special issue of Open Cultural Studies (2017), The Boredoms of Late Modernity, a special issue of The European Journal of American Studies (2022), and Cosmopolitanisms, Race, and Ethnicity (De Gruyter, 2019). Currently, she is working on the anthology The African American Novel in the 21st Century (Brill) and her new book project on Black pastoralism in contemporary African American fiction. Apart from reading, she enjoys hip-hop concerts and winter days in the sauna.

Prof. ucz. dr hab. Justyna Wierzchowska combines methodologies in psychoanalysis and affect theory to explore the relational and affective dimensions of self-making that are manifested in contemporary European and American visual art and culture. She is the author of The Absolute and the Cold War: Discourses of Abstract Expressionism (2011), co-editor of In Other Words: Dialogizing Postcoloniality, Race, and Ethnicity (2012), the special issue On Uses of Black Camp (2018) and Texts, Images, Practices: Contemporary Perspectives on American, British and Polish Cultures (2020). Justyna is a grantee of the Fulbright Commission Senior Scholar Award for 2019–2020 and the Mieczysław Bekker NAWA Award for 2022–2023 to conduct research at New York University. She is currently working on two books: Related for Life: Mothering in Contemporary Art and Self-Writing and Critical Theory after World War II. She is the founding member of the research network REMS Research and Education in Motherhood Studies. Justyna teaches courses on the history of philosophy, American art, American art history, art theory, feminist art, and cultural studies. She translates into Polish American modern fiction and art-related books.

Prof. ucz. dr hab. Justyna Włodarczyk has always been engaged in interdisciplinary research, straddling literary and cultural American studies. She has truly found her niche in the interdisciplinary field of animal studies, and has carried out several research projects related to literary and cultural representations of non-human animals and changing human-animal relations. Justyna is most proud of her 2018 book Genealogy of Obedience: Reading North American Dog Training Literature, 1850s–2000s (Brill). She is the recipient of two National Science Centre grants and is currently the PI of a team project titled “Figurations of Interspecies Harmony in Anglo-American Literature and Culture”. She has collaborated on research projects related to animal studies with partners from the UK and the US. She has also been the recipient of two Fulbright Fellowships (Junior and Senior – 2006/2007 and 2016/2017), a fellowship from the Animals and Society Institute/Wesleyan Animal Studies (2015). She has carried out research on unusual topics in some interesting places, like studying pigeons at Harvard or eugenics at the American Kennel Club archives.

Dr hab. Joanna Ziarkowska is an Associate Professor at the University of Warsaw, Poland. She is the author of Indigenous Bodies, Cells, and Genes: Biomedicalization and Embodied Resistance in Native American Literature (2021) and the co-editor of In Other Words: Dialogizing Postcoloniality, Race, and Ethnicity (2012). She has published several articles on Native American literature. Her research interests include Indigenous studies, medical humanities, science and technology studies, and film studies. In her free time, she enjoys reading and watching medical dramas. She lives with two cats and human family members.

2.3. Department of British Culture

Head of Department: dr hab. Paweł Rutkowski

Faculty Team:

prof. dr hab. Dominika Oramus
prof. ucz. dr Emma Harris
dr hab. Dorota Babilas
dr hab. Katarzyna Kociołek
dr Lucyna Krawczyk-Żywko
dr Bartosz Lutostański

The present-day Department of British Culture was established in 1975 – as Department of Cultures of the English-Speaking Countries – reflecting a “cultural turn” in the paradigm of English Studies practised in Poland, incorporating as it did a broader cultural perspective. After a new teaching system was introduced in the 1990s, the Department began to offer students a wide range of elective courses and seminars on a variety of subjects that reflected the research interests of its faculty members. Geographically, the Department of British Culture embraces the history and culture of the British Isles (including the Republic of Ireland) as well as countries in the Commonwealth of Nations. Research areas – which chronologically cover times from early modernity to the present – have been broadly defined by the social, political, religious, and intellectual history of Britain; and by its material culture, with a special emphasis placed on art and fashion. Whereas the Department’s members work within the broad research areas of cultural studies, cultural history, and historical studies, we are also strongly engaged with the history of art, early modern studies, Victorian and Neo-Victorian studies; as well as postcolonial studies (particularly relevant in the context of Britain’s imperial past and its present Commonwealth connections). Several important fields have been recently added to this list, such as digital media, transmedial adaptations; and cultural relationships between the sciences and humanities. All the above-mentioned academic specialities represented in the Department are directly linked to the courses, seminars, and lectures which we offer.

The Department actively participates in international programmes. We coordinate a cooperation scheme that was started together with the Department of English Culture and Literature at the Saarland University in Saarbrücken, Germany. Since 2014, we have organized, in Poland and Germany, joint workshops and conferences for our post-graduate and doctoral students. Our Department is also engaged in preparing – together with the Embassy of Ireland – the Irish Day, which features talks, workshops, and exhibitions designed for both university students and secondary school pupils. Since 2007, our Department has been a co-organiser of the biennial international conference From Queen Anne to Queen Victoria. Readings in 18th and 19th Century British Literature and Culture. The tradition is going to be continued by the research group From Queen Anne to Queen Victoria, newly founded in 2022 by members of Departments of British Literature and Culture in order to study and promote 18th- and 19th-century British culture and literature. An important part of the Department’s activity are public lectures by invited eminent speakers from Poland and abroad. So far we have launched three lecture series – “Lectures in Early Modern History and Culture”, “New Media in Contemporary Culture”, and, most recently, “British Popular Culture” – that present and popularise various areas in British culture and history.

The most valuable asset of the Department are of course our faculty members. Today, at the 100th anniversary of the Institute of English Studies, we can boast seven members (a lucky number!). Below are brief bios, presenting their academic careers, interests, and achievements.

Dr hab. Paweł Rutkowski, Head of the Department

Dr hab. Dorota Babilas

Dorota Babilas has participated in over seventy international conferences, including the biennial International Gothic Studies conferences, and From Queen Anne to Queen Victoria conferences in Warsaw, which she co-organised. She has authored two monographic books, Wiktoria znaczy Zwycięstwo. Kulturowe oblicza brytyjskiej królowej (WUW, 2012) and Opera Paryska Palais Garnier. Historia, sztuka, mit (WUW, 2018), a new scholarly edition of Gaston Leroux’s Le Fantôme de l'Opéra (Vesper, 2019, in Polish). She has also penned over sixty articles on diverse aspects of Gothic, Victorian, and film studies. Her academic interests focus on the reception of Victorian literature and culture, especially the Gothic novel, in various media, including film and musical theatre. Dorota Babilas has frequently appeared on radio and television as an expert in British culture, especially the cultural legacy of the British monarchy. Her first doctoral student, Dr. Maria Szafrańska-Chmielarz, defended her Ph.D. in 2022.

Prof. ucz. dr Emma Harris

After completing her doctorate in Economic History at the University of Edinburgh on the economic consequences of World War I on the Polish territories, Emma Harris developed an interest in the history of British companies in inter-war Poland, particularly the company of J & P. Coats Ltd., the Paisley thread manufacturers. Since the mid-1970s, Emma Harris has taught British social and cultural history in the Institute of English Studies, University of Warsaw. She was also the director of the Institute from 1990 to 2014 and Dean of the Faculty of Modern Languages from 1999–2005. Over this period, her research interests have shifted towards 19th-century social and political history, and in particular transnational political contacts, including the ideas, adjustments, and practices of political refugees. In recent years, Emma Harris has concentrated in particular on the activities of refugee democrats who left Poland for Western Europe as part of the ‘Great Emigration’ in 1831 following the unsuccessful November Uprising against Russian rule. These studies have resulted, for example, in the publication of a biography of an émigré who became involved with the British Chartist movement, Bartłomiej Beniowski. Cosmopolitical Chartist and Revolutionary Refugee (2019).

Dr hab. Katarzyna Kociołek

Katarzyna Kociołek specialises in the representation of identities in fashion, film, and visual arts. In 2020, she published a monograph entitled Dress as Metaphor. British Female Fashion and Social Change in the 20th Century, which explores the meaning of sartorial practices in a wide range of cultural texts, including literary works, posters, political cartoons, and advertisements. In 2021, Katarzyna Kociołek was awarded Visiting Fellowship by Maynooth University Arts and Humanities Institute (Maynooth, Ireland) to conduct research for her new monograph on Irish travel posters. Since 2020, she has been a member of a research team Motherhood Studies Network, financed by 4EU+Alliance grant.

Dr. Lucyna Krawczyk-Żywko

Lucyna Krawczyk-Żywko is the coordinator of the From Queen Anne to Queen Victoria research group. She combines research on neo-Victorianism with adaptation and crime fiction studies. Her interests are reflected in the courses she teaches, e.g. Victorian Villains Revisited, Victorian Detectives Revisited, or The Victorian Era in Contemporary Culture. She has been involved with the From Queen Anne to Queen Victoria biennial conference since its inception (2007), organised a seminar on Crime and Detection (2017) and a conference on Framing Serial Killing: Changing Narratives (2022). Her articles were published in Anglica, Victoriographies, or Humanities, and her edited collections by Peter Lang and Palgrave Macmillan. Her publications tend to revolve around Victorian villains and detectives, especially the figures of Sherlock Holmes and “Jack the Ripper”, who are the focus of her forthcoming book entitled Holmes and the Ripper: Versus Narratives.

Dr. Bartosz Lutostański

Bartosz Lutostański is the epitome of a 21st-century scholar, with interests in new media, digital and postdigital culture, electronic literature, and new technologies. He is currently working on postdigital fiction poetics and the impact of social network sites on social and political consciousness. He has collaborated with esteemed international and national publishers and journals (e.g. de Gruyter, Palgrave, Peter Lang, University of Gdańsk Press, Teksty Drugie, and Zagadnienia Rodzajów Literackich). He has edited journal issues of intermediality (2018) and transmediality (2019) and is the author of numerous articles on narrative theory, experimental and digital fiction, new media culture, and cultural studies. He works as Assistant Editor at Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies. He is the host of the podcast channel IESP, available on SoundCloud, and of an online lecture series New Media in Contemporary Culture.

Prof. dr hab. Dominika Oramus

Professor Dominika Oramus is an author of numerous books and articles on Angela Carter and J. G. Ballard as well as on science fiction and the poetics of postmodernism. She conducts M.A. and Ph.D. seminars on British fiction of the 20th century. Her book on Ballard, Grave New World. The Decline of the West in the Fiction of J.G. Ballard was published by The Terminal Press (2015), and one year later she published a critical study of Angela Carter’s oeuvre, Ways of Pleasure. Angela Carter’s Discourse of Delight in her Fiction and Non-Fiction (2016). Her other books include Charles Darwin’s Looking Glass. The Theory of Evolution and the Life of its Author in Contemporary British Fiction and Non-Fiction (2015), Darwinowskie Paradygmaty. Mit teorii ewolucji w kulturze współczesnej (Copernicus Center Press, 2015) and Stany splątane. Fizyka a literatura współczesna (Copernicus Center Press, 2020).

Dr hab. Paweł Rutkowski

Paweł Rutkowski has nurtured interests that generally revolve around the early modern culture of Britain and Europe. In particular, his research focuses on the history of religion, especially the Protestant and Catholic reformations; magic, witchcraft and the supernatural; history of animals; and material culture. Currently he is working on the history of religious material objects in post-Reformation Britain. He is the author of the book Kot czarownicy. Demon osobisty w Anglii wczesnonowożytnej [The Witch’s Cat. Familiar Spirits in Early Modern England] (Universitas, 2012), which explores English witchcraft in the 16th and 17th centuries.

2.4. Department of the English Language

Head of the Department: prof. ucz. dr hab. Beata Łukaszewicz

Faculty team:

prof. dr hab. Elżbieta Górska
prof. dr hab. Jerzy Rubach
prof. ucz. dr hab. Bartłomiej Czaplicki
prof. ucz. dr hab. Romuald Gozdawa-Gołębiowski
prof. ucz. dr hab. Monika Opalińska
dr hab. Paweł Kornacki
dr hab. Ewa Wałaszewska
dr hab. Anna Wojtyś
dr Marta Kisielewska-Krysiuk
dr Agata Kochańska
dr Marcin Opacki
dr Maciej Rosiński
dr Paweł Rydzewski
dr Magdalena Walenta
dr Ewelina Wnuk
dr Dariusz Zembrzuski

Jan Niecisław Baudouin de Courtenay, a great Polish linguist of the late 19th and early 20th century and a precursor of many modern linguistic ideas, famously observed that if humans had twelve fingers they would not be going through the ‘cosmic’ exaltation caused by one century’s coming to an end and another one beginning. It is the same decimal system that allows us to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the existence of our Institute this year, and to cherish the ‘exaltation’ related to this special occasion.

Given our share in the volume devoted to this wonderful celebration, we highlight here some important aspects of our current work and some important paths taken in the past that have led to what the Department of the English Language is today. In broad perspective, the latter include the early 1980s turn from purely descriptive linguistics towards modern linguistics fuelled by theoretical insights, and the subsequent development of different areas of study, thanks to our professors being not only excellent scholars but also exceptional supervisors.

Over the past few decades, members of the Department have been developing independent paths of research within six major areas of study: “cognitive linguistics”, “cross-cultural communication and anthropological linguistics”, “historical linguistics”, “phonology”, “syntax”, “verbal communication (semantics, pragmatics)”. This has led to a wonderful and quite unique diversity of high-quality scholarly work. Conceptual metaphors, the world’s sound systems, varieties of English, mediaeval manuscripts, digital corpora, child language, syntactic structures, cross-cultural communication, and hundreds of other fascinating themes all co-exist here side by side, providing ample sources of inspiration and a wonderful intellectual atmosphere. New areas of study have been emerging thanks to digital humanities and advanced technologies. I feel privileged and honoured to have the opportunity to introduce this anniversary chapter to you. Enjoy!

Prof. ucz. dr hab. Beata Łukaszewicz, Head of the Department

Cognitive linguistics

Cognitive linguistics is an approach to the study of language which is guided by the assumption that human linguistic functioning is an integral part of human cognitive functioning. Hence, a characterisation of linguistic phenomena should be grounded in what is known about the human brain and the human mind from other areas of investigation (such as, for instance, neurology, psychology, anthropology, etc.). In this theoretical framework, linguistic phenomena are viewed as reflections of cognitive processes that underlie them.  Hence, from this perspective, linguistic studies are at the same time considered as explorations of diverse mechanisms of cognizing and experiencing the world.

The second important assumption of cognitive linguistics is a belief that language is, first and foremost, a tool for communicating meaning and that all kinds of linguistic elements – from the simplest words to the most complex grammatical constructions – play their role in fulfilling this function. In consequence, it is the study of meaning – not only the meaning of words, but also the meaning of grammatical structures – that constitutes the main focus of investigation in the cognitive linguistic enterprise. According to cognitive linguists, both words and grammatical constructions are symbolic resources which may be used for conveying alternate linguistic images of the world. To illustrate, although both the sentence The lamp is above the table and the sentence The table is below the lamp portray the same aspect of reality, the images of this aspect that they convey are not fully equivalent. In this perspective, grammar is understood not as a set of arbitrary formal rules, but rather as an inventory of symbolic resources for portraying conceptual content in alternate ways. Moreover, alternate portrayals of conceptual content may pertain not just to aspects of the world “out there”, but also to what is going on between the speaker and the hearer in their linguistic interaction – in consequence, linguistic resources, including the grammatical ones, are viewed not just as tools for making statements about states of affairs in the world, but also as tools for the dynamic management of the speaker-hearer interaction and on-line negotiation of the speaker-hearer interpersonal relation, as is visible – for instance – in utterances such as Give this to me! vs. You give this to me!.

Cognitive linguists frequently investigate issues which go beyond the scope of other linguistic theories. Such issues include conceptual metonymy and metaphor – understood as basic mechanisms of understanding and experiencing the world. In the case of metaphor, one concept, for instance happiness, is conceptualised in terms of another concept, for instance light; a linguistic reflection of this may be seen, for instance in He radiated happiness. On the other hand, in the case of conceptual metonymy, we conceptually “access” one notion (for example, a cause) via another notion (for instance, a result); an illustrative example may be the expression sleepy weather, in which the adjective sleepy is an instance of metonymy “result for cause”. Many conceptual metaphors and metonymies seem to be universal, since they are manifested in typologically diverse languages.

One more conceptual mechanism which falls within cognitive linguistics’ scope of interest is the mechanism of conceptual blending, that is, the mechanism of creatively combining existing concepts into hybrid novel notions, which frequently make possible understanding aspects of the world are complex and abstract in terms of what is more tangible and better understood. A linguistic manifestation of this mechanism at work is, for instance, the expression computer virus.

Because of its focus on meaning and conceptualisation, cognitive linguistics offers appropriate tools for analysing such omnipresent phenomena as, for instance, conceptual and linguistic manipulation in political discourse or advertising, or for solving diverse problems pertaining, for example, to translation or foreign language teaching.

Cognitive linguistics appeared in the Institute of English Studies in the very early days of the field’s development, and was adopted both as a theoretical framework for research and as a theory discussed with students. Langacker’s two-volume foundational work Foundations of Cognitive Grammar first started being read by faculty members and students of the Institute almost immediately after its first publication. Eminent cognitive linguists such as Eve Sweetser, Ronald Langacker, or Günter Radden gave lectures at the Institute in the 1990s. Since then it has become a regular practice that researchers working within diverse strands of the cognitive linguistic paradigm present their work pertaining to diverse linguistic phenomena and employing diverse methodologies. In fact, one of the important figures in the international cognitive linguistic community, a former President of the International Cognitive Linguistic Association, Professor Barbara Dancygier, first started her cognitive linguistic research as a faculty member of the Institute.

Among our Institute’s faculty members, those who situate their work in the cognitive paradigm are:

Prof. dr hab. Elżbieta Górska has been working in the Institute of English Studies since 1989 (she transferred from Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, where she had worked since 1979); she has been teaching cognitive linguistics courses and graduate seminars. Her research areas include: multimodal metaphor (and relations between text and image in particular), conceptual metaphor, conceptual metonymy, word formation and lexical semantics, cognitive grammar, cognitive foundations of language, and the linguistic coding of concepts in cross-cultural perspective.

She has published two monographs: On Parts and Wholes. A Cognitive Study of English Schematic Part Terms (Warsaw University, 1999), Understanding Abstract Concepts across Modes in Multimodal Discourse. A Cognitive Linguistic Approach. (London/New York: Routledge, 2020); edited the first Polish collection of articles in cognitive linguistics: Images from the Cognitive Scene (Universitas, 1993), co-edited (with Günter Radden) Metonymy-Metaphor Collage (Warsaw University Press, 2005), and contributed articles to numerous journals and edited volumes. She serves as member of the advisory boards of the Benjamins series Human Cognitive Processing and also of Review of Cognitive Linguistics, Journal of Cognitive Science and Jezikoslovlje.

Representing the University of Warsaw, she has been co-operating with cognitive and functional linguists from the University of Hamburg since 1992. Over the years, she has organised about 25 guest lectures by internationally renowned linguists, among others Ronald Langacker, Leonard Talmy, Günter Radden, Klaus Panther, Angeliki Athanasiadou, Charles Forceville.

In her work popularising linguistics, Elżbieta Górska has organised The First Warsaw University Linguistic Summer School (July 1992), which was the first event of this kind in Eastern Europe (with 14 courses and over 120 participants), and the Warsaw Multimodality Workshop and Masterclass (June 2018), an international conference for M.A. and Ph.D. students co-organised with Professor Charlese Forceville, University of Amsterdam.

She has supervised 11 Ph.D. dissertations and over 90 M.A. theses.

Dr. Agata Kochańska has been working in the Institute of English Studies since 1993, teaching courses in general and cognitive linguistics. Her research interests concern primarily the role of grammatical structures as sophisticated tools for conveying meaning, with a special focus on the grammar of Polish and its rich inflectional system. Together with Dagmar Divjak, she co-edited the volume Cognitive Paths into the Slavic Domain (Mouton de Gruyter, 2007). Recently, she has been primarily interested in how grammatical structures are used as a means of dynamically negotiating the speaker-hearer relation in the ongoing discourse. This is the topic of her monograph Interactive and Interpersonal Meanings of Grammatical Structures. A Cognitive Grammar Analysis of Selected Direct Directive Constructions in Polish (Peter Lang, 2022), as well as a number of papers, published, among others, in Cognitive Linguistics and Journal of Pragmatics.

Dr. Maciej Rosiński teaches courses on general linguistics, figurative language use, and discourse analysis. His Ph.D. dissertation won the award of the Polish Cognitive Linguistics Association for the best dissertation defended in 2018, and was subsequently published as a monograph Metaphor Activation in Multimodal Discourse. Case Studies on the Emergence of Geometrical Concepts (Semper, 2019). His main research areas are conceptual metaphor, gesture analysis, and scientific discourse.

Dr. Ewelina Wnuk joined the Institute of English Studies as a Research Fellow in 2022. She carries out field-based research at the intersection of language, culture, cognition, and emotion. Her work so far has focused on Maniq and Mlabri, two hunter-gatherer groups of Thailand. Her interests also include cross-cultural diversity in emotion and perception, lexico-semantic typology, and Southeast Asian linguistics. Her research papers on these topics have been published in prestigious journals, including Cognition, Cognitive Linguistics, and Cognitive Science. Together with Maciej Rosiński, Ewelina has started a focus group, Linguistic Diversity and the Mind, which gathers together professors, Ph.D. candidates, and students to discuss current topics related to linguistic research.

Cross-cultural communication and anthropological linguistics

Anthropological linguists examine language-and-culture connections. To put it in other words, scholars of anthropological linguistics approach language as a cultural resource and speaking as a cultural practice. Consequently, words and other linguistic utterances are viewed as carriers of cultural meaning which yield valuable insights into the communicative practices of speakers across languages and cultures.

While words are treated as prime carriers of cultural meaning, focusing on specific, identifiable linguistic items as sources of evidence of communicative practices across languages and cultures allows for applying insights from anthropological linguistics and ethnolinguistics to the study and teaching of cross-cultural communication. In particular, this approach focuses on linguistic evidence readily available to university language students, such as: cultural keywords, proverbs and common sayings, common words and expressions, emotion words, value words, words for speech acts and speech genres, terms of address, conversational and interactional routines (such as greetings and partings, appropriate things to say when good things happen, when bad things happen, etc.), patterns of turn-taking and other conversational management strategies, derivational morphology expressive of social meanings (such as diminutives, honorifics, etc.), discourse particles and interjections – as well as some other pertinent sources of evidence, such as accounts of cross-cultural experience and life-stories of bilingual people (including bilingual immigrants).

Theoretical background which informs the meaning-driven approach to the study of cross-cultural communication adopted here is anchored in the methodology of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) research framework, which has been explicitly developed to tackle issues of linguistic meaning in cross-cultural semantics and cross-cultural pragmatics. This approach offers helpful conceptual tools to scholars and students in a variety of cultural studies who are increasingly concerned with ways of overcoming terminological ethnocentrism (Goddard 2002) – an insidious and often unrecognised problem in cultural description and cross-cultural translation. Consequently, zooming in on selected aspects of languages and cultures with the help of essentially anthropological linguistic tools can offer a valuable corrective to psychological approaches, which only too often tend to rely on experience-distant concepts and representations of meaning in culture.

Dr hab. Paweł Kornacki has taught cultural linguistics courses at a national and international level. His research activities are divided between two languages and cultures: Chinese and Tok Pisin (a pidgin/creole language spoken in Papua New Guinea), focusing on everyday concepts and linguistic expressions of emotion and social interaction. His NSM-related research output is listed at the nsm-approach.net, a resource base of publications developed at the Australian National University. Recently, Kornacki’s profile, titled “From Poland to Pidgin” has been featured on the website of the School of Culture, History & Language / Australian National University College of Asia & the Pacific: https://chl.anu.edu.au/news-events/news/1879/poland-pidgin

Historical linguistics

In the Department of the English Language, we also conduct research into historical linguistics and language change. In our experience, the knowledge of antecedents gives a better insight into the structure and nature of language. As Roger Lass put it: “Historically evolved systems are not continually made afresh; they contain remnants of earlier stages, sometimes fully functional, sometimes reduced and functionless, sometimes just marginal. Understanding a system involves knowing where these things come from and what they used to do, how their current functions (if any) relate to their old ones”. Annotations and comments left by anonymous readers on the margins of old historical grammars or occasional slips of paper filled with a characteristic minuscule handwriting, found between faded pages of Old and Middle English primers from the Institute library, show that such studies were carried out already decades ago. Today, we cherish the long-standing tradition of the departmental studies into historical English lexis, phonology, morphology, and metrics initiated by Alfred Reszkiewicz, Margaret Schlauch, and Jerzy Wełna, but, at the same time, we adopt modern theoretical models and up-to-date methodology applied in contemporary linguistic studies. Our research ranges from quantitative analysis based on linguistic corpora to detailed case studies from Old, Middle, and Modern English, and related Germanic languages. Owing to the development of digital humanities, we now have almost unlimited access to traditional and electronic editions and facsimiles, but we still return to manuscripts – the primary witnesses of the source texts.

In 2020, out of the fascination for handwritten books, Monika Opalińska, IA UW, in collaboration with Anna Just (IG UW) and Agnieszka Fabiańska (Special Collections, BUW) co-founded an interdisciplinary Research Group for the Study of Manuscripts SIGLUM (https://siglum.uw.edu.pl/), which soon attracted scholars and scientists from many different academic centres. Today, the group includes linguists, historians, art historians, conservators, chemists, experts on the history of book and paper production, literary critics, cultural experts, musicologists, archivists, and librarians. We share a passion for manuscripts and recognize the need to study them in their manifold aspects and in an integrated way – as carriers of texts, works of art, monuments of culture, heritage of the past, and material objects. We look into manuscripts from different geographical and cultural regions, studying ancient sources as well as contemporary handwritten documents. We combine our professional experience to carry out complementary research which involves the analysis of elemental parchment composition on the one hand, as well as linguistic, palaeographical, and codicological examination of manuscripts on the other. Owing to the collaborative effort of several SIGLUM members, we have recently been able to identify fragments of a dispersed 11th-century English psalter found in the C. Norwid Library in Elbląg in 2020. Our methodology involved linguistic and palaeographical analysis on the one hand, and multi-instrumental investigations via MA-XRF (macro X-ray fluorescence), OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography), and elemental screening of indicator papers by LA-ICP-MS and MC-ICP-MS isotopic ratio measurements on the other. Due to the multifaceted analysis we have been able to show that the pigment identified on the parchment fragments may have come from a lead mine in Derbyshire (South Pennines, Peak District) which was first worked by the Romans and subsequently by the Anglo-Saxons.

SIGLUM is an inclusive group, open to new people, projects, and areas of research. We hope that it will advance research into manuscript studies and make it a vital part of our academic universe. So far, our projects have involved cooperation with scientists from different academic centres and institutions, such as E-RIHS.pl, NIMOZ – National Institute for Museums and Public Collections, Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures at the University of Hamburg, Fragmentarium. Digital Laboratory for Medieval Manuscript Fragments at the University of Fribourg, and Cambridge University Library, to name a few. The results of our research have been published in top-ranked peer-reviewed journals, such as the Review of English Studies, English Language and Linguistics, Studia Neophilologica, Fragmentology.

Corpus studies in historical linguistics

Apart from the manuscripts, historical linguistics also uses historical corpora, which are collections of old texts in electronic form. The corpora group textual sources that represent a certain period of time (e.g. Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English) and/or a text type (e.g. medical texts, parliamentary speeches). Due to their considerable sizes which can amount to several million words, the corpora are a modern tool which can be used for statistical and comparative analysis demanding the examination of a wide portion of material. Hence, they allow for tracing linguistic changes, both in grammar and vocabulary, in various periods of time. Additionally, texts assigned to particular areas exemplify dialectal differences, whereas those with known authorship are used in research into the differences between the use of language by e.g. men vs. women or the young vs. the elderly. Since most corpora are equipped with search engines, the analysis of big amounts of data is by no means as time consuming as it used to be in the past, and the results obtained are reliable. The corpora are not only extensively used by the academics working in the Department but have also been the basis for numerous M.A. and Ph.D. dissertations.

Among the Institute’s faculty members who work in the domain of historical linguistics are:

Prof. ucz. dr hab. Monika Opalińska has been working in the Institute of English Studies since 2003 after the completion of her Ph.D. project on Old English phonology. She is currently Associate Professor at the Department of the English Language and Head of the Research Group for the Study of Manuscript SIGLUM. Her scholarly interests range from historical phonology of Germanic languages and historical metrics to the history of the English language and literature and manuscript studies. She has edited and translated Old English poetry into Polish (The Dream of the Rood, the Exeter Book elegies, versified prayers), and published in prestigious journals, such as the Review of English Studies, Studia Neophilologica, Medium Ævum. She has been awarded scholarships from the Fulbright Commission (Stanford University), Mary and Clifford Corbridge Trust (University of Cambridge), The Bodleian Library (The Sassoon Visiting Fellowship, University of Oxford), and the De Brzezie Lanckoroński Foundation Grant (British Library, University of Cambridge). In her current research, she focuses on the metrical aspects of Old and Middle English verse, early glossed psalters, fragmentology, and digital reconstruction of fragmented manuscript data. Her research in the area of manuscript studies spans the connection between linguistic, palaeographical, and codicological analysis and the material aspects of the primary sources.

Dr hab. Anna Wojtyś started working in the Institute of English Studies in 2009. She has been teaching classes and seminars in historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, and varieties of English. She has introduced two courses to the faculty offerings: The History of English Words and Linguistic Analysis of Shakespeare’s Texts and their Polish Translations. She has published two monographs: Past Participle Marking in Mediaeval English. A Corpus-Based Study in Historical Morphology (Æ Academic Publishing, 2016) and The Non-Surviving Preterite-Present Verbs in English. The Demise of *dugan, munan, *-nugan, *þurfan, and unnan (Peter Lang, 2017), and co-edited the book in honour of Professor Jerzy Wełna, Explorations in the English Language: Middle Ages and Beyond (Peter Lang, 2012). She has also published articles on historical morphology, phonology, and lexis. She is Vice-Dean for Research and Cooperation of the Faculty of Modern Languages (2020–2024) and the Flagship 2 Leader of the European University within 4eu+ Alliance.

Phonology

Phonology is one of the pivot research areas in the Department of the English Language. The tradition of phonological research in the Department spans more than five decades, and owes much to the works of Jerzy Rubach and his fascination with the complexities of Slavonic sound systems. This cross-linguistic perspective, with a special focus on English and the languages from the Slavonic group, is shared by all phonologists in the Department, and can be said to be its hallmark. We conduct high-quality, curiosity-driven research into all aspects of phonological systems: the workings of language-specific phonologies and how these derive from universal mechanisms, the interaction between phonology and other levels of language – phonetics, morphology, and syntax, the representation and processing of the phonological form of words in the human mind, the acquisition of sound systems, their propensity to change and how they are affected by social factors. Using linguistic data to deepen our understanding of the mechanisms underlying speech sound phenomena and human cognition, or simply as a testing ground for competing phonological theories, we pursue a wide range of themes. These can be as disparate as chain effects in Kurpian (a dialect spoken in northern Poland), consonantal rhythm in Warsaw Polish, metrical licensing in the complex stress system of Ukrainian, phonological transfer in Polish-English bilingual children, or dynamical trade-offs between the emergent phonological organisation and the child’s unskilled production in first language acquisition – to name just a few recent ones, published in top-ranked peer-reviewed journals, such as Journal of Linguistics, Phonology, Linguistic Inquiry, and International Journal of Bilingualism. The theoretical approaches we currently adopt reflect the vibrant diversity of the phonological field today, and are couched within up-to-date formal and functional (usage-based) frameworks, such as optimality theory, exemplar theory, and the dynamical systems theory.

An important part of our work is careful documentation of under-researched languages which thus far have remained a terra incognita in the world’s phonological literature. Through fieldwork techniques and experimentation, we aim to collect novel data, thus expanding on the earlier, often scarce and fragmentary, traditional descriptions of such languages. Crucially, we also aim to provide theoretical insights which offer understanding of the observed phenomena. The descriptively and theoretically oriented language documentation has also had some consequential applications. Jerzy Rubach’s research into Kurpian resulted in the creation of an orthographic system for that language, an important aspect of language preservation.

Experimental research feeds on high-quality quantitative data. The first phonology lab was established by Beata Łukaszewicz in 2014, located at Hoża 69, the former Institute’s headquarters. In 2022, a brand-new lab was created in the new building of the Faculty of Modern Languages at Dobra 55. The lab is equipped with a sound-proof booth, and specialises in research on acoustic and perceptual underpinnings of phonological categories and processing of linguistic structures. In the near future, the speech production techniques are planned to include electroglottography and, potentially, ultrasound. Perception techniques will include oculography. New experiments have been planned in collaboration with members of the Neurolinguistic Lab (the Institute of Applied Linguistics, University of Warsaw) and in numerous international collaborations.

Among the Institute’s faculty members who situate their work in the phonology domain are:

Prof. zw. dr hab. Jerzy Rubach has been employed by the University of Warsaw since 1971. He started as a Junior Assistant in 1971 and moved up the academic ladder to finally become Professor ordinarius in 1993 (appointment by the Minister of Education). In 1992, after a competitive race, he was offered the position of tenured Full Professor at the University of Iowa in the United States. He asked that he be appointed at 50% in order to make it possible for him to continue his work at the University of Warsaw. Prof. Rubach has been teaching at both universities for over 30 years now (Iowa in the fall semester and Warsaw in the spring semester). Prof. Rubach held two administrative appointments at the University of Warsaw. He was Director of the Institute of English Studies (1984–1990) and Chair of the Department of the English Language (1984–2020). He turned a department of traditional descriptive linguistics into a department of modern theoretical linguistics that is regarded as highly competitive when compared with linguistics departments at universities in both Europe and the United States.

Important in Prof. Rubach’s teaching record is the number of Ph.D. dissertations that he has supervised. It is a total of 28 dissertations, significantly more than any other professor in the history of the Institute of English Studies since its inception in 1923.

Prof. Rubach has a major record of research, with 104 publications, nine of which are books (five theoretical studies and four descriptive studies). His papers (singly authored or co-authored) have been published in the leading linguistics journals in the world, including Language (three publications), Linguistic Inquiry (ten publications), Phonology (seven publications), Journal of Phonetics (two publications), Natural Language and Linguistic Theory (four publications), Journal of Linguistics (six publications).

Prof. Rubach has a good professional impact record (Google Scholar, 28 January 2023): 4,776 citations and the Hirsch Index of 29 p.

Prof. Rubach’s name is associated with two Schools of Phonology: Lexical Phonology (1990s) and Derivational Optimality Theory, also called Stratal OT (since 1997). He was a cofounder of both of these schools.

Prof. Rubach has had 65 presentations at international conferences, 37 of which were invited speaker keynote presentations.

Prof. Rubach’s recent work has been on two dialects of Polish: Kurpian and Podhale Goralian. The work on Kurpian has resulted in research papers published in the top international journals. It has also played another role. Kurpian is an endangered dialect that is on the verge of extinction. Prof. Rubach invented a writing system for Kurpian. This fact plus the fact that he published four books providing a descriptive grammar of Kurpian written for Kurpians has had a huge impact on the revival of the dialect. Well over a thousand pages by Kurpian authors have been printed in Prof. Rubach’s writing system. Kurpian is now being taught in schools in a few Kurpian counties.

Prof. Rubach has just started work on Podhale Goralian as a collaborative effort with a native speaker of the dialect who is his Ph.D. advisee. So far this collaboration has resulted in two publications.

Prof. ucz. dr hab. Beata Łukaszewicz has been working in the Institute of English Studies since 2000, after the completion of her Ph.D. project on phonological acquisition. She is currently Associate Professor and Head of the Department of the English Language (elected in 2021). She is also an Associate Editor of Phonology, the most respected journal in the field of phonology internationally. She specialises in theoretical and experimental phonology and language acquisition. She established the first phonology lab in the Institute of English Studies in 2014, now continued as the phonetic lab at the Faculty of Modern Languages. Her current efforts are directed at acquiring 3D/4D ultrasound technology, with the prospects of developing interdisciplinary and international collaboration. She has been a principal investigator and co-investigator on projects funded by the National Science Centre (Poland) and the Polish Ministry of Education. She received the Rector of the University of Warsaw Award for outstanding research four times. She is also the winner of 2016 Inspiration for Tomorrow Students’ Award (category: Guide) by the vote of students at the Institute of English Studies. Her current research interests focus on the theoretical and physical (acoustic and perceptual) underpinnings of complex metrical systems (Polish and Ukrainian), as well as on the connection between the invariant phonological representations and variable phonetic parameters in first language acquisition and in adult speech. She is interested in the topology of speech sounds, viewing phonological organisation as a dynamical landscape, that is, organisation which entails not only static relations, but also paradigms for change. She has published in prestigious journals, such as Journal of Child Language, Linguistic Inquiry, Phonology, Journal of Linguistics, Lingua, and Journal of Slavic Linguistics.

Prof. ucz. dr hab. Bartłomiej Czaplicki has been working in the Institute of English Studies since 2003, where he currently serves as Deputy Head of Research. He has been teaching courses and seminars on phonology, sociolinguistics, and general linguistics. His research interests include phonology and its interfaces with phonetics and morphology. He has been investigating the phonetic and sociolinguistic factors that drive sound change. He has been involved in studies that use ultrasound imaging to examine the articulation of sounds and the temporal coordination of articulators in assimilation processes. His research about the phonology-morphology interactions employs data from linguistic corpora to investigate the impact of frequency on morphological stability and productivity. Linguistic data for his research come from English, Ukrainian, and Polish. His current research focuses on studying the phonetic basis of change in Kashubian, an endangered language. He has published in prestigious journals, including Lingua, Language Sciences, Journal of Slavic Linguistics, and Glossa. He was a co-organiser of the 17th Old World Conference in Phonology at the University of Warsaw in 2020. He serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the Manchester Phonology Meeting, one of the most respected conferences in the field of phonology. He has received the Rector of the University of Warsaw Award for outstanding research. He has been awarded scholarships from the Fulbright Commission (State University of New York at Stony Brook) and the Kościuszko Foundation (Indiana University Bloomington).

Dr. Paweł Rydzewski has been working in the Institute of English Studies since 2015, when he completed his Ph.D. In his Ph.D. project he focused on the phonological consequences of backness distinction in high vowels, arguing that it is crucial for the analysis of Polish palatalisation, as otherwise the analyses are empirically unfeasible and require segment indexation. He has published in, for example, Lingua, Poznań Studies in Contemporary Linguistics, or Studies in Polish Linguistics. In 2017 and 2018, he was voted the most inspiring teacher and received Inspiration for Tomorrow Students’ Awards. From 2016 to 2018, he was the Institute Director’s Representative for the Coordination of IT Operations. From 2018 to 2021, in the fall semesters, he was substituting Professor Jerzy Rubach as Acting Head of the Department of the English Language. Currently, his scientific interests pertain to the interaction between morphology and phonology, focusing on the nature of phonological cycle in Derivational Optimality Theory. The data for his research are drawn from such languages as Polish, English, Russian, Slovak, and Kashubian. Moreover, he is also interested in the linguistic mechanisms that govern the construction of artificial languages (conlangs), and their comparison with the natural sound systems of the world.

Dr. Dariusz Zembrzuski has been working in the Institute of English Studies since 2018, after the completion of his Ph.D. project on consonantal reduction processes in Polish. In his work he has investigated various aspects at the interface of phonology and phonetics. In his Ph.D. he investigated the simplification of clusters of stops and fricatives in Standard and Silesian Polish, arguing for both phonological and sociolinguistic conditioning of sound changes. He has also investigated the topic of the emergence of ‘true’ geminates in Standard Polish, the results of which he has presented at two prestigious conferences: Old World Conference in Phonology and Manchester Phonology Meeting. His research interests also include phonological and phonetic aspects of bilingualism, as in his years as a doctoral candidate he was a member of an interdisciplinary research team evaluating linguistic and psychological competence of Polish-English bilingual pre-school children. One of the results of this project was an article published in the prestigious International Journal of Bilingualism, where it was argued that bilingual children present an exceptionally high skill at acquiring prosodic competence. In his didactic work, he has been teaching courses and seminars in phonetics, phonology, sociolinguistics, and general linguistics. Currently, he has also been dealing with culture studies, where he has analysed linguistic and psychological aspects of diplomatic code.

Syntax

Linguists describe language. All schools of linguistic thought agree on that. They also agree that all natural languages need grammars. As Pollard and Sag put it, these grammars are to natural language just as what math is to physics. We use velocity, mass, or temperature to describe physical objects, likewise we use descriptive grammars to describe what happens in language. It is because of these grammars that we use terms such as noun or verb, terms that have become so commonplace that we tend to take them for granted.

But neither these terms nor the grammars themselves should be taken for granted. There is no single correct way to describe human language: depending on the descriptive grammar (=the tools and scaffolding) chosen for investigation, we are likely to get vastly different outcomes. The work done at the Institute is a small testimony to that variety. From cognitive grammar to generative grammar, from interactional sociolinguistics to corpus linguistics, all approaches share the same goal: to understand the nature of human language and its various forms of expression.

At the heart of any descriptive grammar lies syntax. If you compare any sentence spoken in a natural language to a tree, and the words in that sentence to its branches, then syntax is the trunk. The trunk bears the weight of the crown, and the presence of the trunk is necessary for the survival of the entire tree. Similarly, the syntactic structure takes on the weight of all the words that make up a sentence. And just as branches detached from the trunk cannot be considered a tree, scattered words cannot be mistaken for a sentence.

Syntax is responsible for the order of words in an utterance. In some languages it is more demanding, in others less. For example, English syntax requires the subject to come before the object: The monkey ate the banana, not The banana ate the monkey. Polish syntax is more forgiving (because both banana małpa zjadła and zjadła małpa banana are unambiguous and the sinister “monkey-eating bananas” do not even begin to enter the picture). Ordering words in a sentence is not just about sequencing them correctly from left to right. Syntactic knowledge tells us which words belong together in larger chunks. There are two ways to group the words in I gave her rat poison so that it can describe either an attempt to poison a specific person or to poison a rat, while I swallowed her rat poison does not show such ambiguity.

Syntax often operates with categories that cannot be directly identified in a stream of speech. Such an invisible category is hidden, for example, in the question Who do you want to stay with us? between the word “want” and “to”, blocking any attempt to shorten them to “wanna”. This explains the ungrammaticality of Who do you wanna stay with us? However, in the question Who do you want to arrest? this invisible element fails to manifest itself between “want” and “to”, so the form Who do you wanna arrest? becomes possible. Syntax tells us when and why these empty categories do or do not appear.

Discovering the underlying syntactic rules that govern natural languages is one of the most fascinating tasks facing contemporary linguistics. Some of these rules should be common to all languages of the world, if only because every child is able to learn any natural language with equal ease. Syntax understood in this way, as a description of a certain property of the human mind, rather than a set of boring rules from a language textbook, seeks answers to several very important questions:

• What does it mean to “know your native language”?

• Is there a universal grammar, common to all languages of the world?

• What makes children acquire their native language without any persistent problems, while adults fail at this task?

• Does true bilingualism exist? Is it desirable?

• What are the qualitative and quantitative differences between acquiring a native language and learning a foreign language?

• What should modern pedagogical grammars look like, taking into account the similarities and differences between the target and source languages?

Note that these questions and concerns apply to descriptive grammars of natural languages, in other words languages that emerged naturally in humans, and which exhibit a set of particular properties, such as displacement, arbitrariness, or cultural transmission. But a natural language can be contrasted with what is known as a formal language, or formal grammar, a system of rules and constraints that can be expressed explicitly. Mathematics, first-order logic, chemical formulae, or any programming language are typical examples of formal grammars.

Enter generative grammar. To simplify, a generative grammar can be defined as any theory of language that aims to describe it using a formal grammar. It is what happens when one uses a formal grammar as a descriptive grammar. This is why the generative approach aims to apply the discoveries and insights of computer science, such as automata theory, to model and predict human linguistic behavior.

Here at the Institute of English Studies, our research staff works on various applications of generative linguistics. On the one hand, formal grammars can make foreign languages a little more accessible to learners, e.g. by informing pedagogical grammars. On the other hand, the generative paradigm is helpful in our practice of computational linguistics, a research area aiming to provide models that form the foundation of natural language processing. Consider language corpora, large bodies of genuine language data that have been parsed (=analysed syntactically) and annotated (=enriched with information provided by a chosen descriptive grammar or theory of language). This annotation can be anything that is relevant to a given study. Corpora can be used to investigate linguistic phenomena in a quantitative way. This, in turn, means that we can apply a series of statistical analyses to determine the features of a certain language, a group of speakers, a historical period, or a stage of learning; we can find out which expressions are likely to occur in speech or writing under certain conditions, or we can study which words of phrases tend to go together and which tend to repel each other.

From a theoretical standpoint, tools such as this can help us better understand language change or language acquisition. From a practical perspective, they can be useful to a whole range of users, from language-course designers and teachers who endorse computer-assisted language learning, through translators who use parallel corpora and computer-assisted translation, to advertisers or policy makers, who need to make informed decisions about language use, based on real-world data. Corpora are also used for stylometric text classification (=sorting texts based on their features). This includes spam detection, automatic text summarisation, named entity recognition, sentiment analysis, or even the development of artificial intelligence.

The following Faculty members focus their research and teaching on the structural aspects of language, computational linguistics, and the implementation of syntactic insights in the area of foreign language instruction:

Prof. ucz. dr hab. Romuald Gozdawa-Gołębiowski has worked in the Institute of English Studies since 1982, his research interests span theoretical linguistics and the practice of foreign language teaching, pedagogical grammar, new directions in language-and-culture teaching, cultural translation, Content and Language Learning (CLIL), and post-CLIL developments. He has authored and co-authored over forty papers on various aspects of applied linguistics and the theoretical insights into language teaching; as well as having penned four grammar books for Polish learners of English and seven collections of language tests. He has co-developed the language-testing model employed for certification purposes at the University of Warsaw and was the first chair of the Coordinating Council for Foreign Language Learning and Certification of Language Proficiency at the University. He is the coordinator of an international Erasmus+ project: Teaching English as a content subject at the tertiary level – a modular approach (TE-CON3), which develops an innovative approach to teaching EHE (English for Higher Education). Over the last five years, he has been involved as coordinator and representative of the University of Warsaw in four educational innovation projects. For nearly two decades now, Prof. Romuald Gozdawa-Gołębiowski has been an academic reviewer and advisor for the Central Examination Board (Centralna Komisja Egzaminacyjna).  He has so far supervised nine Ph.D. students, six of whom have found employment at the University of Warsaw.

Dr. Marcin Opacki is a linguist interested in how certain theories of grammar explain and predict general language behaviour. His academic exploits began in 2011, when he embarked on his Ph.D. studies at the University of Warsaw. In 2012, he began working at the Institute of Computer Science of the Polish Academy of Sciences, where he would continue to work on projects involving syntactic and semantic knowledge representation for NLP purposes. After receiving his Ph.D. in 2016, he began working as an Assistant Professor at his home Institute. In 2021, he was appointed by the Rector of the University of Warsaw to the Scientific Council for the Discipline of Linguistics. Throughout his career, Dr. Opacki has been involved in several projects funded by a variety of agencies. These include work on Walenty: the Polish Valency Dictionary, a study of the language of bilingual migrant children, the development of a framework for CLIL in vocational education and training, and an ERP study of the effect of long-term foreign language exposure. The outcomes of these projects have been published in a variety of peer-reviewed journals such the International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, First Language, Frontiers in Psychology, or the International Journal of Multilingualism. Some of Dr. Opacki’s most recent work includes the psychological reality of control and raising phenomena in Polish and the investigation of the language of Polish children affected by Angelman syndrome. His teaching work at the UW comprises a variety of courses on linguistics taught at the Faculty of Modern Languages, the Faculty of Psychology, and the Faculty of Philosophy. In 2021, he was awarded the Rector of the University of Warsaw Award for excellence in teaching. Outside of research work, Dr. Opacki is a consultant for the Polish Central Examination Board and a member of the editorial team of the Journal of Language Modelling.

Dr. Magdalena Walenta became Assistant Professor in 2020 and teaches classes in generative linguistics, didactics, and practical English. Her Ph.D. dissertation was awarded a Faculty Council distinction and published as a monograph, Form-Function Mapping in Content-Based Language Teaching: A Study of Interlanguage Restructuring (Springer International, 2019). She has published in prestigious journals such as the International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. Her research interests include bilingualism, processing instruction, and bridging the gap between linguistic theories and classroom practice. Recently, her work has been primarily focused on facilitating language learning in English-medium instruction (EMI). She also holds an M. Arch. in architecture and consults EMI programmes at the Faculty of Architecture of Warsaw University of Technology.

Verbal communication (semantics, pragmatics)

Another area of research in the Department of the English Language is verbal communication, studied within the fields of semantics and pragmatics. Human communication is one of the most fascinating and intriguing phenomena, but, at the same time, one of the most elusive. Obviously, people communicate with language (verbal communication), but the role of body language, facial expressions, gestures cannot be ignored since non-verbal behaviours may affect the meaning of a message to a great extent. The most basic question is how people communicate and how they succeed in conveying the meanings they want others to recover. Does the process of communication simply boil down to putting our thoughts into words, combining them into larger units and sending such ‘packages’ to our addressees who will unpack them and take out the meanings (the code model of communication)? Or is it more complicated? How is it possible that the meaning we recover from words is richer than or completely different from the literal meanings of the words used?

The key to understanding others’ utterances seems to lie in the human ability to infer other people’s intentions from their both verbal and non-verbal behaviours (inferential model of communication). The psychological process of recognition and attribution of intentions, known as mind reading, allows the addressee to arrive at inferences bridging the gap between the literal meaning of sentences and speaker-intended meaning and is crucial for explaining a wide range of pragmatic phenomena such as non-literal meaning (metaphor, metonymy, irony, sarcasm, idioms, proverbs, euphemisms), conversational humour (e.g. puns), or politeness understood as a pragmatic strategy employed by a speaker to promote or maintain harmonious relations or avoid a conflict situation (politeness theories).

Not all people are able to infer others’ intentions in the same way – for example, successful communication with very young children and autistic people is impeded by the fact that their mind reading ability is not (yet) fully developed. Different communicative intentions underlie different discourse types: everyday conversation, political speech, the language of the media, advertising and negotiations, to mention just a few. In all discourse types, people may use words in their literal meanings (overt communication) or they may use words in a non-literal way (covert communication) in order to manipulate, persuade, or negotiate. The literal and non-literal uses of language are subject to analysis within semantics and pragmatics, respectively, though most often the borderline between these two areas is blurred (Relevance Theory, Gricean and Neo-Gricean pragmatics). Last but not least, such an understanding of verbal communication opens up a totally new dimension for translators and interpreters.

The tradition of pragmatic research at the Institute of English Studies dates back to the 1970s and was initiated by Ewa Mioduszewska, who was the supervisor of numerous M.A. theses and fourteen Ph.D. dissertations. Her research interests include truth-conditional and non-truth-conditional semantics, Montague Grammar, verbal and non-verbal communication, social and psychological aspects of communication, Relevance Theory, vagueness and analogy. In 2002, out of her fascination with Relevance Theory, Ewa Mioduszewska came up with the idea of a biennial international conference Interpreting for Relevance: Discourse and Translation, which was held until 2014 and was co-organised over the years by the following Institute’s faculty members: Aniela Korzeniowska, Małgorzata Grzegorzewska, Ewa Wałaszewska, Marta Kisielewska-Krysiuk, and Agnieszka Piskorska. The conference motivated a series of publications by Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego (Relevance Studies in Poland) and three volumes published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. It is worth noting that the conference attracted scholars from different academic centres both abroad and in Poland, including the authors of Relevance Theory, Deirdre Wilson and Dan Sperber, as well as other prominent scholars conducting their research within the relevance-theoretic framework, such as Robyn Carston, Ernst-August Gutt, Diane Blakemore, Francisco Yus, Tim Wharton, Billy Clark, Maria Jodłowiec, Manuel Padilla Cruz, Ira Noveck, Regina Blass, Vladimir Žegarac, and many more.

Among the Institute’s faculty members who work in the domains of semantics and pragmatics are:

Dr hab. Ewa Wałaszewska has been working in the Institute of English Studies since 1999, teaching courses and seminars on pragmatics, sociolinguistics, politeness, general linguistics, and syntax. Her research interests include lexical and experimental pragmatics, ad hoc concepts, and metaphor. She co-organised a series of biennial international conferences Interpreting for Relevance: Discourse and Translation (2006–2014). She has published a monograph Relevance-Theoretic Lexical Pragmatics: Theory and Applications (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015) and numerous journal articles, among others, in Journal of Pragmatics. She has also co-edited collections of articles: Relevant Worlds: Current Perspectives on Language, Translation and Relevance Theory (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008), Relevance Studies in Poland: Exploring Translation and Communication Problems (Warsaw University Press, 2010), In the Mind and across Minds: A Relevance-Theoretic Perspective on Communication and Translation (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2010), and Applications of Relevance Theory: From Discourse to Morphemes (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017).

Dr. Marta Kisielewska-Krysiuk has been working in the Institute of English Studies since 2004, after the completion of her Ph.D. project on modal verbs and the distinction between explicit and implicit meaning within Relevance Theory. She has been teaching courses on semantics, pragmatics, verbal communication, politeness, general linguistics, syntax, and practical grammar. Her scholarly interests include verbal communication (Grice’s theory of communication and Relevance Theory), semantics/pragmatics interface, explicit and implicit meaning, modality, politeness, truth and lying. In 2005, she received the Rector of the University of Warsaw Award for outstanding research. In 2020, she was a guest speaker at the 6th EXTRA Research Colloquium (Metaphilosophy and Experimental Philosophy) at Ruhr University Bochum’s Institute for Philosophy II, Germany. She co-organised a series of biennial international conferences Interpreting for Relevance: Discourse and Translation (2002–2010) and co-edited three collections of articles: Relevant Worlds: Current Perspectives on Language, Translation and Relevance Theory (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008), Relevance Studies in Poland: Exploring Translation and Communication Problems (Warsaw University Press, 2010), and In the Mind and across Minds: A Relevance-Theoretic Perspective on Communication and Translation (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2010). She has also published articles on modality, lying, explicit and implicit meaning, banter and phatic communication. In her current research, she focuses on studying the act of lying in the context of interpersonal communication, with the goal of determining the explicit/implicit distinction in the cognitive, relevance-theoretic model of utterance comprehension and describing how the relevance-theoretic understanding of “what is said” affects the lying/misleading distinction.

2.5. Department of Applied Linguistics and Translation Studies

Head of the Department: dr Agnieszka Kałdonek-Crnjaković

Faculty team:

prof. ucz. dr hab. Barry Keane
prof. ucz. dr hab. Aniela Korzeniowska
prof. ucz. dr hab. Zbigniew Możejko
prof. ucz. dr hab. Agnieszka Otwinowska-Kasztelanic
prof. ucz. dr hab. Izabela Szymańska
dr hab. Katarzyna Hryniuk
dr hab. Agnieszka Piskorska
dr hab. Anna Rędzioch-Korkuz
dr Tatiana Kamińska
dr Wojciech Kasprzak
dr Magdalena Kizeweter
dr Agata Klimczak-Pawlak
dr Dominika Lewandowska-Rodak
dr Luis Javier Pentón Herrera
dr Breno B. Silva

Our activities, both in the areas of teaching and research, offer two educational paths: Applied Linguistics, which includes Second Language Acquisition, Multilingualism as well as Teacher Training and Translation Studies, which has cultural, literary and linguistic components, whilst also being a catch-all subject for other interests. A new field of interest that has emerged in recent years is Scottish Studies, with others, inspired by the wide range of interests held by both students and our research team, about to appear.

We offer a number of courses for full-time and extra-mural students. Our optional teacher training programme gives students the opportunity to gain a certificate that facilitates teaching at all levels of education. Complying with the requirements set out by the Ministry of Education and Science, the programme includes lectures and classes in language education, pedagogy, and psychology, preparing students for teaching professions both in Poland and in other European countries. Our applied linguistics courses showcase the latest trends in foreign-language teaching, language acquisition, and multilingualism research. Our team of lecturers are also involved in research projects with partners in Europe and the US, co-operating with international centres and institutions. Their articles and books, based on their research, observations, and teaching, also include English-language textbooks and syllabuses for language teaching.

The other very important field of interest promoted in our department is Translation Studies. We offer a wide range of courses that take in both the theory and practice of translation, from the historical as well as contemporary perspective. Because we perceive Translation Studies as an interdiscipline, we draw on the linguistic, cultural, and literary aspects of the translation process, which also informs our practical approaches when dealing with specialist texts and materials. The different courses and M.A. seminars cover a very wide range of topics within Translation Studies, from those touching upon literary prose, including children’s literature, to the relationships between translation and semiotics, in turn leading to courses in media and intersemiotic translation. The faculty offerings also takes in specialist translation and courses on the theory of translation, especially those devoted to Relevance Theory. Courses also look at constraints in translation illustrated by vocal translation and framed by a general theory of translation. A new and also very intriguing and challenging aspect of translation is rendering the non-standard; and here we draw on an increasing number of examples from contemporary literature, giving rise to various aspects of comparative literature.

Our participation in and organisation of prestigious conferences and festivals, such as the bi-annual Irish Day, contributes to our research programmes, which in turn has fed into our work in the classroom. Indeed, for a number of years now we have co-organised a series of international conferences devoted to Relevance Theory and Translation (Interpreting for Relevance: Discourse and Translation).

Scotland and its various facets of identity has found itself more and more often to be the centre of interest within literary and cultural studies, as well as linguistics. This has become particularly visible following the upheavals associated with Brexit and the push for Scottish independence. Through the courses offered, students have the opportunity to find out more about the country, both its past and present, its attractiveness as a nation, its fascinating literature and culture, as well as its intriguing linguistic background. Since 2012, we have also organised a series of interdisciplinary conferences on Scotland and its presence in Europe.

Dr hab. Katarzyna Hryniuk’s interests are focused on foreign language didactics, second language writing in particular, psycholinguistics, discourse analysis, corpus linguistics, and intercultural rhetoric. Her research focuses mainly on two topics: the development of academic writing in order to enable the publishing of research articles, learning and teaching writing skills in English as a foreign language at all stages of education, and teacher training in this area. Her publications have appeared in many highly-rated journals (e.g. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, and Research in Language) and in edited volumes (e.g. published by Routledge, Springer, Peter Lang, and Multilingual Matters). She has also written a monograph, entitled Non-Natives Writing for Anglo-American Journals: Challenges and Urgent Needs, published in 2019. In the academic year 2012–2013, she was a winner of the prestigious Fulbright Senior Advanced Research Grant which financed her stay at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), USA. She has also participated in many shorter study and training visits abroad, for example at Augusta University (the US), Oxford University (the UK), the European University Viadrina (Germany). Finally, Katarzyna participated as an expert and trainee in NCBiR and COST research projects.

Dr. Agnieszka Kałdonek-Crnjaković completed her Ph.D. studies in applied linguistics and language education at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, in 2013. She also holds a degree in law (London, UK) and international relations (UW). She is a certified assessor of specific learning difficulties in the English language (Oxford, Cambridge, and RSA Examinations). Before joining the Institute in 2018, she worked as a foreign/second language and special needs teacher. She held the positions of director of studies in language schools in Poland and Croatia, and of special educational needs and English as an additional language coordinator in an all-through school in London, UK. Her research interests include special educational needs with a focus on specific learning difficulties, including dyslexia and ADHD, language learning strategies, and strategy and differentiated second or foreign language instruction. She has co-authored a book and published more than 20 articles on the topics in impact factor journals, including International Journal of Applied Linguistics and TESOL Journal. She is a team member of the Supporting Content and Language Learning Across Diversity project (EEA grant; UW-OsloMet) and the coordinator of the faculty research group Neurodiversity in Language Education. Since 2021, she has been the department head.

Dr. Tatiana Kamińska is a graduate of the Institute of English Studies. Since receiving her Ph.D. in the phonology of Scottish English she has taught a broad range of courses in theoretical linguistics with focus on phonology, phonetics, varieties of English, dialectology, introduction to linguistics, contrastive studies of language error, as well as practical English courses – oral skills and pronunciation practice. With time, however, her fascination with language centred around translation studies, which have become her main field of interest. Currently, Dr. Kamińska is teaching a broad selection of translation classes ranging from practical translation classes, and courses in the theory of translation and translation equivalence to specialised and certified translations and courses in legal English. She has always been passionate about teaching and translating both literary and specialised texts. Her strong interest in legal English translations has been complemented and enriched by her work as a Certified Translator of English at the Warsaw Court of Justice for 20 years now. She has supervised over sixty successfully defended B.A. theses and several M.A. theses.

Dr. Wojciech Kasprzak became part of the IES teaching staff in 1996. In 2001, he was given the task of organising a new system of teaching foreign languages as part of the University network; and in 2011, he became the coordinator of practical English courses. He has published a book titled Translating Nature Terminology and articles “‘Prime Eagle’ and ‘Poor Tit’ in the Quagmire of Translation – on Processing Cost Savers”, which appeared in a book on the applications of Relevance Theory, and another – the result of cooperation with the Faculty of Biology, UW, titled “Vascular plants of the Łempis nature reserve in the Augustów Forest (NE Poland)”. Wojciech’s other publications comprise translations into English on subjects related to nature. He is most interested in teaching and testing practical phonetics, translation, presentation and debating techniques, and vocabulary.

Prof. ucz. dr hab. Barry Keane attended Trinity College Dublin, which included a research year in Kraków, where he discovered a love of Polish literature, and in particular the works of Jan Kochanowski. He would go on to complete a Ph.D. at Trinity College Dublin on Warsaw’s interwar Skamander poets, following which he began working at the Institute of English Studies at Warsaw University, where he immediately took to the running of literary translation workshops; and from there he would branch out to combine his teaching interests in Translation Studies and Comparative Studies. In 2016, he published the book Irish Drama in Poland, and this was followed close on the heels by the publication of his translation of the seminal 17th-century poetic trilogy Anna Stanisławska’s Orphan Girl – The Aesop Episode, 2016; The Oleśnicki Episode, 2021; and The Zbąski Episode, due 2024. He has also written on a wide range of topics related to James Joyce, classical tradition, and Scottish literature.

Dr. Magdalena Kizeweter is a graduate of the Institute, and currently teaches practical English classes, practical translation, and courses in the theory of translation. Fascinated with all issues relating to the reception of translation(s), Magda is interested in problems related to teaching translation and to teaching in general. Co-editor of Jakość i ocena tłumaczenia and Manipulation in Translation. Theory and Applications, author of several papers in the field of translation studies. Assistant editor for Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies, our Institute journal. Magda is the translator of Donnegan, a western novel, and the co-translator of Eurotragedia: dramat w dziewięciu aktach and of Przekuć obraz w słowo. Wokół historii i współczesnych zastosowań audiodeskrypcji.

Dr. Agata Klimczak-Pawlak’s main academic interests revolve around teacher training, intercultural communication, and the development of pragmatic competence. In 2014, she published Towards the Pragmatic Core of English for European Communication. The speech act of apologizing in selected Euro-Englishes, where she analyses the differences in how English Studies students, advanced L2 English speakers, and future L2 English teachers from eight European countries apologise in different contexts. Fascinated by the differences in how non-native speakers communicate in English, she has studied the development of pragmatic competence and ways to train teachers to support their learners in the development of their competences to communicate effectively. She has been teaching courses on second language acquisition, cross-cultural pragmatics, research methods and intercultural communication in ELT.

Prof. ucz. dr hab. Aniela Korzeniowska is Professor in Translation Studies and Head of the Scottish Studies Research Group (since 2015). Her Ph.D. was within the field of Translation Studies but since then her academic interests have branched out to also include Scottish Studies, especially contemporary fiction and poetry, with emphasis on identity.

Throughout her professional career, she has also been involved in organising various types of workshops and international conferences, the most recent five devoted to Scottish issues: Scotland in Europe (2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2022). Besides numerous articles published within both Translation and Scottish Studies, her publications include Successful Polish-English Translation. Tricks of the Trade (co-authored by Piotr Kuhiwczak, 3rd ed. 2005), Explorations in Polish-English Mistranslation Problems (1998), Translating Scotland. Nation and Identity (2008/2019), Scotland in Europe / Europe in Scotland. Links – Dialogues – Analogies (2013), Facets of Scottish Identity (2013), Scottish Culture. Dialogue and Self-Expression (2016), Imaging Scottishness: European and Domestic Representations (2017), and Polish Scholars on Scottish Writers (2018), the last five co-edited with Izabela Szymańska.

Dr. Dominika Lewandowska-Rodak conducts research mainly on contemporary Scottish prose, with a particular emphasis on urban writing and literary translation. She has published numerous articles and book chapters on the works of several contemporary Scottish writers, such as Alasdair Gray, James Kelman, Agnes Owens, and Iain Banks, as well as a monograph on Iain Sinclair’s prose, Iain Sinclair, London and the Photographic: The Significance of the Visual Medium for the Writer’s Prose. She is a member of the Scottish Studies Research Group within the Institute of English Studies and the International Association for the Study of Scottish Literatures, as well as an assistant editor at Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies.

Prof. ucz. dr hab. Zbigniew P. Możejko specialises in the methodology of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and teacher training. Currently, he is Coordinator for EFL Teacher Training in the Institute and Head of the Teaching Council. His research interests include Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) provision, developing mother tongue and EFL literacy, developing language awareness in the first and second language, and needs analysis in the domain of education. His recent publications include: “L1/L2 Readership beliefs and practices among pre-service EFL teachers: A case study”. Between Cultures, Between Languages. Essays in honour of Professor Aniela Korzeniowska. I. Szymańska, A. Piskorska (eds.) (2020, pp. 157–171) and “Mother tongue literacy: A glocal perspective”. Global Citizenship for Adult Education: Advancing Critical Literacies for Equity and Social Justice. P. A. Robinson, K. V. Williams, M. Stojanović (eds.) (2022, pp. 11–19).

Prof. ucz. dr hab. Agnieszka Otwinowska-Kasztelanic engages in research that revolves around cross-linguistic influences, vocabulary acquisition, multilingualism, childhood bilingualism, foreign language teaching, and CLIL. She is a teacher trainer and the author of course books and syllabuses for English language teaching. She has worked as an expert for IBE, NCN, NAWA, and the Fulbright Commission. Agnieszka has been an active member of European academic networks: the International Association of Multilingualism (on the executive board 2018–2022), COST Action IS0804 “Language Impairment in a Multilingual Society” (2011–2013), and COST Action IS1306 “New Speakers in a Multilingual Europe: Opportunities and Challenges” (in the steering committee 2013–2017). She has been awarded three Polish grants (NCN, NPRH and IDUB UW Action) and has published three books, including a monograph entitled Cognate Vocabulary in Language Acquisition and Use (2015) and Learning in Multilingual Contexts, (2014, co-edited with Gessica De Angelis), both by Multilingual Matters. Her articles have appeared in impact factor journals, e.g.: International Journal of Multilingualism (on the editorial board since 2021), International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, International Journal of Bilingualism, First Language, Language Learning, Language Awareness, Language Teaching Research, Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Cognition, IRAL, and Frontiers in Psychology.

Dr. Luis Javier Pentón Herrera is both an assistant professor at the University of Warsaw, Poland, and the Coordinator of the Graduate TESOL Certificate at The George Washington University, United States. In addition, he serves as the Social Responsibility Interest Section (SRIS) Past Co-Chair (2022–2023) at TESOL International Association. Further, he is a Fulbright Specialist and an English Language Specialist with the US Department of State. Previously, he served as the 38th President of Maryland TESOL from 2018 to 2019 and earned the rank of Sergeant while serving in the United States Marine Corps (USMC). Two of his professional accolades include the ‘30 Up and Coming Emerging Leaders in TESOL’, awarded by TESOL International Association in 2016, and the J. Estill Alexander Future Leader in Literacy Award, awarded by the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER) in 2018, when his dissertation was chosen as ALER’s 2018 Outstanding Dissertation of the Year. Luis’ current research projects are situated at the intersection of identity, emotions, and well-being in language and literacy education, social-emotional learning (SEL), autoethnography and storytelling, and refugee education. His books can be found in Routledge, Springer, Brill/Sense, TESOL Press, and Rowman & Littlefield.

Dr hab. Agnieszka Piskorska is engaged in a field of research that includes pragmatics and cognitive rhetoric, and more specifically how figurative language is exploited in communication for informative and persuasive purposes. These issues are also fascinating when approached from an intercultural and interlingual perspective, so translation studies naturally fall within the scope of Agnieszka’s interests. Her methodology of choice is Relevance Theory of communication and cognition, so apart from being part of the Department and Institute community, she also belongs to the international relevance-theoretic circle. Her most cited publications deal with humour and irony, and she intends to pursue these topics in her upcoming projects.

Dr hab. Anna Rędzioch-Korkuz has been working in the Institute of English Studies since 2019. She is a translation scholar whose main research interests lie in theoretical translation studies, with particular reference to the relationship between translation and semiotics, the problem of translation constraints and a general theory of translation. Her research concentrates also on opera surtitling and singable translation. She has authored two monographs and published in Polish and international journals of translation studies, including Między Oryginałem a Przekładem, Studia Translatorica, Poznań Studies in Contemporary Linguistics, Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice, Meta, Babel, The Translator, or Semiotica. She is currently researching the problem of manipulation in Polish song translations in the 1960s and 1970s.

Dr. Breno B. Silva’s interest and experience focus mainly on Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), methodology and research on vocabulary learning. Breno has two master degrees in TESOL and a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics. He has taught TESOL in three different countries for over 20 years, mainly to adults. As a researcher, Breno has published several papers in top scientific journals and a book, and all publications have investigated vocabulary learning through reading or writing. Currently, Breno is cooperating with two research teams and is exploring the learning of words through reading static texts and subtitles.

Prof. ucz. dr hab. Izabela Szymańska’s research interests include theoretical linguistics, especially the Construction Grammar and Frame Semantics frameworks, but in recent years she has focused primarily on translation studies, with her leading topics being the interface between linguistic and cultural aspects of translation, cross-cultural and cross-linguistic differences in politeness, translating language varieties, the dynamics of translation norms, translating for young audiences, and retranslations of literary classics. She is the author of the monograph Mosaics. A Construction-Grammar-Based Approach to Translation (2011) and numerous articles on translation theory and practice, including many on retranslations of children’s literature classics in Poland; co-organiser of the Scotland in Europe conferences and co-editor of several collected volumes on Scottish culture and its interactions with European culture.

PART 3.

In memoriam

3.1. Andrzej Tretiak (1886–1944) by Anna Cetera-Włodarczyk

A Tale of (Dis)continuity

There is hardly an academic tradition which can more readily acknowledge the importance of founding myths than the philological one. The stories of origin are the raw material of classical inquires but they also alert us to the authority of a well-cultivated inheritance. The sense of continuity receives the necessary tribute with jubilees and anniversaries but it also – perhaps even more importantly – activates when legacies dissolve or crises unfold. Thus, our founding myths, with their records of obstacles, losses, and failures, the unnerving narratives about victories won at a heavy price, or fatal turns remedied by sacrifice or unusual persistence, motivate and console without, however, lulling us into a false sense of security. To us, (neo)philologists, these hopes often translate into neat formulas such as “the pen is mightier than the sword”. And yet even as we preserve and celebrate the memory of texts, we cannot but grieve over the untimely loss of their authors.

The life and works of Andrzej Tretiak (1886–1944), the first Professor of English Literature at the University of Warsaw, has already been subject to scrutiny on several occasions, beginning with the heartbreaking inventories of academics who perished during the Second World War, through commemorative essays to, finally, fully-fledged critical studies of the interwar period. With time, however, the life of this pioneer of English Studies in Warsaw has gained renewed relevance, as we proceed from a meticulous reconstruction of facts to a more general reflection on the fortunes of intellectuals at the turning points of history. In particular, there were two defining moments which shaped Tretiak’s academic career: first in 1922, when he accepted the task to set up the first English Seminar at the University of Warsaw, and then again, in 1939, when he became Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. His first decision was connected with the reformist movement which foregrounded the dynamics of vernacular cultures, rich and thriving, clearly breaking free from the time-honoured hegemony of classical philology. This somewhat transgressive gesture matched the mood of the first decade after regaining national independence by Poland in 1918, a most challenging period, when universities reorganised to implement national policies and catch up with European academic practice. The second decision came at an extremely trying time and entailed responsibility for an academic community far larger than Tretiak’s immediate scholarly circle.

Accepting deanship in 1939 left Tretiak little time to consolidate the Faculty. In the occupied city, Tretiak turned to clandestine teaching and administrative work, and adopted a cover name, a wise precaution which in 1944 helped him survive imprisonment in the notorious Pawiak jail. The joy of release at the end of July 1944 was brief. Tretiak was shot dead on 3 August with a group of other university professors, all dragged out of their house at Nowy Zjazd 5 and hurled to a brutal execution in the next street. Soon afterwards, Tretiak’s son, Tomasz, also perished at the hands of Nazi soldiers. The demise of the Tretiak family could not but hasten the demise of the field of study, a decline deepened by the loss of Professor Władysław Tarnawski (1985–1951), an eminent Shakespeare scholar based at the University of Lwów and the Jagiellonian University who was tortured to death in the Rakowiecka prison.

The final tragic trajectory of Tretiak’s academic career bears witness to the annihilating power of war and the fragility of academic structures where the exclusive human factor takes precedence over material substance or sheer numbers. And yet it is the totality of Tretiak’s academic experience, as much as it can be construed and interpreted, that makes this figure particularly appealing and, in a way, authentic. Hence the sense of striving and achievement go hand in hand with the feeling of exhaustion and disillusionment to the effect of taking up a completely novel course of studies, dropping his teaching post, and moving away from the city to manage country estates. This pattern of ebb and flow, the weird dichotomy of the life of a university founder and a university fugitive, show Tretiak as an intellectual in search of a refuge where he could pursue his engagement with literature free from the distresses of academic life. The contemplative urge remains in perfect harmony with the way of processing his experience during the war. Cold and trembling, Tretiak falls back on the familiar literary texts to search for clues for his own time.

In 2019, when the Institute was recalling the 75th anniversary of Tretiak’s death, one was inclined to think of it as an ancient martyrdom, encapsulated in a distant crisis, closed and overcome. Yet the year 2022 has taught us a different lesson and activated a different sense of continuity. After all, witnessing his world falling apart, Tretiak read and taught what we too endlessly read and teach, clinging to the well-rehearsed images of human misery and the hope beyond them. This is the case of William Butler Yeats’ Easter 1916 whose refrain and ending become for Tretiak, somewhat prophetically, the source of a private epiphany he shared in a letter from 1941:

We know their dream; enough

To know they dreamed and are dead;

And what if excess of love

Bewildered them till they died?

I write it out in a verse—

MacDonagh and MacBride

And Connolly and Pearse

Now and in time to be,

Wherever green is worn,

Are changed, changed utterly:

A terrible beauty is born.

How did he come to trust it?

Professor Andrzej Tretiak was born in Lvov into a family with academic traditions. His father, Professor Józef Tretiak, was affiliated to the Jagiellonian University, and specialised in Slavic literatures (Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian). Andrzej Tretiak became a graduate of the Jagiellonian University where he studied English, German, and Polish literature (1904–1907) and where at the age of 23 he earned his Ph.D. based on a dissertation entitled Über “hapax legomena” by Shakespeare, the first ever doctoral work written by a Pole on English literature and supervised by Professor Wilhelm Creizenach, a German scholar based in Kraków. In the years that followed, Tretiak strived to establish himself as a researcher of English Renaissance literature, an ambition evidenced by his monograph of 1910 on the epigrammatic output of John Harrington (1561–1612).

The apparently swift progress of Tretiak’s academic career was halted by what was described later as a nervous breakdown, though, perhaps, was a very well-grounded decision to secure time for creative work. In 1910, he decided to study agriculture at the university in Wrocław (at that time a German city) and, upon graduation, undertook the management of country estates. Once married, in 1914, Tretiak became father to two sons (in 1914 and in 1920). The years away from academia proved naturally conducive to his literary endeavours, Shakespeare and Scott translations in particular. In 1919, Tretiak became the editor of the (now monumental) new series of the Ossolineum National Library, taking the responsibility for the critical editions of English literature. The year 1921 saw the publication of The Tempest and Macbeth, both edited by Andrzej Tretiak and translated by Józef Paszkowski, i.e. the canonical 19th-century translator whose work Tretiak freely amended. The two volumes were soon followed by Tretiak’s own translation of Hamlet (1922) and King Lear (1923), and yet another volume with Paszkowski’s translation of Othello (1927) edited by Tretiak.

When, in 1922, Tretiak accepted a post at the newly established English Seminar at the University of Warsaw, this prestigious task clearly impeded his work as a translator and editor. The subsequent years saw a flurry of critical essays by Tretiak, proving his increasing focus on the dramatic structure and imagery in Shakespeare’s plays but also venturing into other literary realms, English Romantic poetry in particular. In time, Tretiak specialised in erudite prefaces, introducing into Polish critical discourse the oeuvre of an impressive variety of English authors such as Oscar Wilde, Joseph Conrad, George Bernard Shaw, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, John Galsworthy, or James Matthew Barrie. This major critical input served the needs of the increasing number of trained (neo)philologists, but left Tretiak with little time to pursue his own critical path. Nevertheless, he was the first Polish Shakespeare scholar whose article appeared in a major English periodical on literary history. Published in 1929, “The Merchant of Venice and the ‘Alien’ Question” was a bold interpretative proposal, backed by a meticulous analysis of the original social context as well as an acute understanding of more universal tensions likely to emerge in multiethnic urban communities. Tretiak linked the play with the wave of anti-alien riots in London, culminating with the Tower Hill Riot of 1595 and the public hanging of riotous apprentices. Shakespeare’s alleged preoccupation with the fate of continental emigrants, French, Walloon, and Flemish refugees, further evidenced by the compassionate passages in Sir Thomas More which Tretiak, as much as the majority of contemporaneous scholarship, ascribed to Shakespeare, was a key to the understanding of The Merchant of Venice. At stake, he argued, was the legal status of aliens, the right of denizens to appeal to the same courts and invoke the same laws, and the play’s problematic resolution suggesting that the differences of blood and religion can be obliterated no sooner than in the second or third generation by intermarriages or conversion. In his reading of the play, Tretiak seemed at odds with the criticism of his time, but he also dramatically differed from post-Holocaust criticism which dominated the 20th century. His insights, however, prefigured many of the contemporary approaches to the play which focus on the status of minority groups in otherwise homogeneous societies.

Today, most of the works of Tretiak fall into the symbolic realm of national heritage rather than serve as academic reference. Neither his translations nor his prefaces have survived in critical discourse, a necessary fate of all rewritings replaced by new endeavours. As much as the relevance of our critical insights may fade away, they still have their local habitation and a name, none of which can be neglected. In the history of English Studies in Poland, Andrzej Tretiak appears to be a somewhat evangelical farmer who sowed a multitude of seeds of which many appear to have perished before given a chance to grow, including the sower himself. Tretiak’s influence can hardly be measured by pure academic effectiveness. What transpires from his biography is a powerful testimony of a different kind: from him we would do well to learn to trust in literature as a record of human experience and aid in adherence to ethical values when they are most tested.

References:

Borowy, Wacław. “Wspomnienia pośmiertne: Andrzej Tretiak (1886–1944)”, Rocznik Towarzystwa Naukowego Warszawskiego 1938–1945, no. 31–38, 262–264.

Helsztyński, Stanisław. “Andrzej Tretiak”, Pamiętnik Literacki, 1946, no. 36/3–4, 398–404.

Jabłkowska, Róża. “Prewar English Studies at Warsaw University: Luminaries and Graduates”, The Fiftieth Anniversary of the English Department, University of Warsaw, 1923–1973: Jubilee Volume Containing Materials Prepared for the Session Held on 2d June 1973, Zofia Dziedzic (ed.), Warsaw, 1975, 13–23.

Jaworska, Anna; Anna Cetera-Włodarczyk. Exhibition Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Death of Professor Andrzej Tretiak, Faculty of Modern Languages – Institute of English Studies, University of Warsaw, 2019, and online http://tretiak.wn.uw.edu.pl

Kowalik, Barbara. “Z kart warszawskiej neofilologii: dwieście lat i dobry początek”, Acta Philologica, 2016, no. 49, 7–28.

Stanisz, Elżbieta. Kierunki polskiej szekspirologicznej myśli krytycznej w dwudziestoleciu międzywojennym. Toruń, Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, 2011.

Tretiak, Andrew. “The Merchant of Venice and the ‘Alien’ Question”, The Review of English Studies, Oct. 1929, vol. 5, no. 20, 402–409. URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/508234

3.2. Wacław Borowy (1890–1950)

Professor Wacław Borowy was born on 19 May 1890 in the village of Tuszynek near Łódź where his father was the administrator of an estate. After graduating from a gimnazjum in Warsaw, he began studying Polish and French at the University of Lwów. In 1909, he transferred to the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. He completed his studies of Polish and English (a change from his original choice of French literature) in 1913. As Róża Jabłkowska notes, he was a “favourite pupil of Professor Ignacy Chrzanowski, historian of Polish literature” (19). Already in the following year, Wacław Borowy obtained a doctoral degree at the Jagiellonian University, based on his dissertation about Ignacy Chodźko, a Polish 19th-century writer. He moved to Warsaw where his professional career was divided between teaching Polish literature at secondary schools and working as a librarian. In 1919, he married Julia Baranowska (1878–1960), a singer and music educator with whom he shared a lifelong love for theatre and dance. Between 1920 and 1928, he was employed at the University of Warsaw Library as a senior librarian. In 1928, he found work in the Culture and Art Department of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Public Education. He spent the years 1930–1935 in London, as a lecturer (docent) at the School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies. In 1936, he returned to Poland and resumed his work at the University of Warsaw; he was promoted to the position of director of the University Library. He was instrumental in the modernisation of the library, introducing an innovative and effective system of cataloguing. At the same time, from the summer of 1938, he took the post of Professor of Polish Literature at the Faculty of Humanities.

During World War II, Professor Borowy took active part in underground university classes and strived to protect the collections of the University Library from destruction after the fall of the Warsaw Uprising. “He lived in Zalesie then, so for weeks from 7 November [1944] he would go to Warsaw at 5 a.m. to work in the library building, destroyed by Germans, with no light and heating, to save books. Sometimes, despite his poor health, he would spend nights in the library cellars, together with a group of like-minded enthusiasts, to continue his work” (Biblioteka im. Wacława Borowego).

In 1945, Wacław Borowy was entrusted with the task of restoring the English Seminar at the University of Warsaw, practically obliterated in the war with the killing of Professor Tretiak and the destruction of both its premises and the lion’s share of books. He achieved that, also managing to obtain international help through the British Council, the USA Embassy, and UNRRA. In 1946, he received the title of Full Professor. He was a member of numerous scholarly societies, including the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences (Polska Akademia Umiejętności) and the Warsaw Scientific Society (Towarzystwo Naukowe Warszawskie). He received several awards, including the Gold Cross of Merit and the Polonia Restituta Order (Biernacki, 11).

Professor Borowy’s scholarly publications, in Polish and (occasionally) in English, prove his passion for literature and comparative studies. “The dual literary interest in Polish and English writers was an unusual asset which enhanced his subtlety of judgement, clear and precise style, delicate irony and an extraordinary wealth of associations that all made of his criticism works of art of extraordinary beauty and profound originality” (Jabłkowska, 19). His insightful analyses linked the poetic dramas of Adam Mickiewicz with the rhapsodic technique of Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy. He theorised on the stylistic complexities of translating the works of Joseph Conrad into Polish, exemplified the use of the Spencerian stanza by Słowacki and Kasprowicz, last but not least, he was the first to introduce to Polish readers the poetry of T. S. Eliot (Jabłkowska, 19).

Professor Borowy died on 16 October 1950 and was buried at the Powązki cemetery in Warsaw. In 1980, one of the streets in Warsaw’s Bemowo district was named in his honour. At the University of Warsaw, the library of the Institute of Polish Literature still bears his name, as did lecture halls of the Institute of English Studies in the buildings in Krakowskie Przedmieście, Nowy Świat, and Hoża. His life and enduring legacy became the subject of several studies, including Andrzej Biernacki’s edited volume Zatajony artysta. O Wacławie Borowym (1890– 1950) (2005), Wacław Borowy (1890–1950), uczony humanista edited by Julian Maślanka (2008), and Wacław Borowy – po latach, edited by Andrzej Snopek and Tomasz Czachulski (2019).

3.3. Tadeusz Grzebieniowski (1894–1973)

Professor Tadeusz Grzebieniowski was born on 25 February 1894 in Monasterzec in Ukraine. His father was a village school teacher. Having graduated from a secondary school in Dębica in 1912, he studied English literature and language at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. One of his mentors was Professor Roman Dyboski. Tadeusz Grzebieniowski’s interest in foreign languages extended to German and French. During World War I, he served in Józef Piłsudski’s 5th Legions’ Infantry Regiment. In the inter-war period, he continued his education at Universities in London, Paris, and Dijon; he also spent a few years abroad in British colonies. On his return to Poland, he found employment as a teacher of English in secondary schools, including the prestigious Stefan Batory grammar school in Warsaw (1925–1929). In 1927, he received a doctoral degree from the Jagiellonian University, based on his dissertation on Joseph Addison.

In 1929, he was employed as a teacher of English at the Warsaw School of Economics, and in 1933 he married Xenia Żytomirska. During World War II, he lectured at underground university courses. After the fall of the Warsaw Uprising, he was detained for a few months at a Nazi camp in Pruszków. When the war ended, he continued teaching English as a foreign language at the Warsaw School of Economics and briefly at the Jagiellonian University. He was one of the founders of the English Department at the University of Łódź, which he headed in 1946–1952, and later in 1957–1964. He obtained his post-doctoral degree (habilitacja) in 1947 from the Jagiellonian University and the title of professor in 1949. Between 1954 and 1962, after the government authorities closed down most departments of English studies in Poland, he moved to Warsaw and worked there. He was a member of several scholarly societies. He died on 10 May 1973 in Warsaw.

Professor Grzebieniowski’s interests, like those of many scholars of his generation, combined literary and linguistic studies. He published on the history of English and American literature, the history of the theatre, and British-Polish relations during the times of the Partitions. He analysed the works of John Galsworthy, Thomas Hardy, Henry Fielding, and George Meredith. At the same time, he took an active interest in the study of English grammar, publishing Gramatyka opisowa języka angielskiego (A Descriptive Grammar of English, 1954) followed by a book on English morphology and syntax (1964). He compiled one of the important post-war Polish-English and English-Polish dictionaries (1958).

3.4. Alfred Reszkiewicz (1920–1973)

Professor Alfred Reszkiewicz was born on 19 April 1920 in Gorlice. His classical studies in Kraków were interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. At that time, he started learning English, initially on his own, and later at courses organised by the underground university. After the war, he continued studying both classical and English philology at the Jagiellonian University, also working as a teacher of English in secondary schools in Kraków (Wełna). In 1949, he graduated from both the Jagiellonian University and the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, where he studied as a stipendiary of the Kościuszko Foundation; his academic supervisor was Professor William H. Bennett (Konderski, Ruszkiewicz, Wełna, 5). In 1950, he was employed at the University of Warsaw. He completed his doctorate on the linguistic aspects of The Book of Margery Kempe in Warsaw (1960; his supervisor was Professor Margaret Schlauch) and obtained his post-doctoral degree in 1966.

His academic interests concentrated on English linguistics. From 1959, he visited many universities in the USA, including Ann Arbor and Yale, to conduct his research as well as give lectures. He taught many English linguists in Poland at various stages of their careers: Janusz Arabski, Jacek Fisiak, Edmund Gussmann, Tomasz Krzeszowski, Jerzy Rubach, Jerzy Wełna (Wełna). He published seminal monographs on the Synchronic Essentials of Old English (1971) and A Diachronic Grammar of Old English (1973), which were reprinted in later years. Furthermore, Professor Reszkiewicz was a respected specialist in glottodidactics, author of many textbooks for learners of English, including the popular Correct Your English Pronunciation. In 1957–1959, he designed and conducted the first lessons of English as a foreign language to be broadcast by the Polish radio.

He died unexpectedly on 23 August 1973 in Poznań and was buried in Warsaw. The 1978 issue of Acta Philologica (7) was dedicated to his memory, with contributions from his colleagues.

3.5. Margaret Schlauch (1898–1986)

Professor Margaret Schlauch was born on 25 September 1898 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her father was a German-born professor of mathematics. In 1919, she obtained a master’s degree from Columbia University and completed there her doctorate on the works of Chaucer in 1927. Even before that, she had started teaching at New York University, following a smooth career path from instructor (1924–1927), through Assistant Professor (1927–1931), Associate Professor (1931–1940), to Full Professor (1940–1951) (Fisiak 2004, 216). In the inter-war years, she made study trips to the universities of Munich, Chicago, Baltimore, and Berlin. A friend at New York University remembered her as “a rare combination, a scholar who loved teaching” and could reach wide audiences with both her classes and her books (Rubinstein, 338). She published several well-received books on Chaucer, Anglo-Saxon literature, and Old Norse sagas, establishing her reputation as a leading mediaevalist. At the same time, she showed keen interest in linguistics, and her 1942 book The Gift of Tongues (later reprinted as The Gift of Language), an introduction to linguistics aimed at a broad readership, was praised as both approachable and scholarly acute (Richmond, 53).

The life of this promising scholar was turned around by world politics. As Professor Fisiak notes in her obituary in Science & Society, a magazine which she had co-edited for many years, “Margaret Schlauch was a victim of McCarthyism” (216). Her sister Helen married an eminent Polish nuclear physicist (and collaborator of Einstein), Professor Leopold Infeld, a naturalised Canadian citizen. In 1951, he was forced to leave Canada on suspicions of espionage (Fisiak 2004, 216). Professor Schlauch, who from the early 1930s had been “energetically involved in the work of the American Labor Party and was a dynamic center of an informal Marxist literary discussion group” (Rubinstein, 387), decided to join the Infelds, “her only immediate family members” (Richmond, 54), and set off for Poland.

On arrival, she joined the communist PZPR party and was promptly employed as Professor at the Department of English at the University of Warsaw. Within a few years, she learnt Polish and applied for Polish citizenship, which she received in 1954 (Bajer). Shortly after, Professor Schlauch was offered the post of the Head of the Department which she held until 1965 (Helsztyński, 28). As her friend from Science & Society, Annette T. Rubinstein recalls, the members of the faculty in Warsaw were initially distrustful towards what seemed to them “an arbitrary political appointment” (388). However, when she was finally accepted and appreciated, “she had again won her place as a center of faculty social life, as popular with her colleagues as she was with the students” (Rubinstein, 389). She also learnt fluent Polish.

Professor Schlauch was a lively and inspirational teacher, in time mentoring several generations of Polish scholars of English Studies. She supervised many doctoral dissertations whose titles reflect the wide range of her interests, both literary and linguistic. Among her former doctoral students are: Alfred Reszkiewicz, Juliusz Kadz, Maria Gottwald, Maria Łobzowska, Halina Biedrzycka, Irena Bellert, Elżbieta Chodakowska, Jan Cygan, Henryk Kałuża, and Jan Rusiecki.

Professor Schlauch was also a prolific writer whose legacy includes 15 monographic books and over 140 scholarly articles and reviews. From the 1930s, she consistently applied Marxist methodology in both her linguistic and literary studies (Fisiak 2004, 216). Her greatest contributions to the field of linguistics include her research on the history of the English language, especially in the times of Chaucer and early Tudor period. In literature studies, she wrote on both mediaeval and modern topics, analysing literary works from Beowulf, through mediaeval poetry, Chaucer to George Bernard Shaw. She was a renowned specialist in comparative literature, writing on literary relations between England, France, Scandinavia, Russia, and Poland. Her particular area of expertise was the Icelandic sagas, which she translated, edited, and analysed.

She was a member of a number of academic associations, including the Modern Language Association, the Mediaeval Academy of America, the Society for Advancement of Scandinavian Studies. She was a member of the Committee of Modern Languages and Literatures of the Polish Academy of Sciences. She was awarded honorary membership of the English Literature Association of Hiroshima University (Fisiak 2004, 216–217). She received numerous honours, including the Polonia Restituta medal in 1958 and the Icelandic Order of the Falcon in 1968.

After retiring in the late 1960s, Professor Schlauch withdrew from public life, even though she occasionally accepted invitations to lecture, including those from American scholars she met in Warsaw, usually as Fulbright visiting professors (Richmond, 56). Until the end of her life, she stayed “faithful to her youthful ideas of social justice” (Fisiak 2004, 218), but “became progressively disillusioned by political events in Poland”, especially the shocking anti-Semitic purge of 1968 (Richmond, 56). She deeply sympathised with many of her friends and students who were forced to emigrate. Despite failing health, becoming increasingly bedridden in her last years, “her mind remained keen and she was happy to receive a constant flow of visitors”, many of whom were her former students (Rubinstein, 389). Professor Schlauch died on 19 July 1986 in Warsaw, leaving a rich legacy of scholarship and culture.

3.6. Stanisław Helsztyński (1891–1986)

Professor Stanisław Helsztyński was born on 13 April 1891 in Kosowo nad Obrą, near the town of Gostyń (in Greater Poland under German administration). His father, Tomasz Skorupka, was a local farmer, but he enjoyed reading books and shared his passion with Stanisław. Also, some members of his family had considerable literary talent; Tomasz Skorupka, his own father Wojciech, and Stanisław’s brother Wawrzyniec all wrote memoirs. Stanisław began his education at local schools in Siemowo and Wschowa, but soon transferred to a more prestigious secondary school (gimnazjum) in Kraków, where in 1913 he passed his graduation exam. He started studying theology in Kraków, because his parents wanted him to become a priest, but he soon decided to pursue English literature and language instead. When World War I broke out, Stanisław was a student of philosophy at the University of Münster, and then of English and French at the University of Munich. In 1917, he was enrolled into the German army. Possibly, his knowledge of foreign languages saved his life – he was sent as an interpreter for the officers’ corps near the German-French border (Furmańczyk, 9).

When young Stanisław returned home to Kosowo after the war, his parents were bitter about his decision to abandon the ecclesiastical career they had planned for him. He left home in anger, rejecting his part of inheritance, and applying for the official change of his name from Skorupka to Helsztyński – later he argued that the change also had a practical reason as he did not want to be confused with another Stanisław Skorupka, a respected linguist (Encyklopedia Wielkopolan). After a few years, his parents accepted their son’s decision to go his own way, and the family reconciled.

Stanisław Helsztyński continued his studies in independent Poland, at the University of Poznań. However, as the international situation became precarious in 1919, he volunteered to join the Polish army, received the rank of lieutenant, and was sent to Bezdonys near Vilnius – he returned to Poznań only after the war with Soviet Russia ended. After graduating from the University of Poznań in 1921, he started work as a licenced foreign language teacher in a secondary school for girls in Toruń. It was there that he met his future wife, Aleksandra Janina née Polska, and the pair married in 1925. In 1922 he moved to Warsaw, where he continued teaching while working on his doctoral dissertation about Polish translations of Milton and Pope, which he completed in 1926. This was the first doctorate defended in independent Poland (Encyklopedia Wielkopolan). He became an assistant of Professor Tretiak. He was an active contributor to the Wiadomości Literackie magazine, where he published around 150 articles. One of his main interests at this time was the study of the life and work of Stanisław Przybyszewski, a prominent Young Poland intellectual and writer with whom he had made personal acquaintance in Munich in 1916 (Furmańczyk, 10).

During World War II, Stanisław Helsztyński organised clandestine education in Warsaw at secondary and university levels. In 1945, he was entrusted the task of reconstructing the English Seminar at the University of Warsaw. In the “Tabula Gratulatoria” on the occasion of Professor Helsztyński’s 85th birthday, Professor Sinko remembers that “he undertook a pioneering job, all by himself, at the most difficult time; his eminent influence on the development of English Studies has never stopped” – other colleagues recall his “welcoming and open house” and “generous use of his private time” (Furmańczyk, 12). In 1946, he received a post-doctoral degree (habilitacja) in English and American literature, and in 1951, he was awarded the title of Full Professor. Between 1949 and 1954, he was Head of the English Seminar; in 1951–1953, he also headed the Chair of English at the University of Wrocław. He supervised more than a hundred masters’ theses and many doctorates (i.e. those of Róża Jabłkowska and Wiesław Furmańczyk in Warsaw). In 1960, he spent three months in the USA on a study trip; on one occasion, he was invited by Eleonor Roosevelt to participate in an event on Memorial Day (“A brief history of the Institute of English Studies”). He retired in 1961.

Professor Helsztyński’s organisational output is noteworthy. He took active part in the reorganisation of the Polish educational system after World War II, becoming the curator of secondary and primary schools for the region of North-Western Poland in the late 1940s. In 1950–1953, he chaired the ministerial Commission set up to reorganise the discipline of English Studies at the national level. As he claimed himself in the volume celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Institute of English Studies at the University of Warsaw, the effects of the Commission’s work “such as new curricula, schedules of classes and examinations, reading lists and supplementary courses formed the cornerstone of English language studies in People’s Poland, thus giving them the character of a scientific discipline based on Marxist philosophy”, while lectures on historical and philosophical materialism “cleared the way for the student in the mass of information about English literature and culture by helping him to distinguish between the reactionary and the revolutionary elements” (Helsztyński, 27). This attitude (as well as the evident disregard for the fact that the majority of students in the Institute were female) may seem very dated now, but in the early 1950s, it could have contributed greatly to the survival of English Studies at the University of Warsaw, while similar departments were closed all over Poland.

On his retirement from university, Professor Helsztyński had more time to concentrate on writing – an activity that had always been dear to him. Beside numerous scholarly publications on matters related to English studies, such as translations, editions, and analyses of the works of Shakespeare, Milton, Byron, and Pope, he wrote literary biographies, historical novels, autobiographical works, and travel books. From his youth, he had a passion for poetry, and published some volumes of verse, mostly inspired by his experience of growing up in rural Poland; he also translated English poetry. One of his most noteworthy achievements was the edition and publication of about 2,000 letters of Stanisław Przybyszewski – this was the result of research lasting ten years, which Professor Helsztyński conducted internationally. In this monumental task he was helped by his wife (Encyklopedia Wielkopolan). He published influential and thoroughly researched biographies of William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Ignacy Skorupka, a priest-hero of the Polish-Russian war of 1920 whose family name he originally shared. He wrote several novels set in Poland over its thousand-year-long history; many of them described his homeland in the Greater Poland region.

Professor Helsztyński died in Warsaw on 14 April 1986. He was buried in Warsaw, but his home village of Kosowo honoured him with a commemorative obelisk, and the nearby town of Gostyń gave his name to one of its streets. Towards the end of his life, in 1982, Professor Helsztyński visited the places connected with his childhood and youth, accompanied by his wife and daughter-in-law, feted by the local luminaries. They were hosted in the Potworowski palace in Gola and made sentimental excursions to many places in the vicinity, such as his parents’ grave in Stary Gostyń, the sanctuary of the Virgin Mary in Święta Góra, and the villages of Grabonóg and Lubiń (Encyklopedia Wielkopolan). Professor Helsztyński provided books and memorabilia for the school in Kosowo (named after him in 1987) and for a local museum in the manor house in Grabonóg where an exhibition was organised in his honour. His vital energy, many talents, and outstanding creative output inspired respect and admiration. When asked at his advanced age for his emotional and intellectual “elixir of youth”, he listed “optimism, joyful disposition, kindness to people, an active lifestyle, and above all else satisfying and stimulating work” (Encyklopedia Wielkopolan).

3.7. Wanda Krajewska (1927–1989) by Emma Harris

Wanda Krajewska was born in October 1927 in Warsaw. She studied English Philology at the University of Warsaw immediately after the war and graduated in 1950. While still a student she worked for a year as a teacher in a secondary school in Warsaw, and on graduating, she was employed for a time in publishing (the ‘Czytelnik’ Publishing House), journalism (as a translator at PAP, the Polish Press Agency) and in the National Library. From 1958, she began to work as a language teacher at the Warsaw University of Technology, at the same time beginning research supervised by Prof. Grzegorz Sinko for her Ph.D., which she completed in 1964, with a dissertation on stage directions in the English drama of the 19th and 20th centuries. Thereafter, from 1965 onwards, she became a member of staff in the Institute. In 1971, she was awarded a post-doctoral degree for a widely-reviewed monograph on the reception of English literature in Poland between 1887 and 1918 (Recepcja literatury angielskiej w Polsce w okresie modernizmu (1887–1918): informacje, sądy, przekłady, Wrocław: Ossolineum, 1972), and was appointed docent. In time, her academic interests moved towards the study of Romanticism; she published on English poetry of the 19th century and the works of William Butler Yeats. She taught many scholars specialising in both British and American literature, supervising the doctorates of Teresa Kieniewicz, Barbara Cendrowska-Werner, Agata Preis-Smith, and Piotr Kuhiwczak. In a period when texts or textbooks for students of English were hard to come by, she published a well-received course book in 1979, English Poetry of the 19th century. In 1979, she was also awarded the state title of professor extraordinarius.

After taking part in the 1976 Congress of the International Comparative Literature Association in Budapest, she became a member of the Association and worked together with Prof. Janina Kulczycka-Saloni on projects involving Polish literature, giving papers at later congresses of the Association. She also visited Britain and British universities through a British Council scholarship in 1977.

Wanda Krajewska was liked and respected by her colleagues, and served in many roles in the Institute. From 1973 to 1979, she was director of the Institute’s Doctoral School in English Philology, and after 1979, when it was absorbed into the newly-founded joint Doctoral Programme of the faculty, she continued to supervise the English Philology section. She was head of the Department of English Literature 1979–1982; deputy director of the Institute 1973–1978; a member of the Academic Council of the Institute from 1965 and chairman of the Council in 1974–1978 and 1981–1984. She is still remembered warmly by those who knew her, despite her untimely retirement at the age of 60, and death a year later.

Piotr Kuhiwczak writes:

Professor Krajewska’s contribution to comparative studies was of particular importance for the appreciation of Poland’s literary contacts with the literatures of the British Isles. This stream of research was initiated by Professor Sinko, but Wanda Krajewska turned it into a more systematic long-term project by teaching postgraduate seminars and supervising M.A. and Ph.D. dissertations in the field.

Professor Krajewska was a very modest person, did not seek personal recognition and spent a lot of time on supporting young people who wished to develop academic careers. On close acquaintance one could appreciate her sense of humour, ironic comments and healthy distance both to the national politics of the day and the internal politicking of her academic colleagues. Her calm, tolerance and stoicism were extraordinary, especially when she was diagnosed with a very serious, slowly progressing but physically debilitating illness, which was very difficult to manage during the time when shortages of goods and medication were acute. Those of us who were around her at that time will always remember her as a model of dignified behaviour in difficult times.

3.8. Wanda Rulewicz (1948–1995)

Professor Rulewicz was born in 1948. Beside English literature at the University of Warsaw, she studied theatrical direction at the Academy of Theatrical Arts (PWST), becoming a respected specialist in modern British theatre. She received a doctoral degree in 1974 based on a dissertation about the theatre of T. S. Eliot (her academic supervisor was Professor Grzegorz Sinko). She wrote her post-doctoral dissertation in 1987 on the semiotic aspects of the plays of Edward Bond. As Professor Małgorzata Grzegorzewska remembers, “Wanda was simply an excellent teacher. […] Recalling the ‘Angry Young Men,’ she talked how the world changes and how art becomes old. She praised the erudition of Stoppard and his trust in the viewer. When reading Bond, she interpreted Shakespeare… She was a source of constant amazement” (Grzegorzewska, 95). Apart from her scholarly works, Professor Rulewicz published theatrical and book reviews, she was also a frequent guest on the radio and television, where she shared her knowledge of British literature. She was one of the founders of the Literary Theory Workshop at the Faculty of Modern Languages, and, since 1994, its chairperson (Grzegorzewska, 96). The last years of her life were sadly marked by poor health leading to her untimely death in April 1995. Unfortunately, her three orphaned doctoral students (Ewa Sadowska, Krzysztof Mościcki, and Tomasz Zymer) never completed their dissertations.

3.9. Maria Jędrzejkiewicz (1942–1998) by Emma Harris

Maria Jędrzejkiewicz was born in Warsaw in December 1942. After graduating from the Institute in 1969 with an M.A. thesis on Sterne, she taught for a year in a secondary school. In 1970 she was accepted as a postgraduate student in the Institute’s Doctoral School before being employed as an assistant lecturer in 1972. In 1978, she was awarded a doctoral degree for a thesis supervised by Prof. Irena Dobrzycka on the narrative techniques in George Meredith’s novels. She was regarded as an exceptionally astute and scrupulous researcher. She spent a term at the University of Kansas in 1980–1981 making preparations for her post-doctoral thesis on the novels of Iris Murdoch, eagerly reading there those novels that were not yet available – something that contemporary researchers may find difficult to grasp – in Poland. Her academic interests had therefore moved through English Literature from the 18th to the 20th centuries. She also used her time in Kansas to discuss teaching aims and methods, to collect teaching materials and visit classes. This was only to be expected of someone who was regarded as an particularly conscientious teacher, always interested in the wider intellectual development of her students, and if demanding, always absolutely fair in her treatment and assessments. Perhaps because of these qualities she was chosen as a year tutor in the Institute and also as the leader (‘commandant’) of Student Work Experience Assignments (SPR) in the 1970s, before her promising academic career was cut short by illness.

Prof. Grażyna Bystydzieńska remembers: I had known Marylka Jędrzejkiewicz before I was employed at the University in Warsaw in 1993, through papers that she presented at conferences that we both attended. Her conference papers attracted my attention because of her consistent methodological approach, solid analyses and convincing argumentation, although the subject matter was often quite distant from my own academic concerns.

When I met Marylka in the Institute of English Studies in 1993, we did not have a lot of opportunity to discuss our research projects or talk about students as her health rapidly deteriorated and soon she became very ill; she died on Christmas Day in 1998. She is remembered as an exacting teacher; she demanded a lot from herself and her students as well. She is also remembered as a very honest, responsible and conscientious person – qualities that she also brought to her teaching and scholarship. Even when she was obviously ill, she did not want to miss her classes and tried to do her best with the students.

Her monograph on Iris Murdoch, Perspektywa etyczna w powieściach Iris Murdoch (The Ethical Perspective in the Novels of Iris Murdoch), was published posthumously in 1999. This book had been intended to serve as the basis for the award of the post-doctoral degree, the habilitacja, and although Marylka did not live long enough for this to be carried into effect, it is gratifying that her ideas on Iris Murdoch could reach a wider audience.

3.10. Grzegorz Sinko (1923–2000)

Professor Grzegorz Sinko was born on 13 June 1923 in Kraków and spent his childhood there. A careful visitor to Wawel Royal Castle can still find a mention of “Krzysia and Grześ Sinko” (nr 5345, Krystyna Sinko was the sister of Grzegorz) on one of the many plaques on the castle walls, commemorating the donors who contributed money to the reconstruction of the castle. Probably, the unconventional phrasing, standing out among rows of monotonous lists of names and titles, came from his father, Tadeusz Sinko, professor of Classical Philology at the Jagiellonian University. He was remembered as an eccentric erudite, well known in the intellectual circles of Kraków, and his early influence on Grzegorz was considerable. Professor Małgorzata Grzegorzewska recalls a “juicy anecdote about his father’s skirmish with Witkacy after some malicious comments on the poetics of Pure Form,” which she heard from Professor Sinko over coffee in Warsaw many decades later (Grzegorzewska, 9).

Grzegorz Sinko studied English at the Jagiellonian University; after graduation he started work at the University of Wrocław, where he completed his Ph.D. in 1950 under the academic supervision of Professor Stanisław Helsztyński. The topic was Samuel Foote, an 18th century British dramatist, actor, and theatre manager. The ardent interest in theatre was to remain a constant feature in Professor Sinko’s life. In 1953, the communist regime closed down most of the academic centres devoted to the study of English in Poland, the only one remaining was at the University of Warsaw. Grzegorz Sinko went there; he and his wife – Zofia Sinko (1919–2006, professor at the Polish Academy of Sciences, translator and editor of English literature) – moved into a flat in Żoliborz, a quiet residential part of Warsaw. In 1965, he became Head of the Chair (later Institute) of English Studies, and in 1965 he received the title of Full Professor.

Professor Sinko’s former students, Professors Andrzej Weseliński and Jacek Wiśniewski, remember him in an article in Polityka (Winnicka) as a man with a dry sense of humour and sometimes unusual ways. “He would take on different responsibilities, such as combine the role of the Head of the Institute with a (more humble) role of students’ counsellor – if a student complained to the Counsellor, ‘mgr Sinko,’ he would send them on to ‘Professor Sinko’ during his office hours,” says Professor Weseliński. Professor Wiśniewski, who began his studies in 1968, was impressed by Professor Sinko’s lecturing style. “His lectures on the history of English literature were one-man theatricals. The largest hall at the University was packed full of students,” he recollects. Professor Sinko was an excellent performer with a particular talent for “carefully structured, endlessly rehearsed anecdotes and digressions” (Grzegorzewska, 10). He was fluent in English, German, French, Latin, and Russian. He translated from English and German.

Professor Sinko was, however, something of an outsider, distancing himself from political disputes of the day. When the civil unrest started in Warsaw in March 1968, he forbade his students to participate in the riots; he did not want them to become pawns in political games. He never joined the communist Polish United Workers’ Party (PZPR). He left the Institute in 1971 and found employment at the Institute of Arts of the Polish Academy of Sciences; he also lectured for the Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw. He published extensively, co-editing the journal Teatr, translating and editing many works of literature (including those by Shakespeare, Dickens, and Defoe). The later part of his academic career was devoted mostly to theatre studies. As Danuta Kuźnicka notes, “Sinko was a staunch rationalist. He believed in the power of the intellect, which he considered to be the ultimate law. He was mistrustful towards emotionality; he mocked ‘the Muse,’ doubted feelings, rejected ideologies. He believed in the freedom of the mind and the right to one’s own rational judgement” (213–214). Professor Sinko wrote three important monographic books: Kryzys języka w dramacie współczesnym – rzeczywistość czy złudzenie? (A Crisis of Language in Modern Drama: Reality or Illusion? Wrocław, 1977), Opis przedstawienia teatralnego – problem semiotyczny (A Description of Theatrical Performance as a Semiological Problem, Wrocław, 1982), and Postać teatralna i jej przemiany w teatrze XX wieku (The Theatrical Character and Its Evolution in Twentieth-century Theatre, Wrocław, 1988) and more than 450 articles, essays, and theatrical reviews.

Professor Sinko supervised the doctorates of numerous scholars: Stanisława Skrodzka-Kumor, Wanda Krajewska, Krystyna Przybylska, Jerzy Szkup, Alicja Kędzielska, Zbigniew Lewicki, and Wanda Rulewicz

He met a tragic death on 30 March 2000. He died after having been assaulted at the entrance to the building where he lived. It was reported that the attackers were thieves who must have seen him collecting a small sum of money from the bank and followed him on his way home (Winnicka).

3.11. Bronisława Bałutowa (1919–2005) by Emma Harris

Bronisława Bałutowa was born in 1919 in Warsaw, but spent her childhood and schooldays in Tarnów in South East Poland, obtaining her school-leaving certificate in 1936. She spent the war in Tarnów, but after the war moved with her newly-married husband to Łódź, graduating in English Philology from the University of Łódź in 1949. She began teaching in secondary schools while she was a student (from 1946) and continued in this role until 1952; later she was to work as a translator in the Office of Foreign Trade (1956–1957).

She was employed at the University of Warsaw from 1957, first at the Centre for Foreign Language Instruction and from 1969, when he was awarded her Ph.D. for a thesis on the novels of Ivy Compton Burnett, as a lecturer in English Literature in the newly-created Wyższa Szkoła Języków Obcych [Foreign Languages College] which aimed to provide training for translators. From 1972, when this college was closed, she was transferred to the Institute and joined the Department of English Literature, at that time headed by the supervisor of her Ph.D. thesis, Prof. Irena Dobrzycka. In 1978, Bronisława Bałutowa completed her post-doctoral degree with a study of spatial problems in the English short fiction of the first decades of the 20th century, and from 1979 was promoted to the rank of docent. She was the author of further books on English literature (for example, Powieść angielska XX wieku = The English Novel of the 20th century, PWN 1983), a prolific translator and editor of English literary works, and author of popular textbooks for learners of English.

She took part in a variety of university exchange programmes, visiting the United States first in 1981 in the heady days of Solidarity as part of an exchange with the University of Kansas. Later, despite the gloomy political context of martial law and its aftermath, Docent Bałutowa was an enthusiastic participant in exchanges that continued to function through the 1980s. In 1983, she was involved in an exchange programme initiated by the American Studies Center of the University with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the USA, where she lectured on the 20th-century English novel and on Literary Theory. She visited and gave guest lectures at five Canadian universities in 1984, including Carleton University, McGill University and the University of Ottawa. In 1985, she visited the University of Wales and University of Glasgow as part of inter-university exchange programmes, again giving guest lectures.

She was head of the Department of English Literature from 1982–1985, and was always anxious to promote the careers of younger members of staff and keep alive the international contacts that were so important to literary scholars in foreign language departments. After her retirement in 1989, she remained keenly interested in academic developments and in the life of the Institute. She welcomed visits to her tiny flat overlooking ul. Grójecka and retained a sense of humour to the end about her increasing frailty (‘I wake up every morning and ask myself whether I am still alive. Usually I decide that I am, and so I get up’).

Piotr Kuhiwczak writes:

For young staff members at the Institute Docent Bałutowa was a breath of fresh air. She brought colour, joy and irreverent humour to the everyday dull communist reality and had a very healthy distance not only to herself but also to the academic rituals and bureaucracy. Outside the academic context Bałutowa was a very sociable person and could freely talk about politics and her life before and during the Second World War. For the young generation, encouraged to think that the world started only in 1945, it was priceless to have first-hand contact with the past, which was not distant, but which the official life relegated to the closet. Bronka, as we called her, created for all of us a sense of another world – stylish, free, but most of all humane; an image of the world of which the young generation of people in the late 1970s and 1980s could only dream.

3.12. Nancy Burke (1935–2006) by Ewa Łuczak

Professor Nancy Burke was born in 1935 in Bridgeport, Connecticut and educated in the Quaker School of German Town Friends in Philadelphia. She received her Ph.D. from Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She travelled to Spain as a Fulbright recipient in the 1960s and then returned to teach in Columbia, South Carolina. She later moved to Toronto with her husband and two children, where she started a career as an ESL teacher at Seneca College. Here she was known for her inspirational classes in which she taught recently arrived immigrants. Always open-minded and cosmopolitan, in the 1980s she visited Warsaw as an exchange professor to make it her permanent home till her premature death in 2006. In Warsaw she blossomed as an academic teacher, poet and organiser of academic life. Her lectures in American and Canadian literature attracted not only students from the Institute of English Studies, but across departments. She “was incredibly generous with her time and with her knowledge and the students reciprocated with devotion, admiration, and lasting friendship” (Preis-Smith, 9). Always stylish, democratic, kind and warm, she had a way of both attracting students to new ideas and challenging them to think independently and trust their own vision. She was an inspirational mentor and one of her M.A. students, Professor Ewa Łuczak, went on to get a Ph.D. degree and pursue an academic career. In Poland, Professor Burke wrote three books of poetry and travelled extensively through Russia and Europe to give readings of her poems. Her poetry was translated into Polish, Russian and Serbian.

Professor Burke was also one of the founders of the Polish Association for Canadian Studies and a director of the Canadian Studies Center at the University of Warsaw. Setting up an underfunded Canadian Center in a small room in the building of the Institute of English Studies, she never complained but was excited that Canadian studies were becoming a permanent fixture on the academic map of Poland. Her dream of setting up a program in Canadian Studies at the University of Warsaw materialised fifteen years after her death in 2022. Restless and energetic, Professor Burke died prematurely and suddenly after one of her numerous trips.

References:

Preis-Smith, Agata et al. (ed). Mosaics of Words: Essays on the American and Canadian Literary Imagination in Memory of Professor Nancy Burke: Warsaw, Institute of English Studies, 2006.

3.13. Nancy Burke (1935–2006): A life well-lived

by Cecelia Lawless

A woman of the world, Nancy Burke embodied an act of female imagination.  Born in the United States, she traveled and felt comfortable in diverse countries such as: Spain, Venezuela, Serbia, Russia, France or Canada.  She lived in Poland for over twenty years, and it is here that she flourished as an academic, an advocate of American literature at the Institute of English Studies, University of Warsaw.  A poet, a professor, a mentor and a friend to all, Nancy lived for words and writing that she shared with countless interlocutors.  In her final years, she helped to found the Association for Canadian Studies, and the Canadian Studies Center at Warsaw University, the latter which she directed and supported through her constant work promoting, investigating and sharing her knowledge of Canadian literature.

Passionate. Nancy Burke was a teacher not only of how to read and write about literature, but how to do so with intense engagement.  From the early days of teaching at Seneca College in Toronto, where she gave inspiring ESL classes to recently arrived immigrants, to the later years at the University of Warsaw, where her lectures attracted students from across the disciplines, she continually provoked in her students a desire to learn more, and more.  Nancy was lavishly attentive to her students and they returned her devotion with a deep desire to succeed in their studies, a means to honor their beloved teacher. A premise for her teaching style relied on fostering intellectual curiosity, to question the world around her and try to understand one’s place in that world of haunted multiplicities.  In fact, Nancy was instrumental in shaping numerous careers of young journalists, doctoral students, academics, translators and poets.

Creative.  Nancy Burke was a powerful poet.  She wrote three books of poetry while living in Poland and the audience of her public readings greeted them, and her, with enthusiasm, in Warsaw as well as in Moscow, St Petersburg or Toronto.  As an author, Nancy understood the performative act of language. Her voice could enthrall her admirers to move beyond mere words and dwell in a poetic image; to linger in simultaneous spaces of past, present and future.   She loved language with a sincere dedication.  And though many of her poems insinuate melancholy, their language is rich and tense with life.  People of all ages and from different cultures responded forcefully to her work.

Curious.  Nancy lived life with intensity and she shared it with countless people through words.  As an avid correspondent with people all over the world, she maintained dialogue with many, across continents and oceans, about her thoughts on politics, art and culture.  Aside from a constant flow of letters and emails, she wrote numerous academic articles and collaborated on two English language textbooks.  She engaged with the landscape around her through questioning, an insatiable inquisitiveness that pursued her wherever she went. Her life revolved around literature, language and communication.

Joyous.  Nancy embraced her adopted country of Canada, whose people and culture she later shared in Poland.  All who came into contact with her during her distinguished career remarked on her joie de vivre.  Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and educated in the Quaker School of German Town Friends in Philadelphia, Nancy then went on to Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Eager to see more of the world, she traveled to Spain as a Fulbright recipient in the 1960’s and then returned to teach in Columbia, South Carolina. Later, she moved to Toronto, Canada with her family, and started a career as an ESL teacher.  She found delight in meeting people and connected strongly with her immigrant students, displaced from their own countries: she taught and modeled for them how in movement there can be freedom. In the late 1980’s, encouraged by her helpful students, she moved to Poland and lived in Warsaw until her unexpected death there in February, 2006.  Her two children inherited her sensibility for travel and love of languages.  Her students continue Nancy’s legacy of searching for beauty and joy in life and literature that evokes verses from one her favourite poets, Mary Oliver:

Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

With your one wild and precious life?

(Oliver, Mary. House of Light, Boston, Beacon Press, 1992)

3.14. Irena Dobrzycka (1909–2007) by Emma Harris

Professor Dobrzycka was born on 21 October 1909 in Fribourg, Switzerland where her father, Stanisław Dobrzycki, was professor of Slavonic Literatures and Languages (later he was a Professor and Rector of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań). As a child, Irena Dobrzycka therefore had opportunities to master both the English and French languages, before the family returned to a restored Poland after the First World War. She received her master’s degree in 1932 at the Adam Mickiewicz University, and from 1932 to 1938 worked as a secondary school teacher of English and French in Poznań. From 1933, she was at the same time employed as an Assistant Lecturer at the Department of English at the University. She spent the academic year 1938/1939 at the University of Bristol on a scholarship funded by the recently-opened British Council – the first scholarship of its kind awarded in Poland. We are told that she took an active part there in student life in Bristol. One eye witness reported that ‘When, as Chancellor of this University, Sir Winston Churchill, bestowed an honorary degree on President Kennedy’s father – then American Ambassador – Irena Dobrzycka played an active part in the burlesque of that same ceremony on the steps of the Victoria Rooms.’ She returned to Poznań just before the outbreak of war, but was soon forced by German resettlement policies to leave her home and take refuge in Warsaw, where she was involved in underground teaching of English. She recounted a story that indicates her teaching skills and also her cool nerve: once while she was teaching a group of 10-year-old boys, there was gunfire in the street outside and one of the boys tried to open the window to get a better look – something that might have been fatal if the Germans had come in and found the illicit schoolroom. He was restrained by another boy, who said that if he did not do as he was told, Ms Dobrzycka would not, as she had promised, let them play the humorous and competitive word games which she used to keep them quiet. These stories formed part of the Laudation pronounced when she received an honorary degree in Bristol in 1979, and are recorded in the University of Bristol Newsletter (16 August 1979). After the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, she was evacuated from the city by the Germans and found herself in Piotrków Trybunalski, where she also earned her keep by giving English lessons.

When the war ended, Professor Dobrzycka continued her academic career. In March 1945, she returned to Poznań, where she had managed to complete and submit her doctoral thesis in 1938 before leaving for Bristol. This dissertation was lost during the war, but she was awarded the degree of Ph.D. in 1945 for a dissertation entitled ‘The Writing of W.S. Maughan’. In 1946–1947, in the brief interlude before the Iron Curtain came down and put a temporary end to such contacts, she spent a year at the University of Sheffield. In the immediate post-war period, she also commuted to Toruń to teach in the English department at the Mikołaj Kopernik University, but in 1953 she was transferred to the University of Warsaw when other departments were closed. In 1956, at the beginning of the ‘thaw’ in international relations, and again in 1960, she spent several months with a scholarship in London. In 1960, she also spent the summer months visiting universities in the United States as part of ‘The Experiment in International Living.’

In 1964, on the basis of her monograph Kształtowanie się twórczości Byrona – Bohater bajroniczny a zagadnienie narodowe (= The shaping of Byron’s poetry – the Byronic hero and the national question, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich 1963) she was nominated by the Warsaw faculty council for the status of tenured docent (‘docent etatowy’), the equivalent of the habilitacja degree, or second doctorate. After this promotion, she was Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Philology between 1966 and 1968, and in 1969 was elected to represent the Faculty in the University Senate. In 1969, she was appointed professor extraordinarius, and from 1969–1970, she was deputy head, and from 1970 head of the Institute of English Studies, a position she held until 1978. She also headed the Institute’s Department of English Literature from 1971 to 1979. She was chairman of the Institute’s Academic Council from 1978–1981.

Irena Dobrzycka was a member of many scholarly societies, including the International Association of University Professors of English and the Neophilological Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences. In 1973, she visited four British universities – two old (Cambridge and King’s College, London) and two new (East Anglia and Sussex) – in order to assess their doctoral programmes in the context of the Doctoral School of the Institute in Warsaw. In 1979, she received a doctorate honoris causa from the University of Bristol, her Public Orator being Professor Glynne Wickham (great-grandson of William Ewart Gladstone) and a well-known scholar of Shakespeare and English drama. Irena Dobrzycka shared the degree ceremony with Walter Scheel, the ex-President of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Professor Dobrzycka wrote widely about English literature, particularly the social novel and its antecedents, 19th-century melodrama, Romantic poetry, and 18th-century non-fiction satire. She published monographs on the social novels of Charles Kingsley (1955), the national themes in Byron’s poetry (1963) and the novels of Charles Dickens (1972). In addition to her research work in the field of literature, she wrote popular handbooks for learners of English – including a textbook for self-learners (1962) – which ran into many editions, and took part, for example, in the organisation in the 1970s of the annual ‘Olympiada’ competitions in knowledge of English for secondary-school pupils. She also lectured on British and American Literature to groups of school teachers, librarians, and to branches of Open Universities (Uniwersytet Powszechny).

She was a respected academic teacher, supervising more than 120 M.A. theses in Warsaw, Poznań, Łódź and Toruń. She was academic supervisor of multiple doctoral dissertations at various universities in Poland: Bronisława Bałutowa, Stefan Konderski, Grażyna Siedlecka, Andrzej Weseliński, Adam Rustowski, Teresa Sieradzka-Grymińska, Maria Bachman-Łyżwińska, Jacek Wiśniewski, Maria Jędrzejkiewicz, Hanna Mrozowska-Szubert, Elżbieta Foeller-Pituch, Maria Piusińska, and Ewa Fryska.

Her students remember her, in the words of Professor Andrzej Weseliński, as “friendly, generous and warm-hearted”; he goes on to state that “her standards were high, and so were her achievements”. After her retirement in 1980, Professor Dobrzycka was a frequent and welcome guest at the Institute, participating in social functions, attending lectures and conferences. Till the end of her life, she retained a keen mind and interest in academic matters, dying on 21 May 2007 at the age of 97.

3.15. Teresa Kieniewicz (1944–2008)

Professor Teresa Kieniewicz was born on 28 August 1944, just as the Uprising was raging in Warsaw. She was a member of the Kieniewicz family, well known for its many intellectuals and writers; her father, for example, was Professor Stefan Kieniewicz (1907–1992), a renowned historian. In 1973, Teresa Kieniewicz received her Ph.D. on the reception of American literature in inter-war Poland (her supervisor was Professor Wanda Krajewska). She continued her research on the American novel, obtaining her post-doctoral degree in 1982. She published two monographic books on subjects related to her interest in American Studies: Recepcja literatury amerykańskiej w Polsce w dwudziestoleciu międzywojennym (WUW, 1977), and Men, Women, and the Novelist: Fact and Fiction in the American Novel of the 1870s and 1880s (Washington: University Press of America, 1982).

However, in 1984, she decided to give up her academic career to become a Carmelite nun (she took the name of Maria Teresa od Jezusa). She became one of the founding sisters of the Borne Sulinowo Carmelite Convent. She continued writing, but now on religious subjects. Her brother Antoni and nephew Piotr also received the Holy Orders. She died after a short illness on 6 March 2008 and was buried in the cemetery on the grounds of the convent.

3.16. Wiesław Furmańczyk (1926–2011)

Doctor Wiesław Furmańczyk was born on 14 January 1926 in Warsaw; his father was an elementary school teacher. As a teenager, he was a soldier of the Home Army (AK). He took part in the Warsaw Uprising (conspiracy pseudonym: “Sas”), and later was a prisoner-of-war at a German camp in Altengrabow. His fascination with the English language and especially with American culture began when the Stalag was liberated by the American army in 1945 (Archiwum Historii Mówionej). In 1950, he joined the staff of English Studies at the University of Warsaw. He received his Ph.D. in 1966; his dissertation on the writings of Theodore Dreiser was supervised by Professor Stanisław Helsztyński. Doctor Furmańczyk was a respected specialist in American literature and taught many generations of students. He retired in 1991, after a 40-year-long career at the Institute. Not satisfied with a leisurely retirement, he became an active member of PASE (Polish Association for the Study of English, established in 1991), participating in many conferences organised yearly by the Association. He was also a member of the PASE revisory committee. He died on 9 October 2011.

3.17. Stanisława Kumor (née Skrodzka) (1922–2012)

by Bożenna Chylińska

As Professor Stanisława Kumor’s former M.A. and doctoral student as well as a later colleague, I wish to express my gratitude for her always perfect understanding of the demands of the times and for her deep awareness of both war and peace. Incidentally, her own life in a specific way, greatly contributed to war and peace. Today, Professor Kumor would have celebrated together with the Institute of English Studies a centenary, yet her youth signifies the way of the cross of a single Pole whose early life happened to coincide with Poland’s World War II sufferings identified with death-factories, executions, pacifications, removals, deportations and, finally, repatriations, which partly were her own personal fate. Her life is a story of a woman with a strong character yet a fragile feminine nature, who, cast under the Soviet, then Nazi, and then again Soviet terror, did survive, helping others to survive with her. She is also an almost symbolic example of the gradual formation of an intelligent scholar and excellent teacher, committed to her profession, who in the reality of native communist democracy had to leave her war past behind her, yet here and abroad always showing her pride in her homeland and enhance the image of her people and country in the minds of those who listened to her.

Stanisława Skrodzka was born on 8 May 1922 in Chojnówek near Szczuczyn (the nearest larger town being Grajewo), as one of ten children of Aleksander Skrodzki. Her paternal grandfather was executed for having participated in the 1863 January Uprising against the Russian occupation. Her early schooling was in nearby village Kurejewka, later in Grajewo where, encouraged by a local teacher who discovered her talents, she went to the Gimnazjum and had hardly started the Liceum there when the September 1939 invasion of the Red Army into Poland, and the incorporation of Polish eastern provinces into the USSR stopped her education for a long time. Stanisława, still a teenager, became involved in the underground resistance, was arrested by the Soviet secret police (NKWD) and imprisoned in Łomża. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, she managed to escape from prison only to find that her family had been deported East (Courtesy of the University of Warsaw Human Resources Office; Archiwum Fundacji Generał Elżbiety Zawackiej w Toruniu).

She continued her work for the Resistance, becoming a member of the Union of Armed Struggle (ZWZ), and later the Home Army (AK). In autumn 1941, she took command of the Women Military Service for the AK in the Grajewo district, and was active in the military struggle (conspiracy pseudonym: “Krzysztof”), participating in the “Tempest” (“Burza”) operation of 1944; ambushed and wounded, she managed to force her way through the German encirclement onto the Soviet bank, crossing the River Biebrza. She was arrested by the Soviets again in early 1945, brutally interrogated and transferred to a camp in central Russia (Archiwum Fundacji Generał Elżbiety Zawackiej w Toruniu). She returned to Poland in the late November of 1947 and settled in Warsaw. Stanisława Skrodzka’s unquestionable war merits under the AK auspices were not revealed until 1967, when the documents listing her deeds and military medals (including the Silver Cross of the Order Virtuti Militari), secured by her Resistance colleagues, were dispatched to Warsaw.

After the war, Stanisława resumed her education, but her road to the Academia was long and truly difficult. Having to maintain three younger brothers – one of them required long-lasting medical care – she would undertake office jobs while studying in the extramural system. In 1948, after passing her final matriculation examination, she came to the University of Warsaw to study Polish and English philology, while still working, then as a school teacher of Russian. She completed her studies in 1953 and was employed as a Russian-language instructor at the University of Warsaw’s School of Foreign Languages (Studium Języków Obcych). She had continued to teach there until 1957 – with the exception of 1953/1954, when, because of her very good command of Russian and English, she served in the Polish Military Mission in Korea, supervising the armistice on behalf of the United Nations (Courtesy of the University of Warsaw Human Resources Office; Gołębiowski, xvi). In 1955, she married Aleksander Kumor; they had two children, twins Magdalena and Grzegorz.

In 1957, Stanisława Kumor joined the staff at the Chair of English Philology at the University of Warsaw. In 1964, she defended her doctoral dissertation entitled Recepcja twórczości G. B. Shaw w Polsce [The Reception of G.B. Shaw in Poland] under the academic supervision of Professor Grzegorz Sinko. In 1968, she became Associate Professor (to be exact, Tenured Docent – docent etatowy) and, in the same year, nominated to the post of the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, a position she had held until 1970. The position of Associate Professor (docent) was granted at that time by the Ministry of Education, without the legal or customary procedure of presenting a Habilitationsschrift, that is a post-doctoral dissertation. This controversial system was finally abandoned in the early 1990s.

Professor Kumor’s academic interests were numerous, ranging from British and American literature to the modern American multicultural and multiracial scene. Among her favorite topics of research were G. B. Shaw and John Milton, also 17th century religious radicalism, the Sacred and the Profane in American culture, and African American identity. She was a highly valued visiting scholar at American universities: at the Department of English, Colorado State University in the 1980–1981 academic year, and at the Department of Theater and Film, Brigham Young University, Utah, in 1988–1989.

The unquestionable quality of her work was her teaching as well as her interactions with students. She supervised numerous MAs and doctorates at the Institute of English Studies of the University of Warsaw. Her former doctoral students are Professor Marek Gołębiowski, Professor Bożenna Chylińska, Dr. Piotr Sadowski, and SWPS Professor Piotr Skurowski. Together with these young scholars, she pioneered the establishment of the Department of Culture of Anglo-Saxon Countries (Zakład Kultury Krajow Anglosaskich), which opened at the Institute of English Studies in October 1975 (Gołębiowski, xvii). She was Head of this department until her retirement in 1991. This was the first department to introduce culture studies into the curriculum of any Polish university boasting English Studies. Professor Kumor died on 11 June 2012 and was buried in Warsaw.

References:

“Stanisława Skrodzka,” Archiwum Fundacji Generał Elżbiety Zawackiej w Toruniu. [online:] https://kpbc.umk.pl/dlibra/publication/201885/edition/203528/content?ref=struct

Chylińska, Bożenna. “Preface,” Revolutions, Evolutions, and Devolutions in Europe, America and Elsewhere, Bożenna Chylińska (ed.). Warsaw: Institute of English Studies, University of Warsaw, 2010, vii–xiii.

Courtesy of the University of Warsaw Human Resources Office.

Gołębiowski, Marek. “The Way We Were. A Personal Note,” Revolutions, Evolutions, and Devolutions in Europe, America and Elsewhere, xv–xviii.

3.18. Alicja Kędzielska (1933–2013)

Doctor Alicja Kędzielska (née Szczepańska) was born in 1933 in Warsaw. She completed her secondary education at respected Warsaw schools for young ladies, the school of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth (Liceum Sióstr Nazaretanek) and the Klementyna Hoffmanowa grammar school. She began her studies at the University of Warsaw at the Faculty of Oriental Studies, but after one year changed to English. After receiving her master’s degree, she remained as a member of staff. In 1969, she completed her Ph.D. based on the dissertation entitled The Reception of English Literature in the People's Republic of Poland, 1945–1965. Her supervisor was Professor Grzegorz Sinko. This was part of a larger research project in comparative studies, in which the reception of English literature in Poland was studied in various historical periods. Doctor Kędzielska’s career was closely connected with the Institute of English Studies, where she taught courses in English literature of the 20th century. Her particular passion was theatre, and some of her publications were devoted to the study of modern British plays and playwrights: Harold Pinter, Edward Bond, Joe Orton, and David Storey. She showed their work in a broader European context, comparing it with the Theatre of the Absurd and the Theatre of Cruelty represented by Jean Genet, Witold Gombrowicz, and Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz. She died on 22 September 2013 and was buried in Warsaw.

3.19. Jan Rusiecki (1926–2015)

by Agnieszka Otwinowska-Kasztelanic

Professor Jan Rusiecki (1926–2015) was a linguist, an erudite, and the doyen of English studies in Poland. He will be remembered as a man of inherent elegance and vast knowledge. Professor Rusiecki was an exceptional educator, scholar, and a recognized linguist of wide research interests. He specialised in the field of syntax and semantics of modern English, as well as in contrastive English-Polish studies. Some of his publications concerned the influence of the English language on contemporary Polish. A separate field of interest and research concerned applied linguistics, especially second language acquisition and foreign language teaching and learning. In recognition of his merits and achievements, the President of the Republic of Poland awarded him the Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta in 2012.

Jan Rusiecki was born on April 4, 1926 in Warsaw, where he spent most of his life. He graduated from the renowned Stefan Batory secondary school, where he learnt three languages: Latin, German and English (of interest: his teacher was Antoni Prejbisz, the future author of English grammar books). In 1944, as an 18-year-old Home Army (AK) soldier, Jan Rusiecki took part in the Warsaw Uprising (conspiracy pseudonym: “Sęk”). Heavily wounded in August 1944, he managed to escape to the outskirts of Warsaw where he remained till the end of the war. After WWII, he became a student at the University of Warsaw to read both Slavic languages and literature as well as English. After graduating from the then Chair of English Studies he worked as a teacher in a secondary vocational school. Between 1954 and 1961 he taught English at the Warsaw University of Technology and, finally, in 1961, he obtained a position at the University of Warsaw, with which he was associated throughout his academic career.

A crucial turning point in Professor Rusiecki’s career was a British Council scholarship obtained in 1957, which allowed him to go to the Institute of Education, University of London, for almost two years. This is where he met his future wife, Hilda Andrews, but also where he made the acquaintance of a number of eminent scholars. In London Jan Rusiecki started cooperating with Sir Randolph Quirk, a famous linguist and grammarian. In 1959, Quirk founded the Survey of English Usage, one of the first and most famous corpora of English. Rusiecki obtained a post-doctoral Longman fellowship to work with Quirk’s team on samples of written and spoken British English to create the well-known corpus. In Randolph Quirk’s own words (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/english-usage/about/quirk.htm): “Among the researchers thus funded, several were key to the day-to-day development of the project. (…) Jan Rusiecki (…) took prime responsibility for what we called the “Work-book”, specifying the criteria for every single linguistic and taxonomic decision as the corpus was analysed. David Crystal became the leading partner in devising the scheme by which the multiple systems of prosodic and paralinguistic features of speech were recognised, categorised, and transcribed by experts such as Janet Whitcut. Jan Svartvik and Henry Carvell led the way in computational analyses (…).” Clearly, Rusiecki’s stay in Britain resulted in establishing a network of long-lasting academic cooperation with leading British linguists of the time (see e.g., Quirk & Rusiecki, 1982), which was quite exceptional for a Polish scholar in communist times.

Back in Poland, Jan Rusiecki worked at the University of Warsaw and was affiliated with the Institute of English Studies for over five decades, from 1961 until 2012. He was also the Director of the Institute from 1978 to 1984. From the 1990s until 2009 he held the responsible post of Chair of the Scientific Council of the Institute of English Studies. In all his roles he proved to be tactful, wise, and extremely modest.

In the years 1969–1991 Professor Rusiecki was Head of the Department of Applied English Linguistics, responsible for the practical teaching of English to our students. Under his leadership, the Department became a significant research centre specialising in English language teaching methodology, language acquisition studies and language testing. His interests in language teaching started quite early. Already as a student, Jan Rusiecki published several books, mainly simplified versions of English language fiction with glossaries and commentaries. Then, he wrote many well-known and widely used textbooks and other materials for learning English. In 1963, together with his wife, Hilda Andrews, and Janina Smólska, he published a well-known textbook for English language teaching, Say it with us. Later, in 1977, again with Janina Smólska, English every day, used by generations of language learners. Professor Rusiecki used his own knowledge, acquired skills and experience to promote the teaching of English in Poland under the communist regime, and later, after the political and economic changes in 1989. In the 1990s, he was involved in the preparation of projects related to the development of the school foreign language teaching system in Poland. He was a co-founder of IATEFL Poland (International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language) in 1991 and its first President (https://iatefl.org.pl/whoiswho/). In the 1990s, he showed keen interest in developing Language Teacher Training Colleges and was the academic adviser to the Colleges in Białystok and Łomża. In 2003 he was elected the first President of PASE (Polish Association for the Study of English).

Professor Jan Rusiecki’s passion was mountaineering. He truly enjoyed hiking in the Pieniny, Beskidy and Bieszczady mountains; he also owned a house in Krościenko nad Dunajcem, built by his father before WWII. He also loved off-piste skiing and climbing in the Tatras. Let us hope that he is enjoying his eternal hike and that he will always be remembered by his students for his kindness, politeness, and impeccable manners of an English gentleman.

Professor Rusiecki’s Ph.D. students include: Małgorzata Pogorzelska-Bonikowska, Danuta Stasik, Agnieszka Otwinowska-Kasztelanic, Elżbieta Gajek, Zbigniew Możejko, Magdalena Kizeweter, Ewa Schramm, Agnieszka Szarkowska, Hanna Wiśniewska-Białas, Wojciech Kasprzak (co-supervised by Aniela Korzeniowska), Małgorzata Rzeźnik-Knotek, Beata Buksińska.

References:

Andrews, Hilda, Jan Rusiecki, & Janina Smólska (1963). Say it with us! Kurs języka angielskiego dla zaawansowanych. Warsaw: Wiedza Powszechna.

IATEFL PL, accessed at https://iatefl.org.pl/whoiswho/ on 25 January 2023.

Quirk, Randolph & Jan Rusiecki (1982). Grammatical data by elicitation. In J. A. Anderson (ed.) Language Form and Linguistic Variation (pp. 379–394). John Benjamins Publishing.

Smólska, Janina & Jan Rusiecki (1977). English Every Day. Wydawnictwo: Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne

Survey of English Usage, accessed at https://www.ucl.ac.uk/english-usage/about/quirk.htm on 25 January 2023.

Zybert, Jerzy (2015). In Memoriam [Jan Rusiecki]. Kwartalnik Neofilologiczny LXII, 4/2015.

Acknowledgements:

Based on an unpublished Autobiography by the late Professor Jan Rusiecki (many thanks to Mr Michał Rusiecki), Professor Jerzy Zybert’s “In Memoriam [Jan Rusiecki]” and my own search of the Internet sources. Sincere thanks to Professor Aniela Korzeniowska for corrections and Professor Agnieszka Szarkowska for proofreading and adding some finishing touches.

Short personal snippets on the late Professor Jan Rusiecki offered by his doctoral students:

During my studies, Jan was my applied linguistics professor and supervisor of my M.A. thesis. Then, when I started working at the English Department, he became my mentor, boss, and supervisor of my Ph.D. dissertation. I will never forget his visit to Lancaster, where I did my British M.A., and the lavish dinner that the legendary Professor Leech organized for the three of us and my Lancaster supervisor. Jan did his best to entertain the shy and introverted Professor Leech, all with his usual good manners and style. I remember how proud he was when I got my distinction at Lancaster. He was truly devoted and cared deeply about his younger colleagues’ academic development and career. Jan was also a good friend and we spent long hours talking not only shop. I liked visiting him in his apartment in Mokotów, where we had long discussions about the world, sometimes joined by his wife Hilda. He and I also published an EFL calendar together and had lots of fun working on it. This was a totally new and different collaboration, which we both enjoyed tremendously. I miss him.

Małgorzata P. Bonikowska, Ph.D.

***

Professor Jan Rusiecki: tons of patience, calm, and rationality. An expert at looking on the bright side, and a fan of the opportunities brought about by new technologies, at a time when I was still afraid of the Internet. I was a few decades his junior, with so very much less knowledge, yet he never did or said anything even close to making me feel the difference. This is what I will always remember him for: he not only treated his students as colleagues, but actually considered us such. I liked the tea he served when we’d meet at his place, and there are times I miss those meetings – I wanted to put and at the beginning of this sentence, but I know he wouldn’t like it.

Magda Kizeweter

***

The memories we have of Professor Jan Rusiecki can indeed be treasured for a multitude of reasons and through the help of a number of tokens. Here, I choose to signal just two meager objects: his armchair and a Braille display. When we, as his doctoral students, were invited to his apartment in Madalińskiego Street for consultations, we would be encouraged to take a seat in Professor’s huge armchair. He would then take a chair and sit next to us. This giving up of the honorary place in his study to us, his oftentimes novice (greenhorn) students/collaborates, was an incredibly moving experience. Now the latter. I remember during one seminar when Professor talked with great passion about a new Braille display, a computer hardware interface that would facilitate access to the computer for the visually impaired. And this was back in the late-1990s, when technological novelties were difficult to come by and when Professor was already in his 70s. I remember thinking to myself how I would wish to maintain such an openness to novelty and an unending curiosity of mind. Thank you, Professor.

Zbigniew P. Możejko, Warsaw

***

I will always remember Professor Rusiecki and his wife, Pani Hilda, as a beautiful, charming couple. I visited them in Warsaw, and also in their house in Krościenko, long after defending my PhD. Still, the first visits to Professor’s study and sitting in Professor’s armchair to discuss fragments of my dissertation were quite intimidating, especially when my text was not ideal.

Professor Rusiecki corrected our work in pencil. He never used a red pen, but put some pencil marks on the margins and wrote his corrections above our text in his even, sweeping handwriting. In my case, a lot of corrections concerned the use of articles. Once, I vented my frustration at my own inability to use articles properly. Professor looked at me in his playful manner and said: “Don’t worry. I wrote my post-doctoral dissertation (habilitacja) about article usage, but I still don’t know how to use them”. Pan Jan and Pani Hilda always tried to put the poor Ph.D. student at ease!

Agnieszka Otwinowska-Kasztelanic, Warsaw

***

There was a saying in Professor Rusiecki’s family to excuse his absence, “he must be in Łomża”. And indeed, from 1998 he was a very frequent visitor at our Teacher Training College, which he helped me organize virtually from scratch: library, exams, diploma projects. A few words, but the practitioners know what they entail. His enthusiasm was infectious and enabled us to survive. Our supervisor’s visits were unique. Both the staff and the students cherished them. We all looked forward to his lectures delivered in his beautiful English. The staff knew we could rely on his knowledge, experience and tact. We even enjoyed examining together. He treated us as his partners and would listen to our problems and suggestions, which differed so much from our previous secondary school experience. When Professor Rusiecki’s visits to Łomża ended in 2003, our contacts did not. As he supervised my Ph.D., I could enjoy our talks for four more years. The same friendly and reliable person of great heart and great mind.

Ewa Schramm, Łomża

***

I met Professor Rusiecki when he was already retired – the advantage being that he didn’t have to do much university admin (how I envy him now!) and he could fully enjoy being our Ph.D. supervisor. Like other doctoral candidates, I had to go through a trial period for a few months before he agreed to become my supervisor officially. I was happy to attend his doctoral seminar, get to know other colleagues and learn about what they were working on. Meeting biweekly for a Ph.D. seminar in the dilapidated building of the Institute of English Studies, located at that time in Nowy Świat 4, we enthusiastically shared our research ideas with other members of our little group. Excited to embark on our research journey, we didn’t mind wobbly chairs or cramped rooms. With time, I was also invited to his place, to sit in his famous armchair, drink tea, meet his lovely wife and discuss my Ph.D.

A well-spoken and respectful gentleman, Professor Rusiecki liked working with young people, giving them constructive feedback and guiding them through the intricacies of Ph.D. life. He could also bang his fist on the table, if necessary, which he actually did once when I was being particularly stubborn with an idea he didn’t agree with. I will always appreciate his guidance, integrity and inquisitive mind, which helped shape my research path.

Agnieszka Szarkowska, Warsaw

***

One of my long-lasting memories of Professor Rusiecki is that he always welcomed his Ph.D. students with a cheerful “Hey!” that had a characteristically warm falling intonation. He used it on the phone and when greeting his seminar attendees in person. It is hardly surprising that some of us have inherited it from him and have been applying it in everyday communication ever since. He always asked us to call in the evening and was really kind on the phone, giving us feedback on what we had written and what tasks we were to do for the next meeting.

We had our seminar meetings on Fridays at 10 am in a little room with a huge table on the 2nd floor of the Institute of English Studies at Nowy Świat 4 in Warsaw. Sitting in a cramped space, we delivered our presentations and discussed matters related to our Ph.D. projects. Immediately after the seminar, we would walk down the stairs to the little cafeteria in the basement where we would sit together by a table with a plastic cloth and eat our lunches. Professor would very often order tomato soup and chat with us as he ate slowly with a plastic spoon. Surrounded by half a dozen of his students, he gave us feedback on our writing and encouraged us to listen to how he commented on our corrections and produce a response when prompted. Everyone was welcome to share their comments and get involved in the process. And we always looked forward to these post-seminar meetings.

Beata Walesiak, Warsaw

***

When I think of Professor Rusiecki, I often see him in the Warsaw Institute of English Studies back in the 1970s. I remember him standing in the lecture hall, wearing his smart pinstripe suit and explaining some intricacies of foreign language teaching methodology to my fellow students. They were listening carefully and looking at him with admiration. With his perfect English and flawless manners, he seemed to be an English gentleman somehow transferred to the grey Polish reality of the late seventies.

Another memory takes me to a PhD seminar many years later. I can hear Professor Rusiecki discussing some features of loanwords. I was a little anxious thinking about all the questions I was going to ask. The professor was speaking slowly and carefully, clearly explaining the difficult issues and clarifying all the points. His calm voice was reassuring, and the stress I had felt soon disappeared. It seemed that the busy world had slowed down a little.

Hanna Wiśniewska-Białas

3.20. Michał Rozbicki (1946–2019)

Professor Michał Rozbicki was born in 1946. In 1975, he received his doctoral degree from the Maria Skłodowska-Curie University in Lublin. His thesis on the social ideas of Samuel Hartlib was supervised by Professor Henryk Zins. In 1985, he obtained his post-doctoral degree at the University of Warsaw, based on his book about the history of Colonial Maryland. He also studied at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He was one of the original members of the Department of Cultures of the English-Language Countries (Zakład Kultury Krajów Anglosaskich) established in 1975 by Professor Stanisława Kumor.

In 1987, Professor Rozbicki became Head of the American Studies Center at the University of Warsaw, a position he held until 1990. He was also the founder and first President of the Polish Association for American Studies. Not content with his role of academic historian, he played a role in history itself, “following the fall of the Berlin Wall, he wrote speeches for ‘Solidarity’ leader Lech Wałęsa” (Grider) and actively promoted Polish-American cultural co-operation.

In 1992, Professor Rozbicki joined the Department of History at Saint Louis University, Missouri, beginning, in effect, a second influential and prolific career in a new country. He served as Department Chair from 2007 to 2010 and in 2011 his efforts were paramount in creating Saint Louis University’s Center for Intercultural Studies where he was director until 2018 (Grider). He died suddenly on 31 July 2019 and was buried in Nebraska (USA).

3.21. Maria Łyżwińska (née Bachman) (1942–2021)

Doctor Maria Łyżwińska was born in 1942. During her studies at the University of Warsaw, she became interested in the 19th-century English novel, especially the works of Charles Dickens, from the perspective of comparative literature. This resulted in the completion of her master’s thesis in which she looked at the unexpected similarities between the writings of Dickens and Dostoyevsky in reference to the concept of “la condition humaine.” While working on her doctorate with her supervisor, Professor Irena Dobrzycka, Maria Bachman researched how Dickens’s literary output functioned on the Polish cultural scene, inspiring not only translations and analyses, but also plagiarisms. In 1976, she received her PhD for a dissertation entitled The Reception of Charles Dickens’s Prose in Poland, 1839–1887. Her work was part of a larger project of comparative studies of the Polish and English novel of the 19th century. Doctor Bachman, known in the later years by her married name, Dr. Maria Łyżwińska, had a long career at the Institute of English Studies, teaching specialist courses on the Victorian and Gothic novel to a few generations of students. She left the Institute in the early years of the 21st century. Doctor Łyżwińska died on 16 April 2021.

3.22. Maria Birkenmajer (1942–2021) by Klaudyna Michałowicz and Dorota Babilas

Maria Anna Birkenmajer, always known as Marysia, was born in Kraków on 24 September 1942 as the third daughter of the eminent historian and bibliologist Professor Aleksander Birkenmajer and his wife Antonina. In 1951 the family moved to Warsaw where Marysia completed her schooling at the General Lycée No. 18 (the renowned “Zamoyski”). She went on to study at the Institute of English Studies, University of Warsaw, then located on the main campus, and was employed there after her graduation.

Initially, she was a member of the Institute’s Department of English and American Literature, where she was planning a doctoral dissertation on the reception of English literature in Poland between 1918 and 1932 (Dziedzic, 64–65). Her research field was the Polish reception of James Joyce. The thesis was to be part of a broader Reception Studies project comparing the dominant tendencies in British and American literature with their Polish counterparts of the respective period. Regrettably, despite having collected the data about some 600 English books translated and edited in interwar Poland, the project never came to fruition.

Having moved to the Institute’s Department of Applied Linguistics, Maria Birkenmajer accompanied Professor Jan Rusiecki in the founding of IATEFL Poland (Stowarzyszenie Nauczycieli Języka Angielskiego w Polsce), established in 1992. She was its second President and board member. After her retirement from the Institute, she taught Academic Writing at the Warsaw branch of the Łódź University of Social Sciences (SAN) until January 2017.

Her first husband was Stanisław Michałowicz, with whom she had a daughter Klaudyna, also a graduate of our Institute; her second marriage was to Robert Lindsay Hodgart, since December 1991 using the surname Birkenmajer-Hodgart. She died on 7 July 2021 in Warsaw and was buried in the family grave in Kraków.

She was an outstanding teacher of English as a foreign language, pioneering the study of Business English at the Institute of English Studies immediately following the democratic changes occasioned by the fall of communism in Poland. Her Academic Writing courses equipped a few generations of future scholars with vital skills. She wrote several TEFL textbooks, which ran into many editions.

She will always be remembered as a person of great personal culture and integrity; a true lady.

A former student, Monika Śmiałkowska (Ph.D., Assistant Professor at Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne) remembers: “As an undergraduate, I had the great privilege of being taught Academic Writing by Maria Birkenmajer. It is not an exaggeration to say that this experience laid the foundations for my subsequent academic career. Ms Birkenmajer’s underlying rule was to write clearly and logically. I will never forget when she told us to do that, and one creatively-minded student said plaintively: ‘But we want to surprise you!’ Ms Birkenmajer’s response was: ‘Yes, but surprise me clearly and logically.’ I wish that my students had somebody like her to teach them what sounds so simple but is so difficult to achieve in practice”.

3.23. Maria Dakowska (1950–2022) by Katarzyna Hryniuk

Professor Maria Dakowska was a distinguished scholar employed in the Institute of English Studies at the University of Warsaw in the years 2002–2021. Throughout this time she was affiliated with the Department of Applied Linguistics and Translation Studies. Before this period, she had worked in the Institute of Applied Linguistics at the same university for 20 years. She was a world-renowned author of many books and other publications in the area of psycholinguistics and foreign language didactics, a winner of various awards for academic achievements, and a supervisor of numerous theses and dissertations. In the years 2015–2020, she was also the Dean of the Faculty of Modern Languages at the University of Warsaw.

She gained her master’s degree in 1972 at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin and in 1982 received her doctoral degree from the same university on the basis of a dissertation Funkcje lingwistyki w modelach i procesach glottodydaktycznych (Functions of Linguistics in Glottodidactic Models and Processes). The supervisor of her Ph.D. work was famous linguist Professor Franciszek Grucza. The study was published in 1987 by the PWN publishing house. In 1996, she received her postdoctoral degree (habilitacja) on the basis of her monograph Models of Language Learning and Language Use in the Theory of Language Didactics, published by Peter Lang, for which she won an individual award of the Minister of National Education. Before gaining the title of full professor in 2009, she wrote three more books: in 2001 Psycholingwistyczne podstawy dydaktyki języków obcych (Psycholinguistic Foundations of Foreign Language Didactics), published by the PWN publishing house; in 2003 Current Controversies in Foreign Language Didactics, published by Warsaw University Press; and in 2005 Teaching English as a Foreign Language. A Guide for Professionals, published by PWN. After receiving her professorship, she wrote two more monographs: in 2014 O rozwoju dydaktyki języków obcych jako dyscypliny naukowej (On the Development of Foreign Language Didactics as an Academic Discipline), published by Warsaw University Press, and in 2015 In Search of Processes of Language Use in Foreign Language Didactics, published by Peter Lang. Apart from the seven books, she published around fifty articles, book chapters, and other works. She was also a co-editor of five books in the field.

Her works focus on three main themes: (1) the question of the status of foreign language didactics as an independent academic discipline and its relation to other disciplines, (2) language acquisition models and the psycholinguistic basis of foreign language didactics, and (3) foreign language teaching methods. All her publications, the books in particular, have become must-read classics for linguists, specialists in English studies, and language teachers. They are on the bookshelves of all Polish research libraries. Based on her works, other Polish professors, experts in the field, have expressed the view that Professor Dakowska was the foremost theoretician of her generation. Her books from 2001 and 2003 were especially highly evaluated. The conclusions drawn from the theoretical analyses conducted by Professor Dakowska in these books were considered comparable to those formulated by famous linguists, such as Michael Long, Henry Widdowson, or Rod Ellis. The book first published in 2005, Teaching English as a Foreign Language. A Guide for Professionals, is a handbook often used by educators during teacher training courses. It is based on the latest developments in linguistics, cognitive psychology, didactics, and the theory of communication. It gives students an opportunity to develop their professional expertise.

Professor Dakowska’s large contribution to the field of applied linguistics is well known not only in the Polish academic community, but also abroad, as she was the recipient of many scholarships and in this way gained a great deal of international experience. She visited various universities for research and teaching purposes, for example Kent State University, the University of Hawaii, and Michigan State University in the USA; the University of Edinburgh in the UK, and Saarland University in Germany a few times. During her stays abroad, she worked with many renowned scholars employed in the host institutions, for example with Professors Susan Gass, Graham Crookes, or Gabriele Kasper. She also cooperated with many other German universities, for example in Heidelberg, Wuppertal, Berlin, and Bonn, and she organised international student exchanges.

Professor Dakowska’s expertise in the field, as well as organisational and leadership skills would lead to her being appointed to various administrative, honorific, and other positions. For example, she was the Chairwoman of the Institute’s Academic Council and of many committees at the Faculty of Modern Languages. She also worked as an expert of the Ministry of National Education giving opinions and approvals on the use of textbooks for learning English at all stages of education. She served on the editorial boards of many international academic journals, and was frequently a reviewer for Ph.D.s, post-doctoral degrees, as well as for professorial advancements. However, the most prominent and demanding position that Professor Dakowska held was that of the Dean of the Faculty of Modern Languages. Her most important goals, which she had set before becoming the Dean, was to serve and support the academic community, to ensure the highest possible results of the evaluation process which was approaching, to maintain the financial status of the Faculty, and to reactivate efforts to complete the construction of the new building at Dobra 55, where now the entire Faculty is located. Her time as Dean was particularly difficult due to the fact that from 2018, revolutionary higher education reforms started to be introduced, and two years later the coronavirus pandemic made its terrible impact. Both of these situations required a huge amount of organisational work. However, Professor Dakowska continued to strive towards the achievement of her goals with remarkable success, devoting her free time to work, which she prioritised over private matters, even during weekends and holidays. Most importantly, she never ascribed the success to her own efforts alone, but always emphasised that it was the result of team work. She was very appreciative of everyone’s contribution and always looked to harness this team spirit.

For all her hard work, Professor Dakowska received the Rector’s Individual Award five times during her career, the Medal of the National Education Commission in 2012, and the Gold Medal for Long Service in academia in 2017.

Finally, Professor Dakowska’s work with students needs to be outlined. Being a prolific writer, an authority in the field of psycholinguistics and foreign language didactics, recognised in Poland and abroad, and a charismatic speaker, Professor Dakowska successfully shared her knowledge and inspired students to extend theirs. In the Institute of English Studies, she gave lectures and taught courses addressed to prospective teachers of English as a foreign language. She also conducted M.A. and Ph.D. seminars. Seven students defended their Ph.D. dissertations written under her supervision. In the Institute of English Studies she also supervised over 100 M.A. and 30 B.A. theses. During her lectures on psycholinguistic foundations of foreign language didactics, she presented topics in first language acquisition, bilingualism, second language acquisition research, and developing the four language skills in English. She familiarised students with key issues in language learning and teaching in order to make them understand the real cognitive processes of classroom language learning. During the courses, she concentrated on problems connected with the psychology of communication, its structure and nature. The courses covered numerous topics, such as learner autonomy, motivational strategies, strategies of language learning and teaching, authentic materials, content-based language teaching, vocabulary in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language), and form-focused instruction, to name just a few. As she often emphasised, her guiding principle was to seek justification for teaching choices, and to deal with teaching strategies rationally rather than intuitively.

Students perceived her as a very knowledgeable and experienced scholar, and a cheerful person. What they liked in particular was that even when discussing complex phenomena and theories, Professor Dakowska used to digress by telling anecdotes from everyday life and stories about her beloved granddaughter. She illustrated explanations with many examples, presenting issues in a broader context. At the same time, she taught students critical thinking, emphasising that a language teacher’s work has to be flexible as in reality it can divert from what is shown in research, that each situation requires individual evaluation and adjusting of teacher activities to the context.

Professor Maria Dakowska was bid farewell by her family, the University of Warsaw authorities, and other representatives of the academic community who attended in large numbers the academic Church of St. Ann in Krakowskie Przedmieście Street on 22 February, 2022. During the ceremony, the funeral oration was delivered by the Rector of the University of Warsaw, Professor Alojzy Nowak, the Dean of the Faculty of Applied Linguistics, Professor Magdalena Olpińska-Szkiełko, and Professor Dakowska’s two sons: Tomasz and Marek.

Some recollections of Professor Maria Dakowska: first from her colleagues, then people who defended their doctorates written under her supervision, from other Ph.D. students who attended her seminars, and finally from myself:

Professor Maria Dakowska was an outstanding scientist; a co-founder, together with Professor Franciszek Grucza, of the Polish school of glottodidactics. Thanks to her iron research discipline and rigor of scientific thinking, features that characterized her research work and all her publications, her works raised glottodidactics to the rank of an independent academic discipline. She also required this iron research discipline and rigor from her students, doctoral students and associates. For them, for me personally, she was a great authority and a role model. It was a great honor to learn from and with her, take advantage of her knowledge, great competence, support, and comments (often critical, but how fair). It was also a great honor to cooperate with her and share reflections, not only on academic, but also human, life matters.

dr hab. Magdalena Olpińska, prof. UW (the Dean of the Faculty of Applied Linguistics)

***

I greatly appreciated Malina as a scholar and a colleague. I liked her very much and I know she liked me. We admired each other’s work, even though we worked in very different fields of linguistics. She was a warm and good-hearted person. I remember when I was very sick in hospital, Malina came to see me. She was the Dean at that time, so she was extremely busy. Yet, she found the time. That’s how Malina was.

Jurek (prof. dr hab. Jerzy Rubach)

***

From when Professor Dakowska was employed at the Institute of English Studies she was perceived as a hard-working scholar and friendly fellow. We shared a room at the Institute (Nowy Świat) and she displayed significant care about all the details (curtains, flowers, order, etc.). Her attitude to her students was that of a demanding tutor but always gracious. However, it was her devotion to academic work that was highly visible and so impressive.

prof. dr hab. Jerzy Zybert

***

She was able to appreciate the work of the administrative staff.

mgr Lidia Matuszewska (Student Affairs Head Office)

***

Professor Maria Dakowska mysteriously combined great academic ambition with a humorous distance to herself as a scholar. She jokingly claimed that she preferred the pleasure of doing research to all the other pleasures of life available to her. At her doctoral seminar, contact with her may have remained quite formal, but it had an underlying side to it: a self-deprecating distance and a sense of humor, far from official at all. In this way, she created a space for conversation, which, although always based on a specific topic, was at the same time a completely open discussion. As she worked with her doctoral students, she left them a large margin of freedom: she did not interfere too much with the content of their dissertations – that is, unless she found something particularly nonsensical in them. Nor did she impose concepts to which she herself was attached. Her solidly-built figure and kind, blue gaze from behind her glasses engendered trust and a sense of security. We all had the impression that she loved her work and liked the people she encountered there, that she deeply loved her family (ah, those stories about a young family cat that was constantly causing trouble and whose misdemeanors the family members would try to hide from one another) and that – simply – she loved life.

Dr. Agnieszka Kulczyńska (Institute of Applied Linguistics)

***

My memories of Professor Maria Dakowska as my Ph.D. thesis supervisor, a knowledgeable scholar, a modest person and a heart-to-heart friend are so rich, vivid, and enduring that they will be part of my everyday life forever. Her supervision of my Ph.D. thesis was most instructive, inspiring, helpful, productive, and caring. (…) Her knowledge of English teaching and of other areas of linguistics was boundless and inspiring. She was truly my linguistics heroine whose voice will be missed in many linguistic disciplines. She changed the way I think and played a major role in shaping the way I work as an academic and a researcher. (…) She is gone but her legacy remains.

Dr. Saad A-Shallah (Ph.D., University of Warsaw, Poland)

Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics, Thamar University, Yemen

***

As my mentor and Ph.D. supervisor, Professor Dakowska has left a permanent imprint on my mind. Always demonstrating as well as demanding intellectual dexterity, expert knowledge, and scholarly curiosity, she was not easy to please, but today I cannot think of a better way to unlock one’s potential rather than by continuous cognitive and emotional challenge. Her authority was unquestioned and her personality magnetically powerful. I felt genuinely cared for, especially when reality interfered with my academic ambitions. It was Professor Dakowska who would give me a comforting hug and emphasized how family and health should never be jeopardized. Indeed, Professor Dakowska will be remembered as an exceptional educator, who has become an integral and precious part of my adult life. I feel privileged to have known her.

Dr. Ewa Tołoczko

***

To say that Professor Dakowska was an exceptional person is an understatement. She was not only an academic teacher but first and foremost a scholar whose contribution to glottodidactics was really immense. (…) I first met Professor in the early 1980s while in the Postgraduate Program in English Language Teaching Methodology. (…) Professor Dakowska had a remarkable gift of guiding students through the meanders of glottodidactics with her inspirational and thought-provoking teaching style. I also had the privilege of being her Ph.D. student and then working for a number of years with her. Academically, all these years meant exciting discussions that constituted a rare intellectual pleasure. On a personal note, Professor Dakowska was a warm and caring person. We shared a common passion for animals. She never missed an opportunity to ask about the well-being of my dogs and always entertained me with wonderful stories about her cats.

Dr. Magdalena Lipińska-Derlikowska

***

Professor Maria Dakowska was more than my teacher and Ph.D. supervisor. Apart from being an extraordinary mentor who inspired me to pursue my passion for linguistics, she was my only family and guiding light in a new country. She will stay in my heart as a warm and encouraging person, a true genius and a deep thinker with unparalleled expertise in the field. With admiration and gratitude,

Viktoria Verde, Ph.D. student

***

Maria Dakowska, our beloved professor, has passed away, but she will remain in our thoughts and hearts for as long as we are on this earth. We won’t forget her, and her efforts, kindness, and academic career will serve as a beacon and an example for us. She was a wonderful teacher who inspired a lot of us, and being one of her Ph.D. students will be a feather in my cap forever and a day. May her soul rest in peace.

Issa Al-Qaderi, Ph.D. student

***

I had the honor of being a student of Professor Dakowska during my M.A. and Ph.D. studies. With her guidance, I have learnt not only to question existing phenomena, but also the science itself. She was always supportive, inspiring, and willing to guide my scientific quest in the proper direction. I will carry her memory and continue to draw inspiration from her throughout my life-learning journey and during my professional teaching.

Ammar Al-Khawlani, Ph.D. student

***

She was not only a great scholar and teacher, but also a truly modest and friendly person. She always guided and supported me when I was lost or simply just when I felt I wanted to talk to someone, she was always there.

Negin Neshat, Ph.D. student

***

I knew Professor Maria Dakowska from the time when she was a lecturer during my M.A. studies, then the supervisor of my M.A. and Ph.D. theses, and later a colleague and a superior. Therefore, I cannot agree more with what is expressed in the quotations above. What I can add is that she was my most motivating mentor in every sense of the word. Her enthusiasm was contagious, and her tenacity was admirable. At the same time, even though I always addressed her formally “Pani Profesor” I felt she was my kindred spirit. Prof. Dakowska was a very cordial and kindhearted person. Even in the busiest times, she willingly shared her experience and wisdom. I am very fortunate to have known her. She is missed by me and many others.

dr hab. Katarzyna Hryniuk

PART 4.

Remembering the Past Reminiscences of the Professors of the Institute of English Studies

ANDRZEJ KAZNOWSKI

4.1. “We shall overcome” or a struggle for academic autonomy; First “Solidarity” movement – memories of the time

The time immediately preceding the years 1980–1981 was full of general unrest in Poland, caused by the political and economic oppression of the ruling communist clan, which dominated practically all of the domains of social life. The unrest also affected all the main universities, including the University of Warsaw on all levels of its activity. In the background we frequently heard of numerous workers’ and students’ strikes, and following suit we had our own students in the Institute of English Studies going on strike now and again. Our staff in the main had very well remembered those gloomy events of 1968, which resulted in various repressions of students and scholars, often leading up to their expulsions from the University, notably those of Jewish origin. We did not want that history to come back again.

Fortunately, in September 1981 the communist rulers, under pressure of general strikes, condescended to sign an agreement with Lech Wałęsa, then leader of the “Solidarity” Movement, thus giving a legal frame for independent labour unions in Poland. This, in turn, gave rise to spontaneous social organising and stimulated on our ground the emergence of student unions. At that time, I had been working in the Institute for 14 years. Inspired by the new situation, I realised that the Institute should not miss its chance of rising to academic freedom and thus initiated a campaign with a view to establish a Solidarity Committee together with a few colleagues, notably with professors B. Bałutowa, J. Wiśniewski, A. Weseliński, and B. Dancygier. In a short time, more and more of our friends became members of the union, so within a month or two we reached the level of 90% of the staff. Prof. J. Rusiecki, then Director of the Institute, though standing a bit apart for the sake of providing general security, was definitely in favour of our activities supporting us on all occasions.

The activity of the University Solidarity Labour Union spread in all its faculties and in all academic directions, and our Institute union branch was part of that. We met frequently to discuss what was on the agenda of the week, plans for the future, and possible reactions to all kinds of problems which the political rulers did not spare to pile on our way. The main issues of debates included: attempts to modify the teaching programmes, e.g. a project proposed by B. Dancygier, Z. Lewicki, A. Kaznowski, another project for institutionalisation of self-government, a project for free elections of members of university governing bodies and their terms of office. The overall scheme was presented to all Institute members as a statute to be accepted. This done, our Solidarity Committee turned to union problems such as the distribution of all-Poland and local press, collecting money to support workers arrested or fined for political activity. The Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, which our Institute was part of, took care of the workers at Ursus, a tractor factory in Warsaw. Naturally, we realised that kind of union activity was not academic business, and consumed a lot of time, but we also knew that our academic autonomy we fought for was connected with general freedom in the country, as, in fact, it was not the students or scholars but the workers who gave us the chance to regain autonomy and, therefore, we had our debt to pay up.

Similar work was done in all the institutes, but the most significant enterprise was undertaken on the topmost level – one aiming at a comprehensive restructuring of the University as a whole in the spirit of rationalism and efficiency. A special Union Committee, with Professors Mantel-Niećko chairing, M. Byrski, H. Gronkiewicz-Waltz, M. Holzer, A. Łagodziński, and several other participants, including two representatives of our Institute – M. Łyżwińska and the present writer, met frequently for about two months, finally preparing a document which was modelled after standard concepts of renowned universities of the West. The project seemed to us as good enough to be implemented, though perhaps a bit revolutionary. The obvious intention was to present it to the newly elected Rector of the University – Prof. H. Samsonowicz. Prof. M. Byrski and I went hopefully to get acceptance, knowing that the Rector always stood wholeheartedly for new, reasonable ideas. Having screened the document, the Rector said he approved the content but refused to submit it for a general debate for fear of being called a revisionist by the political rulers. This term itself was considered almost an epithet, political or even anti-Polish. Such was the end of the project, still we believed its main ideas would survive for future reference. And, in fact, some of us have lived to see a few of those to have appeared for good in university institutional practice, such as free elections on all levels of administration with fixed terms of office. To give a personal example, I must add with all modesty that at that time I had the honour to have been elected by my colleagues Head of the English Language Division.

Unfortunately, in December 1981 the communist rulers broke the earlier agreement, and there came a national disaster of imposed martial law in the country, bringing all kinds of suffering to people, including death, imprisonment, internment, fines, searches, loss of jobs, and general disenchantment. The University Solidarity Committee, like many other groups, had to go underground, and all its activities had to become secret for fear of denunciation by secret agents of Security Service. However, keeping the right proportions, one must admit that those persecutions were less severe for university people than they were for the working class. The former and the latter continued protesting against the latest ‘wartime’ decisions demolishing the previous “status quo” of the country. In the case of the University, besides internment, there were imposed explicit or inexplicit sanctions, such as negative answers to requests to organise a conference or to accept a scholarship, in addition to regular, repressive censorship.

An example of the last case was a threat not to publish our textbook of English generative syntax (prepared in cooperation with Prof. E. Mioduszewska) just going to press because of two sentences containing two “illicit” words, one of which was ‘Solidarity’. How meticulous and hard-working must have been the censor of a renowned publisher to have detected such two words in a book of 500 pages! Naturally, we could not have wasted the product of a year-long work and we yielded to the demand to remove both.

After one year and a half, the state repressions were more and more on the wane. In 1983, the martial law was lifted. We believed that the process of social control fell into a decline and that it was partly due to our and the peoples’ general resistance. In 1989, another agreement was drawn as a result of the Round Table meeting, and shortly afterwards the people took part in the first semi-free national election that gave the country a new government. The University regained full autonomy. In the difficult years of 2005–2007, when other rulers came to power, they tried again to exert firm pressure on the University faculty to sign a declaration of non-communist affinity in the past, which was, in fact, a camouflage of loyalty to the new rulers. The pressure mildly suggested a possible loss of employment to all who might show resistance. The faculty did not seem, in majority, to take the firm suggestion into consideration, and the community, as a whole, went successfully through that trial of strength. However, some of us may still live under a vague impression that the English union slogan “We shall overcome one day” may be brought back to life.

JERZY WEŁNA

4.2. Reminiscences

Without doubt, the most memorable events connected with my stay at the University of Warsaw are the frequent changes of the Institute locations. Such transfers from one place to another were reflected in the changing names of “anglistyka” in Warsaw from Seminarium Anglistyczne (English Seminar) and Katedra Anglistyki (Chair of English Studies; Krakowskie Przedmieście 3, in the building of the Faculty of Philosophy) to the campus location at Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28 in 1967. A year later, anglistyka received a new name, Instytut Filologii Angielskiej (Institute of English Philology). The current name, Instytut Anglistyki (Institute of English Studies), belongs more or less to the period of our transfer in 1992 from Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28 to Nowy Świat 4, where we spent 22 years. In spite of the subsequent transfer to Hoża 69 in 2014, for the majority of our contemporary staff and a large number of former students the Institute is associated with the Nowy Świat location. The year 2022 witnessed the last, and hopefully final, transfer to Dobra 55 (Powiśle), the first in which I failed to participate, as it took place four years after my retirement. For personal reasons, the most fruitful proved to be my stay in the University main campus location (1967–1992), during which I obtained a Ph.D. degree (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań) and a post-doctoral degree (University of Warsaw).

As one of the questions asked by the editors of the present volume concerned differences between students of yore (i.e. years 1960s through, let us say, 1990s), my answer would be that those students were always of the same age (more or less from 18/19 to 23/25, which cannot be said about my age, which was 24 when I started to teach but now it is 80, while most students still continue being 19–25 years old. Treating the question more seriously, I would say that those in the earlier periods of my life could not dream about computers, data bases, foreign language scholarly handbooks and dictionaries, which were practically absent in the Polish bookstores or, if they were available, their cost amounted to a few months’ salary each. Nevertheless’ that generation of students (M.A. and doctoral) showed much invention to overcome such problems, which is proved by a high number of completed Ph.D. and M.A. dissertations before 1990. The situation was gradually improving following the 1990s, when Poland started being “computerised” on a large scale.

As English studies attracted many talented students, some of them pursued careers in the cultural life of our country. As regards the post-1973 period, we need to mention here names of journalists connected with the Polish Radio and Television, like Wojciech Mann, Korneliusz Pacuda, writers, translators, etc., such as Piotr Sommer, Andrzej Sosnowski, Bogdan (Bogusław) Olewicz, or translators like Tomasz Beksiński, Tomasz Mirkowicz, and a number of politicians, whose names I prefer to keep secret.

The scholar in the Institute who exerted strongest influence on my linguistic career was, without doubt, Professor Alfred Reszkiewicz, whose photographs can be found in the commemorative Volume of the Institute of English Philology published in 1975, but referring to the ceremony of the 50th anniversary of English Studies in Warsaw in 1973. Unfortunately, Professor could not see the volume, as he died in August 1973.

In my student days I attended Professor Reszkiewicz’s lectures on English grammar and Old English (classes on Old English were taught by Zofia Dziedzic, M.A., while those on Middle English, by Professor Margaret Schlauch). Reszkiewicz was a widely known authority in the area of English and historical linguistics who, in the early and late 1960s, toured the United States, lecturing at different American universities. He had offers of full-time positions in some of them (e.g. UCLA), but refused to accept them because of his poor state of health (As later events showed, he was right!).

Alfred Reszkiewicz organised the first Ph.D. seminar in the Institute which was attended by future full professors: Jerzy Rubach, Piotr Ruszkiewicz, Jerzy Wełna. During the seminar, doctoral students were expected to read papers, especially devoted to new trends in linguistics. Although Professor was an ardent structuralist in the American style, he was open to the new ideas, especially towards the then quickly developing generative grammar. Quite unexpectedly for us, in 1969 Reszkiewicz, for reasons of deteriorating health, refused to become a supervisor of our Ph.D. dissertations, and continued to work with only three of us (Stefan Konderski, Jerzy Rubach, Piotr Ruszkiewicz), but he failed to live to see the completion of the theses of our three colleagues because of his unexpected death in August 1973. In agreement with his suggestions the remaining group of doctoral students (5) were accepted by Adam Mickiewicz University (UAM) in Poznań, where, under the supervision of Doc. Dr hab. Jacek Fisiak, each month they participated in his Ph.D. seminars, in the company of more than 20 people from practically all Polish universities. This “Poznań group” included Andrzej Kaznowski, Anna Kaznowska (now Murkowska), Maria Sułowska, Jerzy Wełna, Jerzy Zybert. All of them, except Sułowska, who emigrated to Canada in the early 1970s, obtained their Ph.D. degrees from the UAM in 1974 and shortly after that year.

Although the period of working as a member of our linguistic department run by Reszkiewicz was pretty short (about six years), it was very fruitful, as Professor was a very demanding person who required from us reading a lot of linguistic literature, presenting carefully prepared seminar lectures, and submitting publications for professional journals. He himself published books and articles on English phonetics and phonology, grammar, syntax, and language history. The most prolific year in his career was 1973, when he obtained the title of professor and published his three new books. Unfortunately, in the same year he died at the age of 53. In this way the Department of the English Language suffered a serious loss and had to wait until 1981 for his successor with the status of Associate Professor (Jerzy Rubach).

Finally, let me remind that research in historical English in our Institute, initiated by Professors Margaret Schlauch and Alfred Reszkiewicz, and later by the author of the present statement, is currently continued by my younger colleagues, Monika Opalińska and Anna Wojtyś (both Associate Professors).

ZBIGNIEW LEWICKI

4.3. Those were the days

Memory has a way of being kind, and anniversaries celebrate the past. In that spirit, my fondest memories are of the 1970s. There were not too many of us then, students or faculty, but we had great time. Crazy parties, too much booze, instructors falling down the narrow staircase in the old building… But books were written, articles published, degrees obtained, serious debates conducted. A healthy mixture indeed.

Yes, there were not many students then as gaining admission to the English Institute was a triumph in itself. Out of perhaps ten applicants only the best, or the luckiest, found their names on July admission rosters. Nowadays, the best are still admitted, of course – along with the remaining nine. Nobody’s fault, really, but something had to give on the way.

As scholars we could pursue whatever idea caught our fancy, with imagination and availability of texts as the only limitations. Well, almost, because in the years before easy access to photocopiers, not to mention the Ctrl+C combination, one’s scholarly potential was measured by stamina required to survive hours on hard library chairs so as to take notes of whatever we needed. And we did not dare to follow the example of one very famous professor known for his penchant of taking scissors to books.

Or is it that memory has a way of being kind?

EMMA HARRIS

4.4. Recollections: the Institute of English Studies, 1974–2023

Looking back in this way, it is tempting to foreground quaintly anecdotal thrills and eccentricities, but I will try to focus on the everyday experience of an institution that was central to my life from the 1970s through to the second decade of the 21st century.

I first began to teach in the Institute in 1974, recruited by the elegant and sophisticated Docent Bronisława Bałutowa. Chain smoking through a long, amber cigarette-holder, Bronka (as I was later invited to call her) was a literary scholar interested in the novels of Ivy Compton-Burnett, and had found me teaching evening classes in English for Spółdzielnia Lingwista at a school in ul. Smolna. I was a young Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh and had known no other system of higher education than that of Britain. Bronka arranged for me to be interviewed by the Institute’s benign and self-effacing head of department, Professor Irena Dobrzycka, and I arrived punctually at the first-floor office in the building in Krakowskie Przedmieście to keep my appointment. I was immediately thrown out into the corridor by the formidable Pani Zosia [Zofia Filipowicz], a super-efficient secretary, who presided over strictly-enforced ‘godziny przyjęć’, while queues of trembling students waited outside her door. She had obviously classed me among the student hordes that she was dedicated to keeping in their place.

This was my introduction to an important facet of student life in the Institute of English Studies at the University of Warsaw in the 1970s: the impact of bureaucracy, and the power that it conferred on administrators. At a British university at that time, students did not need to visit departmental offices with any frequency, if at all, and I do not remember having anything to do with secretaries during my undergraduate years. At British universities there was then no ‘continual assessment’, essays were simply marked in order to give students clues about their progress, and there were no exams until finals. I was therefore truly astonished by the level of paperwork needed to navigate a student towards graduation in Warsaw. This included the student record book, or indeks, as foreign to me then as it would be to today’s Warsaw students, although I soon began to see its advantages from the viewpoint of both students and staff. Continual assessment however made for a different relationship between students and faculty from that obtaining in Britain: there was not a great deal of easy and open discussion in Warsaw classes, partly because students believed that they were potentially being assessed for every reply that they gave to a question. In Britain, a student could argue the toss about anything, knowing that the discussion was (at least theoretically) unrelated to the marks given in final exams. By 2023, there has been a great rapprochement between the two systems, and while bureaucracy has not decreased in Warsaw, even if it has become electronically impersonal, it has increased spectacularly in Britain, particularly after the Bologna Declaration.

Another astounding feature of the Warsaw student experience was the length of time that was spent in the classroom. Warsaw students in the 1970s and 1980s spent a full working week of c. 36 hours attending classes in the Institute, compared with a contemporary British norm of c. 10 hours. When did they do their reading? One of our first considerations in the new programme of 1990 was to cut the number of hours and provide more time for individual study. In fact, of course, many students by the 1990s had to use that time for paid work in order to keep themselves at university. Yet again, forces have combined to bring the two systems closer together: in the new Warsaw programmes of the 21st century there has been a creeping inflation in compulsory student contact hours, while at British universities the average number of contact hours has also risen, at many institutions to 15–20.

The students themselves, the people for whose benefit the Institute exists, have in their approach to life and academic work in some ways changed least over the past half century. Perhaps they always regarded the staff and programmes of study with a degree of distance or even cynicism. On the other hand, there have been major changes in superficial patterns of behaviour. Smoking is a good example. The building in Krakowskie Przedmieście was filled with cigarette smoke. Some staff members smoked during classes until the 1980s, and presumably the students smoked as well. Smoking was in vogue well into the 1990s – and we might remember that when the new Warsaw University Library was opened in 1999, it had a planned smoking area with an automatically rising roof to extract the fumes. It was at about this time, in the late 1990s, that some Institute students began to complain about the smoke, and we banned the practice in corridors and classrooms, until finally the hardened smokers (of whom for a long time I was one) had to retreat to the narrow pavement in front of the building in Nowy Świat.

Warsaw students in the 1970s and 1980s, and indeed until the end of the 20th century, were largely culturally uniform. Among other things, they demonstrated what for me was an impressive familiarity with classical mythology, while on the other hand they knew nothing of commonplaces from the Bible, with which their British student contemporaries were still familiar. In appearance, many of the Institute’s students of the last decades of the 20th century were peacocks against the cramped and drab university backdrop. In Britain, students wore duffel coats and preferred the scruffy look associated there with intellectual pursuits and a radical political stance. Not so in Warsaw, where many of our students came from privileged social backgrounds and believed in making use of parental resources in the sphere of fashion. And while they might have been resistant to formal discussion, they were all keen to inveigle staff members into holding a class or two, particularly at the end of term, in cafés like that in the pre-renovation Hotel Bristol.

Student life could be vibrant even when the wider context seemed unbearably bleak. In the mid-1980s, we organised a Student Drama Festival, involving groups from all the major Polish universities, and this became for many years an annual event. I still count as one of the most memorable theatrical experiences of my life the performance in the Buffo theatre when Artur Zapałowski, who became a distinguished translator, rose, painted luminous green, from a centre-stage barrel, while romping in the background was an enigmatic chorus that included Adam Jasser, later – after a brief spell as an assistant lecturer in our Department of American Literature – head of Reuter’s in Eastern Europe and a minister in Donald Tusk’s last government.

Student generations come and go, while the academic staff hold the Institute together. Before 1990, communism on the outside was paralleled by a high degree of community spirit inside. Public doctoral exams of members of staff were attended by the whole faculty. Every academic success occasioned major community celebration. People threw parties for the whole Institute to celebrate doctorates, habilitacje or professorships, with several notable gatherings hosted, for example, by Jerzy Rubach. I remember in particular leaving the post-habilitacja party given by Zbigniew Lewicki at his flat in Bródno as part of a large gang of revellers that persuaded an ordinary service bus on its way back to the depot to take us round the city and drop us off at our various points of residence.

In the 1970s and 1980s the Institute was regularly joined by outsiders from Britain and the United States, who were attached for longer or shorter periods via the Fulbright Program or the British Council. Many of them made a major contribution to the life of the Institute, and some, like James Pankhurst, became almost legendary. Some surprising behaviours during these inter-cultural forays were in fact harbingers of things to come. For example, one 1980s British Council lecturer in Applied Linguistics, a firm feminist, wanted me to join her in a campaign for the elimination of the gendered forms that she had discovered existed in the Polish language, forty years before anyone had dreamed up the ‘byłom’ and ‘miałom’ of the 2020s. Then there was the American couple who in the mid-1970s sent their children round the classrooms on 30 October with the Halloween cry of ‘trick or treat’ – about which at that time (o tempora, o mores) neither I nor the students knew anything at all, leaving the tiny emissaries seriously disillusioned. In the 1990s the West stepped up its cultural diplomacy in the former Eastern bloc, and Poland became a fashionable destination for young Western scholars. Dominic Rainsford, now head of the English department in Aarhus University came via a Soros programme; Richard Ramsbotham, author of a recent biography of the poet Vernon Watkins arrived more informally; Paul Innes, now teaching in the Adult Education department at the University of Glasgow was a Literature lecturer funded by the British Council. The Institute was also visited by major academic and creative figures like Professor Richard Hoggart, or the novelists John le Carré and Martin Amis – names which still resonate and which carried great weight at the time.

Among the academic staff there were unsung heroes who made enormous contributions to the development of the Institute. I am thinking, for example of Barbara Szymańska, without whom the great undertaking of computerised registration of students for optional courses in the new programme of the 1990s would not have been possible. Basia voluntarily spent days and nights in the Institute with a specially-designed computer programme, worrying over and working out student requests for courses, in the days before USOS, and before we employed Tadeusz Szabelski to do the job. The new fee-paying programmes of studies of the 1990s would not have got off the ground without the dedication of Ludmiła Sobolew and Stefan Sikora, who shared an office in the building in ul. Nowy Świat.

Among the administrative staff, Pani Zosia could not be described as ‘unsung’, since despite her capacity for terror as Head Secretary, she was a social hub in the Institute, paired with the calmly helpful presence of Alicja Miłek, who provided continuity for half a century, and retired only in 2022. Then there were the porters. In the building in Krakowskie Przedmieście these were all women: the angular and perhaps disapproving Pani Lodzia, and later Pani Teresa, who in the 1980s occupied a large porters’ office beside the main entrance, with enough space for providing tea and sympathy to certain junior members of staff (a practice frowned on by the directors of the Institute) and for the sewing machine that she operated in her many leisurely moments, making dresses to my certain knowledge for at least one professor who is still teaching in the Institute. Later, in Nowy Świat, the Institute’s porters were men. While providing a touch of folklore, Pan Karol and Pan Jerzy felt greatly responsible for the functioning of the Institute. Pan Karol demonstrated this by reproving students for what he saw as disorderly behaviour, but the porters also rushed to assist in any practical emergency. This element of cement in the Institute’s existence faded in later years in ul. Hoża and has disappeared completely in the building in ul. Dobra.

The role of the Institute’s Library, and therefore librarians, has also changed out of all recognition over half a century. In the 1970s and 1980s, under Barbara Łapińska and Maria Blus (‘Muszka’), the library was a central institution and the librarians were of fundamental importance in the functioning of the Institute, as well as in what we might call its informal informational network. In the late 20th century, the Library was modernised under the direction of Jolanta Stępniak, introducing an electronic catalogue well ahead of the rest of the University. However, the importance of the Library declined along with the decline of the book, to the point where by 2022 there was little or no protest in the Institute when its Library ceased to exist and the books and librarians (greatly reduced in number) were transferred to work in a centralised faculty library.

The strength of existing community feeling could be seen in 1993 when the Institute moved to its new premises on the fourth floor of a building at ul. Nowy Świat 4 which had earlier housed the Academy of Social Sciences of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and had been transferred to the University after the fall of communism. At this stage, ensuring the comfort and welfare of the Institute was still a highly personal business. Pani Zosia and I filled our handbags with thousands of banknotes advanced to us by the Faculty Finance Office and went out to various new furniture warehouses in Mokotów to purchase desks and chairs (some of which survived until June 2022 and the move to ul. Dobra) and travelled back with them in ‘taksówki bagażowe’. All the Institute staff were involved in the process of allocating and furnishing rooms in Nowy Świat and deciding what we could best do with the building. Professor Jacek Wiśniewski, who enjoyed carpentry as a hobby, personally manufactured the wooden pigeonholes for staff correspondence which were used in the porters’ office. There was a distinct feeling that it was a common adventure, or a joint venture. What a contrast with the move to ul. Dobra in 2022.

Even in the cramped and restricted conditions of the building in Krakowskie Przedmieście, the Institute had been able to make a major impact on academic life and on Polish society at large. Applied Linguistics made a considerable early mark. In the 1970s and 1980s, ‘everyone’ in Poland had heard of Leszek Biedrzycki, Jan Rusiecki, and Leszek Szkutnik – the latter the most prolific and recognised of all Polish TEFL textbook authors, although he did not remain on the staff of the Institute. Jerzy Rubach became a power on the world stage of Phonology from the 1980s, and was feted in the world outside Poland.

But it was in the new premises in Nowy Świat in the 1990s that the Institute was really able to come into its own. In general, the University of Warsaw has moved full circle during the last half century from centralised decision-making back to centralised decision-making. I was lucky enough to live through the exciting period in the centre of this cycle, when the academic community took control of its own affairs after the first new law on higher education of 1990. It was in this period that the Institute underwent major expansion. Many people have criticised the mass opening of fee-paying courses by Polish universities in the 1990s, claiming that it led to falling standards. We however felt that it was the only way in which we could respond to rising student demand in the area of English Philology, and we took all possible measures to ensure the highest level of teaching. Entrance exams are always a lottery, and many of the students from the fee-paying programmes went on to achieve excellent academic results; at least two current members of staff in the Institute, now at professorial level, graduated from a fee-paying programme. It was thanks to the funds brought in by fee-paying courses that we were able to increase the number and range of specialists that we employed and therefore the extent of our research profile; we brought, for example, from Lublin to Warsaw Prof. Grażyna Bystydzieńska, a distinguished expert in 18th- and 19th-century English Literature, who was soon to become head of the Literature Department of the Institute and one of our most respected colleagues. We were able to start a doctoral programme that provided scholarships and thus formed the basis for the employment of many of today’s senior staff; we were able to modernise the Library and increase the employment of support staff.

The optimism of the 1990s has perhaps faded, but I am confident that the Institute will continue to meet the challenges of the 21st century in innovatory ways and provide an increasingly international student body with inspiring encounters. And in these recollections, it is time for me to relinquish my own lived experience and hand it over to be made ‘history’ by later generations.

JERZY RUBACH

4.5. Recollections

I graduated from this Institute with an M.A. in 1971 and got a job as a Junior Assistant in the same year, so I have been on the faculty of the Institute for 51 years, longer than anybody else in the past century.

My start in the Institute was not very good. When Prof. Irena Dobrzycka offered me a job, I said I would like time to think about the offer. As I later learned my answer caused outrage: working at the university was extremely prestigious at that time, so how did Rubach dare not to accept the job immediately and with undying gratitude? I genuinely was not sure whether I really wanted a university job. I loved teaching and was already able to indulge my passion thanks to two part-time teaching jobs, one at the Kopernik High School and the other at the Batory High School. My parents insisted that I accept the university job. We made a deal that I would continue to work as a teacher in the high schools but at the same time become a Junior Assistant at the University of Warsaw. The deal said that after three years, we would review the situation and I would give up on one of these jobs.

I discovered that I actually liked teaching at the University. It was not as fulfilling as teaching at a high school but sufficiently satisfying to make me happy. I also made the discovery that I like doing research. My career rolled on fast: at the age of 27, I completed my Ph.D. dissertation, at 33 I got my Habilitation degree, at 35 I was promoted to the position of Docent (Associate Professor II). At the age of 40, I was awarded the title of Professor by the President of Poland, at the age of 45, I was appointed Professor ordinarius by the Minister of Education.

I was very fortunate to have a variety of exceptional educational opportunities. At the age of 25, I was sent to Stanford for a year of graduate studies, thanks to an exchange programme between the University of Warsaw and Stanford University. At the age of 31, I got a Senior Fulbright fellowship, which allowed me to spend a research year at MIT, the best Linguistics department in the world. There, I had the privilege of working individually with two of the greatest phonologists in the history of linguistics: Morris Halle and Paul Kiparsky. In 1980, I returned home from the US. My Habilitation book was ready in manuscript form, but it had to be published in order to be considered for a Habilitation degree. The process was delayed by the fact that the University of Warsaw Press did not have the paper (sic!) to print my book. Ultimately, the problem was solved and I obtained my Habilitation degree in 1981. The University requested that I be promoted to the position of Docent, and the Ministry of Education complied. I got the appointment in 1983, which started my administrative career. In 1984, at the age of 36, I was elected to two offices: Chair of the Department of Linguistics and the English Language and Director of the Institute of English Studies (this Institute). In later years, I was re-elected as Chair of Linguistics multiple times, and served in this capacity for a total of 36 years. Today, everybody who is on the linguistics faculty is my former student. I have built from scratch a department of theoretical linguistics that can compete successfully with many revered departments in Western Europe and the United States.

My service as Director of the Institute lasted for two terms of office (a total of six years), which, under the rules of the time, was the maximum allowable. I was fortunate that the secret police (służba bezpieczeństwa) did not bother me. Needless to say, unlike many, I myself did not collaborate with this infamous, institution I have three theories about the reasons for this situation.

First, at the time of my election to the office of director, I had a solid international reputation. After my Habilitation book became widely known outside Poland, my academic career started moving at a truly high speed: I was invited to give guest lectures at universities in the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Italy, and the United States.

Second, as I discovered later, the secret police had a collaborator who watched over me. Professionally, the collaborator was a colleague and we actually liked each other. When I got access to the secret reports from the 1990s, I saw how much the collaborator was trying to help me. I remember reading a report about Prof. Rubach’s weak points (‘SB szukało haków’). That report as well as the others that I saw were total rubbish, entirely harmless. As my weakest point, the collaborator identified heavy smoking and lectured the secret police about the hazards of tobacco use, expressing concerns about my health. I bear no grudge against this collaborator. He/she (nomina sunt odiosa) acted like a friend, not like a collaborator.

Third, Prof. Jacek Fisiak impacted the field of English linguistics in Poland in many laudable ways. Most importantly, he promoted new trends in linguistics that he had learned about when he was spending a research year in the US. Without doubt, Prof. Fisiak was the founding father of generative linguistics in Poland. The blessing was that he was well vested with the communist authorities. I was among the many who enjoyed Prof. Fisiak’s protection and support. He produced what I would I call an ‘umbrella effect’: the secret police ran about all over the place, but not under Prof. Fisiak’s umbrella.

Even though as Director I was committed to work hard for the Institute, two opportunities came my way during my years in office that I could not simply pass up. Thanks to the help of my deputy directors as well as Prof. Zbigniew Lewicki, I was able to take advantage of them. In 1985–1986, I was appointed George A. Miller Visiting Professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne, and in 1988–1989 I got an Alexander-von-Humboldt appointment at the University of Bielefeld. My second term of office as Director ended in 1990 and the same year I went on a visiting professor tour to the United States. In the fall of 1990–1991, I was a visiting professor at the University of Iowa, in the winter and spring quarters of the same academic year I was College Visiting Professor at the University of Washington, Seattle. My next appointment (the highest title I ever had) was at the Ohio State University, Columbus, where I was University Visiting Professor in the fall of 1991. In the spring semester of 1991–1992, after a competitive race, I was appointed tenured Full Professor at the University of Iowa, a position that I hold until today. I asked for a 50% appointment because I wanted to continue my work at the University of Warsaw, which I have been doing for 33 years now. The University of Iowa has always treated me very well. After an outstanding result in my evaluation in 2022, the dean praised my work and expressed the hope that I would want to serve as Professor for many years to come.

To illustrate the background to these serious-sounding recollections, let me tell an anecdote, a true story from the 1970s.

JERZY RUBACH

4.6. A short story about [closure in (sic!) the mouth] and the fall of the communist system

In 1975, I was a young Ph.D., enthusiastic about seeking truth (of the phonological variety). A month or so after receiving my doctorate, I got a brilliant idea explaining why some Polish speakers tend to pronounce om instead of ą in phrases such as z tą panią [tom] ‘with this lady’. The idea was that the feature [-continuant] would gradually spread from the p to the ą. What would one call this situation? Feature invasion, of course, what else, and that’s the title that I gave to my paper. What I didn’t think about was that in 1968, shortly before I wrote the paper, the communist bloc countries, including Poland, had invaded Czechoslovakia. I didn’t think about it but the dean did.

The communist authorities blamed the 1968 revolt in Czechoslovakia and the 1968 unrest in Poland on the spread of inappropriate information both inside the country and abroad. A rule was introduced that in order to publish a paper abroad, the author would need to obtain permission from their institution, the University of Warsaw in my case. I dutifully sent the manuscript of my Feature Invasion paper to the dean’s office in order to obtain the required clearance.

The dean had a reputation for being pusillanimous. He was actually called pan półdziekan, ‘demi-dean’ (which I will abbreviate as PP) for two reasons. First, God did not bless him with much physical height, so when he was seated in the official dean’s armchair, his head was hardly visible from behind the desk. Second, he hated making decisions all by himself, so he was big on calling all kinds of meetings (collegium dziekańskie, and such). If there was no way of making a collegial decision, PP would make only ‘half a decision’. The other half would be made by pani Krysia, his secretary.

I quite liked PP. He addressed junior faculty by their first names, so he would call me Jurek. He had an excellent sense of humour and joked about everybody, including himself. One day he stopped me in the corridor and said, ‘Jurek, have you heard? They call me lion-hearted’. ‘How very deservedly so’, I replied. Indeed, I had heard about it, more accurately, his nickname was Olo Coeur de Lion. He liked telling a story about the appropriate relations between the citizen and the authorities: ‘każdy dzień, w którym nie podlizałeś się władzy jest dniem bezpowrotnie straconym, chyba że … następnego dnia doniesiesz na sąsiada’.

The permission for my paper to be published abroad did not come for a few weeks. Finally, one day pani Krysia called and said that the dean wanted to see me. When I walked into his office, he said, ‘Jurek, do you really have to use the title Feature Invasion for your paper?’ I answered with so great a degree of the enthusiasm and forcefulness only found in young and naive scholars that the dean just sat and listened to me in awe. On my way out, pani Krysia said ‘Panie Jureczku, ale z pana uparciuszek’ (she had heard of course every word we said behind the door).

A week later, I got an official letter from the dean: This is to certify that the paper by Dr. Jerzy Rubach entitled Feature Invasion does not contain any state or academic institutional secrets (nie narusza przepisów o tajemnicy państwowej lub służbowej). I remember being quite flattered by this statement and imagined writing a book one day entitled he Spreading of the Feature [Closure in the Mouth] and the Secrets of Communist Poland. I followed the instructions and put my paper in an envelope, stapling an envelope with the dean’s letter to the envelope with my paper, exactly as instructed. I then took this mailing to the post office opposite the Europejski Hotel. (This post office is no longer there.)

There was a line. I patiently waited for my turn and then explained my problem to the post office employee.

She was a ‘no nonsense woman’. ‘Sir’, she said in a stern voice, ‘you are paying one postage but trying to send two mailings. Are you paying a separate postage for this letter?’ (The PP’s letter to the secret police that I stapled to the envelope with my paper). I said ‘No, it is not my letter’. She didn’t quite appreciate the logic of my explanation and drew my attention to the fact that there was a long line of people behind me (‘no pospiesz się pan’). She was outraged by my audacity. She tore off the letter from the packet and threw it into the wastepaper basket.

Epilogue

Actually my paper reached London without trouble. It was published in the Journal of the International Phonetic Association in 1976. Thirteen years later, in 1989, the communist system fell in Europe.

Returning to the Institute in the 1970s and the 1980s, I recall the dark days of the era of Solidarity. In the autumn of 1980, we had a sit-in strike at the University of Warsaw. We spent nights in the classrooms on campus. (The Institute was then located on the main campus.) The effort was pointless as nobody took any notice of us being on strike. Some years later we discovered that the strike was largely controlled by secret police collaborators.

Professor Jan Rusiecki was Director in the sad period from 1978 till 1984, which included the period of martial law. Like my colleagues, I personally had a lot of respect for Prof. Rusiecki: he led the Institute with dignity, honesty, and integrity through the hardest and most depressing period in the University’s history. Prof. Rusiecki was a Polish edition of the perfect English gentleman. He looked like a gentleman, dressed like a gentleman, and behaved like a gentleman. He was arbiter Elegantiarium in the grey days of communist Poland. Everything that he wore was a perfect match. Perfect was a big word in Prof. Rusiecki’s life: everything had to be perfect. His secretary complained that he told her to retype a letter if there was a single technical imperfection in the manuscript. I was his student years earlier and Prof. Rusiecki’s attachment to detail required us to work twice as hard as we would normally want to. Prof. Rusiecki’s English was absolutely perfect. His Polish was perfect as well. He pronounced what is called the dark l in Polish, as in ładna łapa, a phonetic feature which placed him firmly among the 19th-century aristocracy. In the 20th c., the dark l was pronounced only by old actors because the drama school stopped teaching this pronunciation in the 1960s. On a more serious note, let me add that Prof. Rusiecki was a superb researcher. He was the founding father of applied linguistics in our Institute.

The 1990s were the time when I started working 50% in the US, and Professor Emma Harris was elected Director. Prof. Harris was liked and appreciated by the faculty, so she was reelected to the office of Director multiple times. She was an outstanding administrator.

In the 1990s, the Institute changed for the better in all kinds of ways. The structure of teaching was reformed completely. Following the best patterns in Britain and the United States, the teaching was divided into obligatory core courses and facultative supplementary courses. Students made their own decisions on the course they wanted to take, although they needed to take a specified minimum number of courses in order to specialise in either linguistics (formal and descriptive), British literature and culture or American literature and culture.

The details of the system can be gathered from our website pages because the structure of English studies has not changed fundamentally since the time when this was introduced. Prof. Harris, being British herself, changed the atmosphere in the Institute, making us all more kind and friendly than we had ever been before. This pattern of behaviour is with us still today and, hopefully, will never go away.

Returning to my research, let me say that I had a good and happy professional life at the University of Warsaw. Let me note that the administrative assignments (Director of the Institute, Chair of Linguistics) did not impact negatively my pleasure in doing research. The pleasure became even greater when I started sharing my time between the University of Iowa and the University of Warsaw. My publications rate soared.

While I find research in theoretical linguistics fascinating, a comparably fascinating opportunity came my way at the beginning of the 2000s: I had a Ph.D. student from Kurpia. She arranged for my visit in her hometown. I was captivated by the phonological beauty of Kurpian, a dialect that is on the verge of extinction.

I have published five research papers on Kurpian in high-ranking linguistics journals and a couple more are still in the works. But the most rewarding result of my work on Kurpian was the fact that I wrote four books constituting a complete descriptive grammar of the Kurpian dialect. The books were written in Polish and published locally because they were meant for Kurpians themselves, not for theoretical linguists. I invented a writing system for Kurpian, which was a huge success. Kurpians embraced my writing system and started using it in their publications: stories, textbooks, dictionaries, and so forth. Subsequently, the writing system was introduced in schools and it is taught now in several Kurpian counties. I am extremely happy about my work on Kurpian: I, a theoretician, have impacted the real life of real people.

My current interest is in Podhale Goralian, and there is a little story associated with it. I was doing my University of Iowa semester in the US a few years ago when I got news from Paweł Rydzewski that we have a Goralian in our M.A. seminar. (Paweł and I co-taught a seminar, with Paweł teaching it in the fall and I teaching it in the spring.) The news about a native speaker of Podhale Goralian being physically present in my seminar was exciting. At first, I didn’t quite believe it.

I asked Paweł to make sure that the Goralian was not a fake, which he did and the result was positive. I could not understand how the Goralian made it to our theoretical phonology seminar. I imagined most pleasant and rather immodest explanations: I am so famous as a phonologist that my name is known even in Dzianisz, a Goralian village that I had never heard of.

When the spring semester started, the first thing I did was to call in the Goralian and ask the question that had been on my mind for weeks: ‘What brought you to Warsaw and specifically to my seminar?’ ‘I have a girlfriend here, sir’, said the Goralian.

Oops. When I finally got over this cold shower effect, I continued out of courtesy: ‘How did you meet a girl from Warsaw in Dzianisz?’ But she isn’t from Warsaw. She is from Dzianisz and is a student in Warsaw’. He guessed correctly what might console me and added, ‘She is a native speaker of Goralian’. The prospect of having a fresh batch of genuine Goralian data from two independent sources compensated for the disappointment about my name not being known in Dzianisz.

The Goralian had no idea about phonology but he turned out to be a phonological Janko Muzykant. With his genuine talent, perseverance. and hard work, he made impressively fast progress.

The current state of affairs is that he is now my Ph.D. student and we have published a paper together on the vowel system of Goralian; he himself has published another paper independently. Last year, he got an NCN grant on Goralian and a Fulbright award to spend the next academic year at the University of California, Berkeley. I am supervising his NCN grant. We are working out the phonology of Goralian and have plans to write a descriptive grammar and introduce a writing system for Goralian based on thorough phonological research. These prospects are most exciting.

GRAŻYNA BYSTYDZIEŃSKA

4.7. Recollections

My experience and knowledge about the Department of English Literature and the Institute of English Studies is twofold – from a perspective of a student (1963–1968) and an academic teacher after my employment there since 1993 as a Professor of English literature, and as the Head of the English Literature Department in the years 1997–2017.

I will devote my reminiscences mainly to my perception of some lecturers of the English Department from the student’s perspective. My memories are, of course, quite subjective and I do not write about my lecturers as scholars but teachers.

In my first year of studies, I had a lecture on Old English and Medieval literature with Professor Margaret Schlauch. Professor Schlauch, with her extensive knowledge of early English literature and at the same time of linguistics, evoked our great respect and admiration. She was so committed to her teaching that when several years later she told us that she would retire in the following year, she was almost in tears. She was on quite friendly terms with her students; some of my colleagues (all later academic lecturers): Edmund Gussmann, Bogusław Marek, and Stefan Makowiecki invited her to their room in the students’ hostel, she accepted the invitation and visited them. She also taught Icelandic language to a small group of interested students and she helped Edmund Gussmann, who was to become a prominent scholar in Linguistics – the late Professor Edmund Gussmann to obtain a grant to study in Iceland – an event which I believe was a very important influence on his future life and work.

I was really fortunate to have classes in literature with Dr. Róża Jabłkowska, one of the main Conradian scholars in Poland. She was a very demanding teacher but she knew how to motivate students to reflect on their subject and to make a greater effort. She was the person who encouraged me to take a deeper interest in English literature. We met again later when we invited her to conduct an M.A. seminar at the Marie Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin.

In my second year, we all listened with fascination to Professor Grzegorz Sinko’s lectures on Shakespeare, interpreted through Jan Kott’s readings (Shakespeare Our Contemporary).

In my third year I had a class with Professor Irena Dobrzycka, who later on was a reviewer of my M.A. dissertation. When I graduated, she was the person who encouraged me to search for a University job outside Warsaw and very kindly wrote a letter of recommendation for me. Later on, she was also one of the reviewers of my doctoral and postdoctoral dissertation. I had been in touch with her till the end of her life.

Professor Irena Dobrzycka was born in Fribourg, Switzerland, where her father Professor Stanisław Dobrzycki, the author of the history of Polish literature, was Professor of Slavonic Studies. Later in 1924–1925, he was Rector of the University of Poznań. Her brother, Jan Dobrzycki, became a Professor of Chemistry and another brother, Jerzy Dobrzycki, a Professor of Astronomy. She studied in Poznań and there she obtained her doctoral degree. From 1953 she was linked with the University of Warsaw and was the Head of the Institute in 1970–1979. In 1979 she was honoured with a doctorate honoris causa from the University of Bristol. For many years after her retirement she still used to attend our conferences and to participate in the meetings of the English Literature Department. It became quite a tradition that on 5 May (Professor Dobrzycka’s nameday) her University colleagues would gather in her small flat to celebrate.

I also remember well our year tutor Dr. Wiesław Furmańczyk, who was so involved in our problems that he waited for us outside in the corridor during our M.A. examinations in order to console those who needed it – for not everybody passed the M.A. exam, due to the severe demands of our supervisor – Professor Grzegorz Sinko. We later worked together with Dr. Furmańczyk in the national organisation of academics from English departments, the Polish Association for the Study of English, of which I became chairperson in 1994.

GRAŻYNA BYSTYDZIEŃSKA

4.8. A short history of the Department of English Literature

As the Head of the Institute’s English Literature Department for 20 years (1997–2017) I tried – with the support of the Director of the Institute Professor Emma Harris – to strengthen our staffing and research in certain periods of English literature which I thought should be more developed in our research profile and teaching. In this vein, for example, I recommended the employment of one of the leading medievalists in Poland, Professor Barbara Kowalik, who came to us from the Marie Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin to build up our coverage of the early period of Old English and mediaeval English Literature. I also tried to strengthen study of 18th- and 19th-century literature by proposing some new courses, and by gradually employing several young teachers who had completed doctorates in these areas and who went on to further research and teaching connected with these epochs. I started to publish some of the papers from all the periods of English literature that were presented and discussed at our departmental meetings, setting up our own journal Approaches to Literature.

Later, together with Professor Harris, we started to organise regular biennial conferences From Queen Anne to Queen Victoria with the aim of integrating Polish scholars doing research on 18th- and 19th-century British literature and culture, bringing in guest lecturers and a number of scholars from abroad. Indeed, the title for the conferences was suggested to us by our good friend and frequent visitor from the University of Glasgow, Paddy Lyons. The proceedings of the conferences formed the basis for the publication of a series of volumes using the same title (seven volumes). We edited many conference proceedings together, but as a native speaker of English, Professor Harris put much more effort into the editorial work.

Later on, on the request of younger colleagues who wanted to have more frequent contacts with the group, I started to organise one-day seminars, which we called ‘Warsaw Literary Meetings’. These took place twice a year and resulted in a series of volumes published under the title Texts and Contexts (five volumes). We also organised several seminars for M.A. and doctoral students (The Rising Stars), publishing the best papers in the students’ journal Folio.

It would have been much more difficult to achieve these aims without friendly help and advice of the Director of the Institute of English Studies, Professor Emma Harris. In the difficult 1990s, Professor Harris supported the organisation of fee-paying degree courses in the Institute, which helped members of staff financially so that we could concentrate more on research and teaching instead of searching for additional jobs to supplement our currently very modest salaries.

She also found ways of solving the problem of providing grants for our doctoral students, which made it possible for us to greatly expand the doctoral programme. Professor Harris undertook many far-sighted and successful policies in the Institute of English Studies that made my work smoother in the Department of English Literature, and I would like to express my gratitude to her for her support and help to me over the years.

ANIELA KORZENIOWSKA

4.9. Reflections on the history of the Department of Applied Linguistics and Translation Studies

Looking back over the years, from when I became a student at the Institute of English Studies in 1970 till now, fifty-three years later, it is interesting to see not only how the Department of Applied Linguistics and Translation Studies has evolved over the decades, but to also highlight the involvement of so many in its development.

The Department was set up by one of our most outstanding linguists, Professor Jan Rusiecki, in 1969 and was then known as the Department of English Applied Linguistics. At that time it was one of three departments within the Institute of English Studies. Throughout the many years Prof. Rusiecki was Head of the Department – till 1991 – his aim was to develop research in the field of applied linguistics and through employing an ever-increasing number of teachers, contribute to the successful teaching of English as a foreign language. It was during this long period when he was in charge that such well-known names as Professor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska and Professor Jerzy Zybert joined the Department. Foreign-language acquisition and teacher training became a very important part of our activities, with the teaching of the different language skills done by such long-standing members of staff as Maria Birkenmajer (Honorary President of IATEFL Poland), Joanna Krasowska, who was also Deputy Head of the Institute, Basia Szymańska, Zosia Kapczyńska, Zosia Piekarec, Bogna and Stefan Sikora, Jerzy Wiśniewski, Eric Baker, Maryna Bylina, Elżbieta Sieniutycz, Ewa Truszczyńska, Ania Weselińska, Alicja Petrus, Andrzej Kaznowski, who initially had been in the Department of the English Language, and last but not least, Ludmiła Sobolew, who for many years was Professor Rusiecki’s “right-hand ‘man’”, doing a lot of the necessary administrative work connected with the Department and also cooperating with him in teacher training, testing, and, generally, in second-language acquisition. Till her retirement, she was also in charge of our extra-mural studies. There were of course others, such as the highly appreciated Ludmiła Machura, who left for Glasgow in the 1980s, or the well-known teacher trainer Grzegorz Śpiewak. They came and went, depending on the different paths they wanted to take in their respective careers.

As can be seen from the above, the Department was mainly associated with broadly understood Applied Linguistics, with its research workers following and developing their own fields of studies which had their appropriate reflections in their teaching and the future careers of their students. Translation, which was a very rudimentary practical course, only appeared within the Practical English curriculum. It was definitely on the far distant margins. This did not change overnight.

What did spark the change that was not only to have a marked influence on my own academic career but also resulted in our Department branching off in a new direction was the sabbatical I received in 1989 when Prof. Jerzy Rubach was Head of the Institute of English Studies. What he has probably long forgotten was that he was the unconscious initiator of something new outside his own Department of the English Language. In return for being able to forget about the Institute for a year I was understandably expected to use the time for research and produce something in writing – preferably a book – in the very near future. Previously, I had been mainly involved in the Practical English curriculum and work as a translator in and outside the university. This stipulation started me off on my research into the theory and history of translation which resulted in my first publications in the field. This in turn led to a doctoral dissertation and, over the years, the introduction of new courses within Translation Studies, M.A. and Ph.D. seminars, and doctoral as well post-doctoral dissertations of a significant group of academics working in the Department of Applied Linguistics. Thanks to their vast and varied contributions, by the first decade of the new millennium Translation Studies was well and truly established.

It was also during this period in time that we could observe the gradual retirement of a large group of English language teachers and the introduction of the Institute’s new recruitment policy. Both the change in staff members and new people being employed had a significant influence on what was being taught and on research conducted. Although the supervision of teaching English as a foreign language and teacher training still lay in the hands of our applied linguists, all new members of staff were required to combine their teaching activities with research in their own chosen field. It was at this time that the late Professor Maria Dakowska, a specialist in foreign language teaching methodology and second language acquisition, joined us and increased the group of scholars working in this field of studies.

Research and the courses taught as a result of the above policy continued to expand and show an extremely interesting diversity, which has had its reflection in students’ attendance and enthusiasm in what they are studying. The fact that what we do is not solely theoretical but also often extremely practical and can help them in their future careers enhances interest. Of importance here is also the disciplinary diversity we promote through our research interests. Perceiving Translation Studies as an ‘interdiscipline’, we have researchers/teachers who are more linguistically oriented but also others who are more literary-oriented, those who are more theoretical and others who are more practical. This can also be observed among those involved in teacher training, second-language acquisition, or multilingualism, with all their ins and outs and extremely diverse spectrums.

This diversity is also only too visible in the Scottish Studies Research Group, whose members are based in our Department but are involved in promoting Scotland, its languages and literature, or scholars who have set up what they call laboratories, or labs, such as the Humour Lab or the Experimental Linguistics Laboratory. As one can see all too clearly, a lot is going on, which also involves cooperation with other academics not only from the University of Warsaw but also from other centres of higher education in Poland and abroad.

A few concluding remarks concerning our name – some years ago, we dropped the ‘English’ from the Department’s name as it was obvious that we mainly dealt with, although not only, with English Applied Linguistics, but it was not till 2021 that certain favourable circumstances made it possible to add Translation Studies to the Department’s official name, better reflecting what we do, the disciplines we follow, and the subjects we teach. Although we form two clearly distinguishable research groups that also branch out in different directions, we work amicably together, support one another when need be, and cooperate in different ventures that we undertake.

JERZY ZYBERT

4.10. My work at the Institute of English Studies

I was employed full time at the University of Warsaw in the years 1965–2012: initially in the former Higher School of Foreign Languages (Wyższe Studium Języków Obcych – until 1973). At first, I taught all language skills, which aroused my interest in didactics and methodology of foreign language teaching. Between 1973 and 1985, I was attached to the Institute of Iberian Studies, where I taught English and Spanish phonetics, and gave lectures on applied linguistics. In the next period I concentrated on English phonetics and phonology (I was “borrowed” by Prof. J. Rubach to teach phonetics in his section). From around 1987 I focused on the psychology of learning natural language in general and foreign languages in particular (Second Language Acquisition). Concurrently, I tried to implement the results of my studies directly in didactics. Consequently, I published a number of relevant articles both in Poland and abroad and my professorial monograph Efektywność w szkolnej nauce języka obcego (Wyd. DiG, 2112).

APPENDICES

Receivers of the doctoral degree in the years 1930–2022

The list includes doctoral degrees awarded at the University of Warsaw in the years 1930–2022 to graduates of the Institute, staff of the Institute, and/or under the supervision of professors employed in the Institute. Before 2006, doctorates in English Studies were conferred by the appropriate Faculty: 1930–1945 the Faculty of Humanities, 1945–1968 the Faculty of Philology, 1968–1975 the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, 1975–2006 the Faculty of Modern Languages. Between 2006 and 2020, doctorates in English Studies (in Literature Studies and Language Studies) were conferred by the Academic Council of the Institute of English Studies. Following the new legislation, from 2020 doctorates have been conferred by the appropriate Academic Discipline Board (Rada Dyscypliny Naukowej) of the University of Warsaw.

Many doctoral dissertations, especially in the early days, were written in Polish according to the University rules. In such cases the title is given in Polish and then in English translation. If the candidate submitted their thesis in English, which required special permission, only one title follows their name. If obtainable, the thesis academic supervisor’s name is given in brackets after the title. The monumental work (1,829 pages long!) by Ronnie D. Carter, English Studies in Poland during the 20th Century, has been an invaluable resource, as well as the volume The Fiftieth Anniversary of the English Department, University of Warsaw, 1923–1973 (ed. Zofia Dziedzic). More information about the doctorates granted at the Institute can be found online, in the catalogues of Archiwum Prac Dyplomowych (apd.uw.edu.pl), Nauka Polska database (nauka-polska.pl), and the University of Warsaw Repository of theses (depotuw.ceon.pl). Some more materials are kept in files at the archive of the Dean’s office at the Faculty of Modern Languages, or the archive storing the proceedings of the Institute of English Studies Council meetings. While interesting, all these resources remain fragmentary and incomplete. Therefore, if I happened to omit the name of any recipient of a doctorate awarded at the Institute of English Studies, I humbly ask their forgiveness.

Dorota Babilas

1930

The earliest doctorate in English Philology at the University of Warsaw was conferred in 1930, but neither the name of the recipient, nor the title of the dissertation could be established.

1931

Zaczkiewicz, Jerzy. Henryk Sienkiewicz a Dickens. (Henryk Sienkiewicz and Dickens).

Two more doctor’s degrees were conferred, but the names of recipients and titles of dissertations were lost.

No doctorates were granted in 1932.

1933

Hercygier, Rachela. O komediach Oscara Wilde’a. (The Comedies of Oscar Wilde).

Kuropatwińska, Halina. Historia motywów w twórczości Josepha Conrada Korzeniowskiego. (The History of Motifs in the Works of Joseph Conrad Korzeniowski).

Reynel, Helena. Ideały religijne, społeczne i polityczne w twórczości Elżbiety Barrett Browning. (Religious, Social, and Political Ideals in the Works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning).

1934

Szymonowicz-Rosenwein, Sara. Technika opowiadania w oryginalnych utworach Williama Morrisa. (The Narrating Technique in William Morris’ Original Works).

No doctorates were granted between 1935 and 1941.

1942

Prejbisz, Antoni. Stosunki polityczno-dyplomatyczne Anglii z Polską w XVIII wieku. (Political and Diplomatic Relations between England and Poland in the 18th Century).

No doctorates were granted between 1943 and 1950.

1951

Przegonia-Kryński, Stanisław. Nacjonalizm w poezji angielskiej, 1702–1832. (Nationalism in English Poetry, 1702–1832). (supervisor Stanisław Helsztyński).

No doctorates were granted between 1952 and 1957.

1958

Jabłkowska, Róża. Joseph Conrad (1857–1924). (supervisor Stanisław Helsztyński).

No doctorates were granted in 1959.

1960

Reszkiewicz, Alfred. Main Sentence Elements in the Book of Margery Kempe. A Study in Major Syntax. (supervisor Margaret Schlauch).

1961

Zielińska, Wiesława. Podstawy estetyki Gerarda Manley Hopkinsa. (The Aesthetic Principles of Gerard Manley Hopkins). (supervisor Tadeusz Grzebieniowski).

No doctorates were granted in 1962.

1963

Biedrzycka, Halina. Sir Philip Sydney’s Translation of the Psalms as Divine Poetry. (supervisor Margaret Schlauch).

Łobzowska, Maria. The Non-Dramatic Prose Satire of Thomas Dekker. (supervisor Margaret Schlauch).

1964

Bellert, Irena. Relational Phrase-Structure Grammar and its Application to the Polish Language. (supervisor Margaret Schlauch).

Gottwald, Maria. Pierwiastki satyryczne w komedii Benjamina Jonsona. (Satiric Elements in Ben Jonson’s Comedy). (supervisor Margaret Schlauch).

Krajewska, Wanda. Didaskalia typu powieściowego w dramacie angielskim na przełomie XIX i XX wieku. (Didascalies of a Novel Type in English Drama at the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries). (supervisor Grzegorz Sinko).

Kumor, Stanisława. Recepcja twórczości Bernarda Shaw w Polsce. (The Reception of George Bernard Shaw’s Works in Poland). (supervisor Grzegorz Sinko).

1965

Cygan, Jan. The Structure of Questions in Present-Day English. (supervisor Margaret Schlauch).

1966

Chodakowska, Elżbieta. Koncepcja prawa jako wyraz postępu i humanizmu we współczesnej powieści amerykańskiej. (The Concept of Law as the Expression of Progress and Humanism in the Contemporary American Novel). (supervisor Margaret Schlauch).

Furmańczyk, Wiesław. Światopogląd Teodora Dreisera w świetle nieopublikowanych materiałów. (Theodore Dreiser’s Philosophy of Life in the Light of Unpublished Materials). (supervisor Stanisław Helsztyński).

Kałuża, Henryk. Article Usage in Modern English. (supervisor Margaret Schlauch).

1967

Kadz, Juliusz. H. G. Wells jako historyk przyszłości. (H. G. Wells as a Historian of the Future). (supervisor Margaret Schlauch).

No doctorates were granted in 1968.

1969

Bałutowa, Bronisława. Twórczość Ivy Compton Burnett jako przykład udramatyzowania powieści współczesnej. (The Works of Ivy Compton Burnett as an Example of the Dramatized Contemporary Novel). (supervisor Irena Dobrzycka).

Kędzielska, Alicja. Recepcja literatury angielskiej w Polsce Ludowej w latach 1945–1965. (Reception of English Literature in People’s Republic of Poland, 1945–1965). (supervisor Grzegorz Sinko).

Przybylska, Krystyna. Problemy egzystencjalne w dojrzałej twórczości Eugene O’Neilla. (The Problems of Existentialism in the Mature Works of Eugene O’Neill). (supervisor Grzegorz Sinko).

Rusiecki, Jan. Syntactic Aspects of Think-Type Verbs in Present-Day Educated Spoken English. (supervisor Margaret Schlauch).

1970

Biedrzycki, Leszek. Analiza fonologiczna polskich i angielskich spółgłosek nosowych i samogłosek – studium z fonologii kontrastywnej. (Phonological Analysis of Polish and English Nasal Consonants and Vowels. A Study in Contrastive Phonology). (supervisor Alfred Reszkiewicz).

Szkup, Jerzy. Recepcja prozy amerykańskiej w Polsce Ludowej w latach 1945–1965. (The Reception of American Prose in People’s Republic of Poland, 1945–1965). (supervisor Grzegorz Sinko).

No doctorates were granted in 1971 and 1972.

1973

Kieniewicz, Teresa. Recepcja literatury amerykańskiej w Polsce w dwudziestoleciu międzywojennym. (Reception of American Literature in Poland during the Interwar Period). (supervisor Wanda Krajewska).

Konderski, Stefan. English Equivalents of Polish Oblique Cases: A Study in Contrastive Linguistics. (supervisor Irena Dobrzycka).

Lewicki, Zbigniew. Aspekt czasu w reprezentatywnych utworach Jamesa Joyce’a i Williama Faulknera. (Aspect of Time in Representative Works of James Joyce and William Faulkner). (supervisor Grzegorz Sinko).

Siedlecka, Grażyna. Myśl wiktoriańska angielskie powieści historycznej XIX wieku. (Victorian Thought and the English Historical Novel of the 19th Century). (supervisor Irena Dobrzycka).

Weseliński, Andrzej. Recepcja prozy Karola Dickensa w Polsce w latach 1887–1918 (The Reception of Charles Dickens’s Prose in Poland, 1887–1918). (supervisor Irena Dobrzycka).

1974

Gołębiowski, Marek. Angielska myśl przyrodnicza XIX wieku w kulturze literackiej pozytywizmu warszawskiego. (English Natural Science Thought of the Nineteenth Century Reflected in the Literary Culture of Warsaw Positivism). (supervisor Stanisława Kumor).

Lawendowski, Bogusław. A Contrastive Study of Selected Emotive and Paralinguistic Phenomena in English and Polish. (supervisor Jacek Fisiak).

Rulewicz, Wanda. Birth and Evolution of Modern English Poetic Drama from T.S. Eliot to the Present Day. (supervisor Grzegorz Sinko).

Rustowski, Adam. Nowa powieść gotycka w Anglii lat 1830–1860. (New Gothic Novels in England, 1830–1860). (supervisor Irena Dobrzycka).

Ruszkiewicz, Piotr. Modern Approaches to Grapho-Phonemic Investigation in English. (supervisor Tomasz Krzeszowski).

Sieradzka-Grymińska, Teresa. Contemporary Anglo-Irish Novelized Autobiography. (supervisor Irena Dobrzycka).

1975

Rubach, Jerzy. Variability of Consonants in English and Polish. (supervisor Tomasz Krzeszowski).

1976

Bachman, Maria. Recepcja prozy Karola Dickensa w Polsce w latach 1839–1887. (The Reception of Charles Dickens’s Prose in Poland, 1839–1887). (supervisor Irena Dobrzycka).

Wiśniewski, Jacek. Proza angielska o pierwszej wojnie światowej z pogranicza powieści i literatury faktu. (English World War I Prose; Between Fiction and Non-Fiction). (supervisor Irena Dobrzycka).

1977

Cendrowska-Werner, Barbara. The National Tradition in the Anglo-Irish Novel. (supervisor Wanda Krajewska).

1978

Jędrzejkiewicz, Maria. The Narrative Technique in Character Drawing in George Meredith’s Novels. (supervisor Irena Dobrzycka).

Pankhurst, James Nicholas. Verb Phrase Consistency Criteria in English. (supervisor Tomasz Krzeszowski).

1979

Kędzierski, L. Tragiczna wizja i forma: Końcówka Samuela Becketta i jej interpretacje. (Tragic Vision and Form: Samuel Beckett’s Endgame and Its Interpretations). (supervisor Stefan Treugutt).

1980

Dancygier, Barbara. On Certain Limitations of the Predicative and Attributive Use of Adjectives in English and Polish. (supervisor Olgierd Wojtasiewicz).

1981

Preis-Smith, Agata. The Dramatic Monologue as a Form of the Modern Neo-Classical Poetry. (supervisor Wanda Krajewska).

1982

Foeller-Pituch, Elżbieta. The Use of Mythology in the Works of John Barth and John Gardner: A Search for Patterns. (supervisor Irena Dobrzycka).

Szubert-Mrozowska, Hanna. Sytuacja narracyjna w Pilgrimage Dorothy M. Richardson. (The Narrative Situation in Dorothy M. Richardson’s Pilgrimage). (supervisor Irena Dobrzycka).

No doctorates were granted in 1983.

1984

Chylińska, Bożenna. Mitotworcza funkcja historii Afryki w wybranych dziełach Wole Soyinki i LeRoi Jonesa. (A Myth-Creating Function of African History in Selected Works of Wole Soyinka and LeRoi Jones). (supervisor Stanisława Kumor).

Mioduszewska, Ewa. Semantic Sentence Presupposition within a Three-Valued Logic System. (supervisor Olgierd Wojtasiewicz).

Sadowski, Piotr. Analiza kompleksu mitycznego postaci Hamleta. (The Analysis of the Mythic Complex of the Character of Hamlet). (supervisor Stanisława Kumor).

Skurowski, Piotr. Henry Adams and the Shaping of American Intellectual Culture in the Gilded Age. (supervisor Stanisława Kumor).

1985

Aleksandrowicz-Pędzich, Lucyna. Literary Heritage of Ezra Pound. (supervisor Zbigniew Lewicki).

Kuhiwczak, Piotr. Byron w Polsce, 1816–1939. (Byron in Poland, 1816–1939). (supervisor Wanda Krajewska).

1986

Bogucki, Jerzy. Angielski i polski język nauki; próba sformalizowania kontrastywnej analizy akapitu w tekstach naukowych. (English and Polish Language of Science: An Attempt of Formalising the Contrastive Paragraph Analysis in Scientific Texts). (supervisor Jan Rusiecki).

1987

Dziedzic, Piotr. The Albatross of Self: Mind/World Dichotomy in the Novels of Thomas Pynchon. (supervisor Zbigniew Lewicki).

No doctorates were granted in 1988.

1989

Pogorzelska-Bonikowska, Małgorzata. The Speech Act of Complaining in Polish and in English. (supervisor Jan Rusiecki).

1990

Kamińska, Tatiana. Scottish Standard English: Selected Problems in the Study of Sonorants within the Paradigm of Lexical Phonology. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

Woźniak Maria, The Search for Canadian Identity in Novels and Other Prosaic Works of Hugh Mac-Lennan. (supervisor Irena Dobrzycka).

1991

Gozdawa-Gołębiowski, Romuald. Parameter Setting in the Government Binding Theory. A Study in the Syntax of Polish and English. (supervisor Andrzej Bogusławski).

1992

Wójcicki, Adam. Constraints on Suffixation in English and Polish. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

1993

Moroz, Grzegorz. “When the going was good and the fees handsome”: Evelyn Waugh’s Travel Books. (supervisor Jacek Wiśniewski).

No doctorates were granted in 1994.

1995

Grzegorzewska, Małgorzata. From Text to Map: Shakespeare, Jonson, Donne and Renaissance Cartography. (supervisor Jerzy Limon).

1996

Korzeniowska, Aniela. Explorations in Polish-English Mistranslation Problems. (supervisor Ewa Mioduszewska, Olgierd Wojtasiewicz).

Quadah, Haroum M. Arabic and Islamic Heritage in Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet. (supervisor Andrzej Weseliński).

1997

Diniejko, Andrzej. Freedom and Determinism. Existential Perspective in the Fiction of Thomas Hardy, D.H. Lawrence and John Fowles. (supervisor Andrzej Weseliński).

1998

Basiuk, Tomasz. The Narrative Techniques in the Novels of William Gaddis. (supervisor Zbigniew Lewicki).

1999

Kaminowski, Jerzy. New Wine in Old Bottles. The Virtuality of the Presented World in Angela Carter’s Fiction, from “The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman” to “Nights at the Circus”. (supervisor Jacek Wiśniewski).

Oramus, Dominika. [Materska]. Ways of Pleasure: Angela Carter’s Discourse of Delight in her Fiction and Non-Fiction. (supervisor Jacek Wiśniewski).

Przedlacka, Joanna. Estuary English. A Sociophonetic Study. (supervisor Jerzy Wełna).

Wałaszewska, Ewa. Negation for Denial in English Conversation. (supervisor Ewa Mioduszewska).

2000

Babilas, Dorota. From Melodrama to a Popular Classic: The Change of Literary Status of Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera in English-Language Cultures. (supervisor Marek Gołębiowski).

Bański, Piotr. Morphological and Prosodic Analysis of Auxiliary Clitics in Polish and English. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

Błaszkiewicz, Bartłomiej. The Function of Time and Space in John Milton’s Paradise Lost. (supervisor Grażyna Bystydzieńska).

Graff, Agnieszka. “This Timecoloured Place”: The Time-Space Binarism in the Novels of James Joyce. (supervisor Andrzej Weseliński).

Janitz-De La Rue, Katarzyna. Images of Unmarried Women in the Texts of Inter-War Britain. (supervisor Marek Gołębiowski).

Łuczak, Ewa. Functions and Forms of Memory in the Works of Toni Morrison. (supervisor Elżbieta Oleksy).

Łukaszewicz, Beata. Phonological Analysis of Reduction and Assimilation Processes in the Acquisition of English and Polish. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

Otwinowska-Kasztelanic, Agnieszka. A Study of the Lexico-Semantic and Grammatical Influence of English on the Polish of the Younger Generation of Poles (19–35 Years of Age). (supervisor Jan Rusiecki).

Rutkowski, Paweł. The Functional Interpretation of Religion in Sir Thomas More’s Utopia in the Context of Contemporary Debates on the Relationship Between Religion and Politics. (supervisor Marek Gołębiowski).

Sokołowska-Paryż, Marzena. The Myth of War in British and Polish Poetry, 1939–1945. (supervisor Jacek Wiśniewski).

Szymańska, Izabela. A Construction Grammar Account of the Reflexive się in Polish. (supervisor Henryk Kardela).

Śpiewak, Grzegorz. The Lexical-Conceptual Structure of Nominativeless Constructions in Polish. Towards a Unified Account. (supervisor Henryk Kardela).

Zawadzka, Ilona. Oecophobic Narrative – American Autobiographies of the 1930s. (supervisor Jerzy Durczak).

2001

Paryż, Marek. Social and Cultural Aspects of Madness in American Literature, 1798–1860. (supervisor Agata Preis-Smith).

Piskorska, Agnieszka. Introducing Sentential Inferences into R.W. Langacker’s Cognitive Grammar. (supervisor Ewa Mioduszewska-Crawford).

Raškauskiene, Audroné. The Poetics of Space in Ann Radcliffe’s Novels. (supervisor Grażyna Bystydzieńska).

2002

Borkowska, Eliza. William Blake’s Poetry as a Rejoinder to John Locke’s Perception of Language. (supervisor Grażyna Bystydzieńska).

Borkowski, Piotr. Metafictional Techniques in Literature and Film. Manipulation of Meaning in Contemporary Cinema. (supervisor Piotr Skurowski).

Gajek, Elżbieta. Wykorzystanie komputerów i programów multimedialnych w nauczaniu języków (na przykładzie języka angielskiego); podstawy teoretyczne i badania eksperymentalne (The Use of Computers and Multimedia Programmes in English Language Teaching). (supervisor Jan Rusiecki).

Kochańska, Agata. Selected Issues in the Semantics of the Polish Imperfective. A Cognitive Grammar Account. (supervisor Elżbieta Górska).

Łuczyńska-Hołdys, Małgorzata. The Role of Key Biblical Figures in William Blake’s Poetry and Designs. (supervisor Grażyna Bystydzieńska).

Możejko, Zbigniew. Language Awareness as a Factor in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching as Exemplified by the Learning and Teaching of English. (supervisor Jan Rusiecki).

Newman, John G. The Diffusion of the Regular s-Plural Formative among Old and Middle English Nouns (700–1400). (supervisor Jerzy Wełna).

Opalińska, Monika. Compensatory Lengthening, Velar Fricatives, and Hiatus in Old English. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

2003

Barucka, Edyta Katarzyna. Mackay Hugh Bailiie Scott i idea domu Arts and Crafts (Mackay Hugh Bailiie Scott and the Idea of Arts and Crafts Home). (supervisor Andrzej Olszewski).

Bedingfield, Agnieszka. Cultural Translations within Gendered Subjectivity: Asian-American Women’s Voice in Identity Debates. (supervisor Agata Preis-Smith).

Błaszkiewicz, Maria. Wymiar epicki dzieł Johna Ronalda Revela Tolkiena. (The Epic Dimension of the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien). (supervisor Jacek Wiśniewski).

Czaplicki, Bartłomiej. Syllabification in Current Phonological Theories. Issues in the Phonology of English and Ukrainian. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

Fiedorczuk-Glinecka, Julia. Mapping the Mind: Self, Truth and Language in the Work of Laura Jackson. (supervisor Agata Preis-Smith).

Gajda-Łaszewska, Małgorzata. The Image of the Persian Gulf War in the Media and Literature as a Reflection of the Mainstream Culture of Modern America. (supervisor Marek Gołębiowski).

Jaczewska, Beata. Narrating the Self in the English Romantic Novel. (supervisor Grażyna Bystydzieńska).

Madej-Stang, Adriana. Narrative Strategies in Jeanette Winterson’s Fiction. (supervisor Andrzej Weseliński).

Mirecki, Paweł. Communication Failure in Conversation: A Relevance-theoretic Study. (supervisor Ewa Mioduszewska-Crawford).

Rajca-Salata, Anna. Recepcja twórczości T.S. Eliota w Polsce w latach 1925–2000 (The Reception of the Works of T.S. Eliot in Poland 1925–2000). (supervisor Andrzej Weseliński).

Rut-Klutz, Dorota. A Relevance-Based Analysis of Political Speech in Contrast to Everyday Conversation. (supervisor Ewa Mioduszewska-Crawford).

Szpotowicz, Magdalena. Procesy uczenia się języka obcego w młodszym wieku szkolnym – przyswajanie słownictwa (Vocabulary Learning in Foreign Language Acquisition Among Younger School-Age Children). (supervisor Hanna Komorowska).

Tomczak, Anna Maria. Reading Class: Aspects of the Characters’ Non-verbal Communication as a Reflection of Middle-Class Attitudes and Behaviours in the Selected Novels of Iris Murdoch. (supervisor Marek Gołębiowski).

2004

Adamska, Irmina. Manifestness, Truthfulness and Relevance. A Study of the Polish Evidential and Modal Particles: oczywiście (of course), rzeczywiście (indeed), na pewno (for sure), chyba (perhaps) and może (maybe). (supervisor Ewa Mioduszewska-Crawford).

Bąk, Anna. Teaching and Learning Reading Skills in the Secondary Context. (supervisor Jerzy Zybert).

Kisielewska-Krysiuk, Marta. From Logical Form to Explicature: A Corpus-based relevance-theoretic study of the meaning of Polish non-inflected Verbs. (supervisor Ewa Mioduszewska-Crawford).

Łuczak, Mateusz. Pragmatic Ambiguity: A Relevance-Theoretic Study Based on English Conversational Data. (supervisor Ewa Mioduszewska-Crawford).

Mirecki, Paweł. Communication Failure in Conversation: A Relevance-Theoretic Study. (supervisor Ewa Mioduszewska-Crawford).

Ożarska, Magdalena. Albowiem spisuję Nowinę Pana, taki ze mnie skryba-ewangelista. Tradycja i indywidualność w twórczości religijnej Christophera Smarta (“I Write the Gospel of the Lord”: Tradition and Individualism in Religious Works of Christopher Smart) (supervisor Grażyna Bystydzieńska).

Pypeć, Magdalena. Robert Browning’s Poetry and the Visual Arts. (supervisor Grażyna Bystydzieńska).

Romaniuk, Danuta. Polish Hearts, American Minds: The Family in Immigrant Narratives (1880–1939). (supervisor Piotr Skurowski).

Sylwanowicz, Marta. Old and Middle-English Sickness-nouns in Historical Perspective: a Lexico-Syntactic Analysis. (supervisor Jerzy Wełna).

Vrauko, Tamás. Diagnosing the Multi-Cultural United States: The Case of the Chicano Movement. (supervisor Bożenna Chylińska).

2005

Bandura, Ewa. Rozwijanie kompetencji interkulturowej w nauczaniu języka angielskiego (Developing Intercultural Competence in English-Language Teaching). (supervisor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska).

Chanen, Brian. Narrative Complexity in the Digital Age: Examination of the Use of Notation in the American Postmodern Novel. (supervisor Agata Preis-Smith).

Chybowska, Urszula. The Role of the Hearer in the Directive Speech Act. A Cognitive Study. (supervisor Elżbieta Górska).

Debaene, Ewelina. Kryteria ewaluacji i determinanty wyboru podręczników do nauki języka angielskiego. (Evaluation Criteria and Texbook Choice in English-Language Teaching). (supervisor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska).

Dybska, Aneta. Black Men’s (Auto)Creations: Constructing Gender and Race in the Social Sciences and Self-Writing in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s. (supervisor Piotr Skurowski).

Ellis, Melanie. Developing Speaking Skills in the Teaching of English at the Advanced Level. (supervisor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska).

Frankowska, Agnieszka. Treści socjokulturowe w programach i podręcznikach do nauki języka angielskiego. (Socio-Cultural Elements in Syllabuses and Workbooks for Learning English). (supervisor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska).

Kizeweter, Magdalena. English and Polish Taboo Vocabulary Relating to the Human Body and its Functions in Monolingual and Bilingual Dictionaries and Translations of English Literary Texts into Polish. (supervisor Jan Rusiecki).

Krawczyk-Łaskarzewska, Anna. Escape from Americanness: Transforming the Project of U.S. Cultural Nationalism. (supervisor Piotr Skurowski).

Lewicka-Mroczek, Ewa. Polish Secondary School Teachers’ and Learners’ Beliefs, Needs, and Perception of Oral Language Errors and Their Treatment. (supervisor Jerzy Zybert).

Lorenzana, Angela. A Semantic Analysis of Filipino Key Cultural and Emotional Concepts: The WSM Approach. (supervisor Jerzy Zybert).

Łączyńska, Klaudia. The Seventeenth-Century English Country House Poem: A Study of the Genre. (supervisor Grażyna Bystydzieńska).

Mołczanow, Janina. The Phonology of Glides in Russian and English. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

2006

Kallaus, Agnieszka. Mit i rytuał w twórczości dramatycznej i teatralnej Williama Butlera Yeatsa i Jerzego Grotowskiego. (Myth and Ritual in the Dramatic Works of W.B. Yeats and Jerzy Grotowski). (supervisor Jacek Wiśniewski).

Kiss, Tamás. Investigating the Influence of Mentor Training Programmes on the Formation of Educational Values and Beliefs of Hungarian English Language Teachers. (supervisor Jerzy Zybert).

Kobyłecka, Anna. Self-Regulation in Second Language Learning. Investigating the Influence of Congitive, Metacognitive and motivational Factors in Learning English by Polish Learners in Secondary Context. (supervisor Jerzy Zybert).

Łuczak, Aleksandra. Nauczanie języka angielskiego dla celów specjalistycznych. Konstrukcja i ewaluacja programu nauczania. (Teaching English for Specialist Purposes. Syllabus Construction and Evaluation). (supervisor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska).

Maskiewicz, Sławomir. Narrative Strategies in Muriel Spark’s Fiction. (supervisor Andrzej Weseliński).

Potocka, Dorota. Developing Professional Competence in the Process of Pre- and In-Service Teacher Education. (supervisor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska).

Romaniuk, Jacek. The Sixties Remembered: The Making of the Decade’s Myth in Autobiographical Accounts. (supervisor Piotr Skurowski).

Szmerdt, Dominika. Evaluating the Speaking Skill – Theoretical Models and the Practice of Testing Spoken Language in ELT in Poland. (supervisor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska).

Wortman, Anna. The F.B.I Director J. Edgar Hoover Files: An Analysis and Interpretation of a Political Text. (supervisor Bożenna Chylińska).

2007

Brzostek, Zofia. Palatalization of Obstruents in Optimality Theory from the Perspective of English and Kashubian. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

Esquibel, Joanna. Suffixal vs Periphrastic Comparison of Adjectives in Medieval English. (supervisor Jerzy Wełna).

Dziczek-Karlikowska, Hanna. Error-Based Evidence for the Phonology of Nasals and Glides with Reference to English. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

Gałkowski, Błażej. Rules, Words and Prefabs: Making Sense of Formulaicity in Foreign Language Teaching. (supervisor Romuald Gozdawa-Gołębiowski).

Konert-Panek, Monika. From Mentalism to Optimality Theory: Notion of the Basic Phonological Segment from the Perspective of European and American Phonological Theories. Evidence form English and Polish. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

Ładyga-Michalska, Zuzanna. The Ethics of Referentiality and Affect Construction Strategies in the Work of Donald Barthelme. (supervisor Agata Preis-Smith).

Michoński, Cezary. British, American, or Mid-Atlantic? Cultural Preferences among Polish Students of English at the University Level. (supervisor Bożenna Chylińska).

Nowik-Dziewiecka, Ewa. Banter: A Corpus-Based Relevance-Theoretic Study. (supervisor Ewa Mioduszewska-Crawford).

Poszytek, Paweł. Testing Language Proficiency in the Polish Secondary Education in the Context of Examination and Standards of the Council of Europe and the European Union. (supervisor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska).

Schramm, Ewa. Nauka języków nowożytnych w Polsce w okresie zaborów, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem języka angielskiego. (Modern Language Teaching, Especially English, in Poland During the Partition Period). (supervisor Jan Rusiecki).

Szarkowska, Agnieszka. Forms of Address and Vocatives in Contemporary English and Polish. Implications for Translation. (supervisor Jan Rusiecki).

Wiśniewski, Mikołaj Jakub. Ironic Orpheus: Deconstructing Kantian Aesthetics in the Poetry of Walt Whitman, Robert Frost and William Carlos Williams. (supervisor Agata Preis-Smith).

Wojtyś, Anna. Past Participle Marking in Medieval English: A Corpus-Based Study in Historic Morphology. (supervisor Jerzy Wełna).

2008

Dąbrowska, Małgorzata. Strategies of Foreign Language Learning and Use: The Educational Value of Strategy Training in Teaching English to Adult Learners. (supervisor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska).

Kosińska, Katarzyna. Conversational Humour: Its Functions and Uptake in Discourse. A Corpus-Based Study. (supervisor Ewa Mioduszewska-Crawford).

Masiejczyk, Alisa. Error Treatment and the Adult Learner: A Study of Error Awareness and Error Gravity in Foreign Language Teachers and Students. (supervisor Romuald Gozdawa-Gołębiowski).

Sądej-Sobolewska, Kinga. The Synonyms of Hill and Mountain in Medieval English: Explorations in Historical Semantics. (supervisor Jerzy Wełna).

Wierzchowska, Justyna. A Path to the Absolute or ‘Weapon in the Cold War’: Constructing the Meaning of Abstract Expressionism from the 1940s to the Present. (supervisor Piotr Skurowski).

Ziarkowska-Ciechanowska, Joanna. Negotiating Versions of Writing the Past: The Dynamics of Reclaiming History in Chinese American and Native American Literatures. (supervisor Jadwiga Maszewska).

2009

Boguta-Marchel, Hanna. The Evil, the Fated, the Biblical: The Latent Metaphysics of Cormac McCarthy. (supervisor Agata Preis-Smith).

Chada, Agnieszka. The Structure and Phonological Behaviour of Diphtongs in English from a Germanic Typological Perspective. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

Domagała, Marta. The Mechanics of Autosegmental Spreading in the Class of Abstinents from the Perspective of Old English and Old Church Slavic. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

Domalewska, Dorota. A Socio-Cultural Component in the Teaching of English to Polish Secondary School Students. (supervisor Jerzy Zybert).

Kociołek, Katarzyna. The Idea of Blackess in Relation to the Idea of Britishness in the British Visual Arts Discourse of the 1980s and 1990s. (supervisor Piotr Skurowski).

Królak, Emilia. Fictional Interaction: its Functions and Discourse Usage. A Cognitivist Study. (supervisor Elżbieta Górska).

Kupisz, Paulina. Postmodern Parodic Modes in A.S. Byatt’s Fiction. (supervisor Andrzej Weseliński).

Pochmara-Ryżko, Anna. Engendering the New Negro – A Gender and Sexuality Studies Analysis of Harlem Renaissance Discourse. (supervisor Piotr Skurowski).

Pytel, Katarzyna. Empathy and Irony in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Dream Vision Poems. (supervisor Barbara Kowalik).

Mazurkiewicz, Michał. Baseball i piłka nożna w amerykańskiej i polskiej kulturze jako przykład współczesnego mitu i rytuału. (Baseball and Football as Examples of Myth and Ritual in Polish and American Contemporary Culture). (supervisor Marek Gołębiowski).

Walczuk-Beltrao, Ana Carolina. The Interrelation of Culture, Attitudes and Motivation in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching. (supervisor Jerzy Zybert).

Wiśniewska-Białas, Hanna. Wpływ języka angielskiego na polszczyznę pamiętników internetowych (tzw. blogów) (The Influence of English on the Polish Language of Internet Blogs). (supervisor Jan Rusiecki).

Włodarczyk, Justyna. Ungrateful Daughters: Third Wave Feminist Prose. (supervisor Agata Preis-Smith).

2010

Borowska-Szerszun, Sylwia. Carnivalesque Semiotics in Late Medieval and Early Renaissance English Interludes. (supervisor Barbara Kowalik).

Hołownia, Olga. The Reevaluation of Myth and Cliché. A Comparative Study of Selected Works by Carol Ann Duffy and Forarinn Eldjarn. (supervisor Jerzy Jarniewicz, Dagny Kristjansdottir)

Iwan, Karolina. Opacity in Current American Phonological Theories: Interaction of Vowel Deletion with Selected Phonological Processes in Polish. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

Kasprzak, Wojciech. The Categorization and Perception of Nature in Intra- and Interlinguistic Translation in Polish and English Texts. (supervisor Aniela Korzeniowska, Jan Rusiecki).

Krawczyk-Żywko, Lucyna. Of Men and Angels: A Study in Imagery, Symbolism and Functions of the Victorian Angel. (supervisor Piotr Skurowski).

Łodej, Sylwester. The Terminology Denoting Ecclesiastics and its Secularization: A Study in English Historical Semantics and Sociolinguistics. (supervisor Jerzy Wełna).

Łozińska-Bastek, Joanna. Dynamic Sense of Selected Prepositions in the Acquisition of Polish: A Cognitive Study. (supervisor Elżbieta Górska).

Mróz, Małgorzata. Bilingual Language Acquisition: Focus on Relative Clauses in Polish and English. (supervisor Jerzy Zybert).

Płachta, Justyna. The Conventions of Melodrama in Selected Victorian Novels and Their Stage Adaptations. (supervisor Grażyna Bystydzieńska).

Pospieszyńska-Wojtkowiak, Magdalena. Individual Differences and Oral Attainment in Foreign Language Learning. (supervisor Jerzy Zybert).

Rudnicka, Kinga. Transitivity as a Construal Phenomenon: A Cognitive Study. (supervisor Elżbieta Górska).

2011

Cyluk, Agnieszka. A Comparative Analysis of the Speech Acts of Thanking and Responses to it in Spoken British English and Polish. (supervisor Jan Rusiecki).

Gutowska, Anna. The Role of Popular Literature Conventions in George Eliot’s Fiction. (supervisor Grażyna Bystydzieńska).

Księżopolska, Irena. The Web of Sense: Patterns of Involution in Selected Fictions by Virginia Woolf and Vladimir Nabokov. (supervisor Andrzej Weseliński).

Miernik, Mirosław. Between Fiction, Biography and the Autobiographical. The Construction and Appropriation of Frederic William Rolfe’s Literary Images in his Writings and his Autobiographies. (supervisor Piotr Skurowski).

Pawelec, Przemysław. Development in Argumentation in American Phonological Theories: from the Sound Pattern of English to Optimality Theory. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

Piórkowska, Agnieszka. On the Margins of the Modality Category: The Case of Boulomaic Modality. A Cognitive Study. (supervisor Elżbieta Górska).

Rzeźnik-Knotek, Małgorzata. Assessment in Online Language Courses. (supervisor Jan Rusiecki).

Szymczak, Piotr. Intentional Destruction of Books in Early Modern England, 1521–1649. An Analysis of a Cultural Phenomenon and Its Reflection in Literature of the Time. (supervisor Małgorzata Grzegorzewska).

Zdrodowski, Adam. Irony as a Means of Escaping Categorization and Finding a Distinctive Poetic Voice in the Work of Elizabeth Bishop. (supervisor Agnieszka Salska).

Ziółek-Sowińska, Małgorzata. Apocalyptic Tropes and Themes in African American Spirituals and Blues. (supervisor Piotr Skurowski).

2012

Broś, Karolina. Survival of the Fittest: Fricative Lenition in English and Spanish from the Perspective of Optimality Theory. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

Budohoska, Natalia. English in Kenya or Kenyan English? A Contrastive Analysis of the International Corpus of English for East Africa and Great Britain. (supervisor Jerzy Wełna).

Gos, Małgorzata. Examinations and Certifications in the Teaching of English for Specific Purposes. International Standards in Language Testing for Military Purposes. (supervisor Hanna Komorowska).

Klimczak-Pawlak, Agata. Speech Acts of Apologizing in Euro-Englishes: a Cross-Cultural Pragmatics Approach. (supervisor Jerzy Zybert).

Krajewska, Marta. Cross-Linguistic Analysis of Affricatives with Special Reference to English and Polish. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

Łodej, Monika Kinga. Types of Difficulties in the Development of Reading Skills in Polish Dyslexic Learners of English – a Cross-Linguistic Study. (supervisor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska).

Marczak, Mariusz. Developing Intercultural Competence in the Foreign Language Classroom with the Use of Information and Communication Technology. (supervisor Hanna Komorowska).

Moczyńska, Joanna Krystyna. Renaissance Pandeia in John Lyly’s Eupheus Books. Elizabethan Humanism and Protestant Thought. (supervisor Małgorzata Grzegorzewska).

Podlecka, Eliza. The Impact of Adopted Approach to Teaching Receptive Skills on Learners’ Achievement. A study of Teachers and Students of English in Ciechanów Secondary School. (supervisor Jerzy Zybert).

Popiel, Magdalena. Representations of Art and Artists in Selected Fiction of Ian McEwan. (supervisor Andrzej Weseliński).

Rybarczyk, Magdalena. Dynamics of Nominal Reference in Discourse. A Cognitive Study of Implicit Interpersonal Relations. (supervisor Elżbieta Górska).

Sierocka, Halina. Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Adult Professionals. Designing and Implementing Courses of English for Legal Purposes. (supervisor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska).

Warso, Anna. Staging America, Staging the Self. Figurations of Loss in John Berryman’s The Dream Songs. (supervisor Agata Preis-Smith).

2013

Austin, Patrycja Magdalena. Glocal Imaginaries in Salman Rushdie’s The Ground Beneath Her Feet, Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy and An Equal Music, and Amit Chaudhuri’s A Strange and Sublime Address, Afternoon Raag and The Immortals. (supervisor Jacek Wiśniewski).

Buczyński, Grzegorz. The Discourse of Conquest in Medieval Arthurian Literature: Continuity and Relevance Across Selected Narratives. (supervisor Barbara Kowalik).

Budna, Anna. The Regional Distribution of Present Participle Marking in Middle English: a Corpus Study. (supervisor Jerzy Wełna).

Cwynar, Tobiasz. Literature as a Drama of Deliverance: A study of David Gascoyne’s Writings 1936–1943. (supervisor Jerzy Jarniewicz).

Dybko, Klaudia. Semantic and Pragmatic Meaning of Slogans from Relevance-Theoretic Perspective: A Corpus-Based Study. (supervisor Ewa Mioduszewska-Crawford).

Grądzielewska, Sylwia. The English Reformation Revisited. Religious Discourse in Henrician England through Modern Criticism. (supervisor Bożenna Chylińska).

Karczewski, Daniel. Genericity in Language and Thought. A Cognitive Study. (supervisor Elżbieta Górska).

Kocel-Duraj, Agnieszka. Palatalization in Late Middle English Dialects as Exemplified by each, much, such, which: a corpus study. (supervisor Jerzy Wełna).

Lewandowska-Rodak, Dominika. City. Photo. Text. Iain Sinclair’s Photographic Writing and His Vision of London. (supervisor Dominika Oramus).

Lipski, Jakub Paweł. In Quest of the Self: Masquerades and Travels in the Eighteenth-Century Novel. (supervisor Grażyna Bystydzieńska).

Luto-Lach, Krystyna. Gardens in Medieval and Seventeenth-Century English Poetry: Between the Practical and the Spiritual. (supervisor Barbara Kowalik).

Szmyd, Patrycja. Proverb Comprehension: A Study within Ostensive-Inferential Communication Theory. (supervisor Ewa Mioduszewska- Crawford).

2014

Al-Adwari, Mohammed. Arabic-English/English-Arabic Literary Translation and Its Cultural Complexities: Illustrated by Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz and The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. (supervisor Aniela Korzeniowska).

Bienias, Barbara. Literature as a Store of Patterns for Creative Imitation – Aesthetic Mimesis and Social Mimicry in England in the Years 1586–1603. (supervisor Małgorzata Grzegorzewska).

Broniś, Olga. Word-Final Vowel Epenthesis in Italian Loanword Adaptation. Borrowings from English, German and French. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

Buksińska, Beata. Kultura brytyjska w nauczaniu języka angielskiego jako obcego (British Culture in Teaching English as a Foreign Language). (supervisor Jan Rusiecki).

Ceren, Agnieszka. The Hybridity and Monstrosity of the Siren Figure in Literature and Culture. (supervisor Jacek Wiśniewski).

Czemiel, Grzegorz. Limits of Orality and Textuality in Ciaran Carson’s Poetry. (supervisor Jerzy Jarniewicz).

Dzięcioł-Pędich, Agnieszka. Difficulties in the Process of Implementing the Communicative Approach in Foreign Language Teaching. A Cross-Cultural Study. (supervisor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska).

Górska-Poręcka, Bożena. Towards Effective ESP Instruction: The Impact of Teacher Cognition on Course Design and Classroom Practice. (supervisor Romuald Gozdawa-Gołębiowski).

Jabłoński, Tomasz. The Problem of Freedom and Individuality in Paradise Lost within the Perspective of the Twentieth Century Existential Philosophy. (supervisor Małgorzata Grzegorzewska).

Kamińska-Chabiera, Paulina. Manifestations of Trauma in the Works of Doris Lessing. (supervisor Dominika Oramus).

Kozubowska-Puławska, Łucja. Angelic Instruments of Love and Power in Major Elizabethan Literary Works: A Study of Angelic Motifs. (supervisor Małgorzata Grzegorzewska).

Kulińska, Anna. The Role of Mentoring and Internship in Pre-Service Education of English Language Teachers. (supervisor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska).

Napieralska, Barbara. English Renaissance Literature as a Store of Patterns for Creative Imitation; Aesthetic Mimesis and Social Mimicry in the Years 1586–1603. (supervisor Małgorzata Grzegorzewska).

Pitura, Joanna. Stress and Occupational Burnout in the Polish Teachers of English – an Empirical Study. (supervisor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska).

Reda, Maciej. Gilbert K. Chesterton’s Apology for Catholicism. (supervisor Małgorzata Grzegorzewska).

Różycki, Michał. Mythopoeic Functions of British and American Conspiracy Theory Narratives at the Turn of the 21st Century. (supervisor Marek Gołębiowski).

Sawicka, Ewa. The Renaissance Quests in William Shakespeare’s Late Plays: Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest. (supervisor Małgorzata Grzegorzewska).

Sulmicki, Maciej. Use and Abuse of the Victorian Period in British Fiction in 1990–2009: The Role of Narratives Set in the 19th Century on the Threshold of the 21st. (supervisor Andrzej Weseliński).

Świerk, Małgorzata. Quality in E-Language Teaching in the Polish Tertiary Education Context. (supervisor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska).

Wajda, Edyta. Assessment and Self-assessment in English Language Pedagogy and Teacher Education. (supervisor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska).

2015

Bęcławski, Mariusz. Nouns Denoting ‘Music’ in Old and Middle English: A Study in English Historical Semantics. (supervisor Jerzy Wełna).

Biegajło, Bartłomiej. Totalitarian (In)experience. Matters of Totalitarianism in Literature: Selected Issues of Translation. (supervisor Aniela Korzeniowska).

Dudek, Katarzyna. Vanishing Voices. Silence(s) in the Poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins, T.S. Eliot and R.S. Thomas. (supervisor Grażyna Bystydzieńska).

Grzegorzewska, Larysa. Exploring the Relationship between the Level of Intelligence and the Choice of Language Learning Strategies in Adult Learners of EFL. (supervisor Maria Dakowska).

Jurkowicz, Marcin. Womanism, Imagery, and Translation. The Polish Reception of Alice Walker’s and Toni Morrison’s Womanist Novels. (supervisor Aniela Korzeniowska).

Karczmarczyk, Justyna. In the Realm of Mediaeval Monsters: A Lexico-Semantic Analysis (Old and Middle English). (supervisor Jerzy Wełna).

Kłos, Małgorzata. The Notion of Death as Reflected in Language: Euphemisms for ‘Die’ in Old and Middle English. (supervisor Jerzy Wełna).

Marhula, Joanna. Metaphor in Spoken Discourse. Towards Characterization of Tuning Devices in Radio Talk. A Case Study of BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour. (supervisor Elżbieta Górska).

Rydzewski, Paweł. Phonological Consequences of the Backness Distinction in High Vowels with Reference to Selected Slavic Languages from the Perspective of Current American Phonological Theories. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

Stangel, Karolina. Modified Articulator Theory of Distinctive Features from the Perspective of English. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

Szehidewicz, Elwira. Relevance Theory Application to Psychotherapeutic Discourse Analysis. (supervisor Ewa Mioduszewska-Crawford).

Uściński, Przemysław. The Creative Role of Parody in Eighteenth-Century English Literature (Alexander Pope, John Gay, Henry Fielding, Laurence Sterne). (supervisor Grażyna Bystydzieńska).

Vorobyova, Natalia. Christian Transformation of the Self: The Book of Margery Kempe through the Prism of the Existential Philosophy of Soeren Kierkegaard. (supervisor Małgorzata Grzegorzewska).

Wiącek, Tomasz. Juridical Procedures and the Discourse of Law in Medieval English Mystery Plays. (supervisor Barbara Kowalik).

2016

Akrei Sardar Bahri, Abduljabbar. Selected Aspects of Verbal Interaction in the Multilingual Society of Kurdistan. A Case Study: Greetings in Erbil. (supervisor Paweł Kornacki).

A-Shallal, Saad Saleh Saad. Investigating the Collocational Competence of Polish and Yemeni Learners of English as a Foreign Language. (supervisor Maria Dakowska).

Aubed, Maan. Losses, Gains and Survivals in English-Arabic Literary Translation: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë: A Case Study. (supervisor Aniela Korzeniowska).

Cybulska-Goméz de Celis, Katarzyna. European Language Policy and its Implications for Language Teacher Education in the Academic Context. (supervisor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska).

Gołąb, Marcin. Jean Baudrillard’s Theories of Simulations Applied to Recent Crime Fiction. (supervisor Dominika Oramus).

Gomez, Dario. Thomas Nashe’s The Unfortunate Traveller and the Spanish Picaresque Tradition of the 16th Century. (supervisor Krzysztof Fordoński).

Grabalska, Anna. An Analysis of Platonic Ideas and Motifs in the Novels of Iris Murdoch. (supervisor Barbara Kowalik).

Grabowski-Górniak, Przemysław. Conan the Hero. An Exploration of Robert E. Howard’s Conan Cycle in the Light of Antique and Medieval Epic Tradition. (supervisor Barbara Kowalik).

Junkieles, Magdalena. Developing English Language Writing Skills in Upper Secondary Bilingual Education. (supervisor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska).

Maciaszczyk, Sylwia. New Technologies in Tertiary Language Education. (supervisor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska).

Opacki, Marcin. Reconsidering Early Bilingualism: A Corpus-Based Study of Polish Migrant Children in the United Kingdom. (supervisor Romuald Gozdawa-Gołębiowski, Agnieszka Otwinowska-Kasztelanic).

Sobol, Helena. The Old English Letter Wynn <ƿ> as the Labial Approximant [ʋ]: A Diachronic and Synchronic Analysis from the Perspective of Optimality Theory. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

Szulc, Sylwia. Accepted, Rejected, Unknown: The Impact of World Politics and Publishing Policies since 1945 on the Translation into English of Polish Novels and Short Stories of the 1945–1989 Period. (supervisor Aniela Korzeniowska).

Szymańska-Sabala, Ewa. Doubles and Duality as Strategies of Subversion in Contemporary Scottish Women’s Writing. (supervisor Jacek Wiśniewski).

Wiechecka, Anna. Indirect Impoliteness – in Search for an Account. A Corpus-Based Study. (supervisor Ewa Mioduszewska-Crawford).

2017

Dudzik, Agnieszka. Course Planning and Syllabus Design in the Teaching of Medical English. (supervisor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska).

Grzyb, Elżbieta. Miejsce dramatów Stanisława Ignacego Witkiewicza w polisystemie literatury amerykańskiej w świetle wybranych koncepcji z kręgu Translation Studies. (The Position of Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz’s Dramas in the American Literary Polysystem in the Light of Chosen Theories form Translation Studies). (supervisor Jerzy Jarniewicz).

Kotwasińska, Agnieszka. Transformations of the Family in Contemporary American Horror Fiction by Women. (supervisor Marek Paryż).

Pielecha, Sylwia. The Study of the Syntax and Semantics of Reflexives and Intensifiers in Old English. (supervisor Jerzy Wełna).

Pitak-Piaskowska, Barbara. Przejawy groteskowości w amerykańskim musicalu teatralnym i filmowym. (The Manifestations of the Grotesque in American Stage and Film Musical). (supervisor Marek Gołębiowski).

Sarnecki, Mateusz. Complement Variation in English Communication Verbs. (supervisor Jerzy Wełna).

Şengül, Ali. Saracens in Middle English Narratives: An Analysis of Literary Images of the Muslim Other. (supervisor Barbara Kowalik).

Staniszewska, Iwona. The Role of the Translator as the Second Author as Perceived in Theory and Practice. (supervisor Aniela Korzeniowska).

Walenta, Magdalena. Form-Function Mapping in Content-based Language Teaching. A Study of Interlanguage Restructuring. (supervisor Romuald Gozdawa-Gołębiowski).

2018

Grądz, Krystian. Living across Borderlines: Queerness and Death in the Times of Epidemic. Literary Representations of Death in Christopher Coe’s Such Times, David Wojnarowicz’s Close to the Knives: A Memoir of Disintegration, and Edmund White’s The Farewell Symphony. (supervisor Agata Preis-Smith).

Grzęda, Paulina. Alterity and Entangled Temporality: History in Selected Works by J. M. Coetzee, André Brink and Zakes Mda. (supervisor Andrzej Weseliński).

Gutowska, Urszula. Teaching Medicolegal Formulaic Language for Communication. A Study of Adult ESP Learners at a Polish Higher Vocational School. (supervisor Romuald Gozdawa-Gołębiowski).

Jaskulski, Józef. Narrative Uses of the Topoi of the Western in Post-9/11 American Television Commercials. (supervisor Marek Paryż).

Krężlewicz, Agnieszka. The Development of a Culture Module in the ESP framework. A Study of Tertiary-level Military English Courses in Poland. (supervisor Romuald Gozdawa-Gołębiowski).

Michta, Kamil. An Ecocritical Inquiry into the Kantian Aspects of John Maxwell Coetzee’s Animal Ethics. (supervisor Bożenna Chylińska).

Nawrot-Lis, Beata. The Challenges of Content Acquisition in a CLIL-Based Chemistry Course at the Lower Secondary School Level. A Case Study. (supervisor Romuald Gozdawa-Gołębiowski).

Rosiński, Maciej. Metaphor Activation in Multimodal Discourse. Case Studies on the Emergence of Geometrical Concepts. (supervisor Elżbieta Górska).

Stajszczak, Tomasz. Skopos Theory and Computer Games in Translation: Storytelling and Play as Key Functions in Computer-Game Language Assets. (supervisor Aniela Korzeniowska).

Szymczak-Kardulasińska, Monika. In Search of Truth: G. K. Chesterton’s Father Brown Stories as the Medium of Moral and Philosophical Reflection. (supervisor Barbara Kowalik).

Zembrzuski, Dariusz. Reduction Processes in Phonetics-Phonology Interface in Polish: An Analysis from the Perspective of Current American Phonological Theories. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

2019

Dąbrowska, Dorota. Metaphor and Metonymy in Multimodal Discourse. Case Studies of Selected Artworks by Magdalena Abakanowicz and Satirical Cartoons by Paweł Kuczyński. (supervisor Elżbieta Górska).

Fetlińska, Katarzyna. Mind, Brain, and Literature: The Fiction of Iain M. Banks. (supervisor Dominika Oramus).

Kuźmicki, Michał. Stem Level and Word Level in Lexical Phonology and Optimality Theory: English and Nahuatl Nasal Assimilation and Polish Palatalization. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

Mąkowska, Joanna. The Nomadic Subject in the Works of Mina Loy and Adrienne Rich. (supervisor Julia Fiedorczuk-Glinecka).

Muniowski, Łukasz. Beyond (Auto)Biography: Narrating the Lives and Achievements of Selected Leading NBA Players After the Michael Jordan Era. (supervisor Marek Paryż).

Sroczyński, Marcin. Multi-Layered Identities of Homosexual Characters in Alan Hollinghurst’s Novels. (supervisor Dominika Oramus).

Tomaszewska, Magdalena. The Evolution of Surviving English Preterite-Present verbs āgan, cunnan, *durran, *magan, *mōtan, *sculan): A Corpus-Based Study. (supervisor Jerzy Wełna).

2020

Olański, Piotr. Traces of Cinematic Narrative in Christopher Isherwood’s Oeuvre. (supervisor Dominika Oramus).

Tołoczko, Ewa. Diagnosing Critical Incidents by Teachers of English as a Foreign Language with Reference to Their Domain Expertise. (supervisor Maria Dakowska).

2021

Baretto Silva, Breno. Learning Academic Words through Writing: Can Cognitive Overload Affect Task Involvement? (supervisor Agnieszka Otwinowska-Kasztelanic).

Bolimowska, Aleksandra. Translating the Untranslatable: Media and Literary Translation Within Diverse Legal and Political Systems. (supervisor Aniela Korzenioswka).

Dale, James. Incognitos: Shakespeare’s Uses of Disguise in the Light of New Historicism and Its Legacy. (supervisor Anna Cetera-Włodarczyk).

Kosecka, Justyna. Palatalization Processes in Kashubian from the Perspective of Optimality Theory. (supervisor Jerzy Rubach).

Orzechowska, Anna. Anxiety, Ambiguity and Authenticity: The Vision of Women’s Existential Experience in Marilyn Duckworth’s Fiction. (supervisor Dominika Oramus).

Wieczorek, Magdalena. Humour as a Carrier of Meaning in Sitcom Discourse: A Data-Based Study from a Relevance-Theoretic Perspective. (supervisor Agnieszka Piskorska).

2022

Al-Khawlani, Ammar. The Effect of Self-Regulation, Metacognition and Learning Strategies on English Language Learning at the Tertiary Level: A Study of Polish and Yemeni EFL Learners. (supervisor Zbigniew Możejko).

Chmielewska, Anita. Women about Women: Female Voices in Contemporary British-Jewish Fiction. (supervisor Dominika Oramus).

Chrzczonowicz, Kamil. Open-Source Blackness: Anti-Essentialist Humor in the Satire of the New Black Renaissance. (supervisor Ewa Łuczak).

Kaźmierczak, Weronika. Non-Metaphorical and Metaphorical Meanings of Middle English Military Nouns in the Historical Perspective: A Corpus-Study. (supervisor Jerzy Wełna).

Kiljańczyk, Anna. Medieval English Names of Watercourses and Natural Water Reservoirs: Lexis and Semantics. (supervisor Jerzy Wełna, Anna Wojtyś).

Mejer, Anna. The Uses of Food in Charles Dickens’ Novels as a Commentary on Victorian Society and Manners. (supervisor Piotr Skurowski).

Ożarowska, Aleksandra. Opera Surtitling and Subtitling in the Context of Contemporary Opera Staging Practice: A Functional and Multimodal Perspective. (supervisor Izabela Szymańska).

Szafrańska-Chmielarz, Maria. The Representation of the Rulers of The British Isles in Fantasy Fiction of the 20th and 21st Centuries. (supervisor Dorota Babilas).

Wardęga, Jakub. The Development of the Catholic Teaching of the Eucharist and Its Influence on Bible Verses and Paratexts Concerned with this Teaching as Exemplified by Subsequent English Catholic Bible Translations. (supervisor Małgorzata Grzegorzewska, Marek Blaza).

Habilitacje (post-doctoral degrees)

The list contains the habilitacje given to English Studies scholars at the Faculty of Modern Languages at the University of Warsaw, usually based on published books (in some cases, collections of essays). If the publication was written in Polish (usually to increase circulation), the English translation of the title is given in brackets.

1966

Reszkiewicz, Alfred. Ordering of Elements in Late Old Polish Prose in Terms of their Size and Structural Complexity.

1970

Krajewska, Wanda. Recepcja literatury angielskiej w Polsce w okresie modernizmu (1887–1918): Informacja, sądy, przekłady. (The Reception of English Literature in Poland during the Modern Period, 1887–1918: Information, Criticism, and Translations).

1974

Łobzowska, Maria. Samuel Butler, the Prose Writer.

1978

Bałutowa, Bronisława. Spatial Complex: A Study of Spatial Problems in Fiction, Illustrated with Examples from Representative Works of English Short Fiction, 1900–1925.

1979

Woytowicz-Neyman, Monika. Angielski język ekonomii w szkole wyższej. (The English Language of Economics at the University Level).

1982

Kieniewicz, Teresa. Men, Women, and the Novelist: Fact and Fiction in the American Novel of the 1870s and 1880s.

Lewicki, Zbigniew. The Bang and the Whimper: Apocalypse and Entropy in American Literature.

1983

Weseliński, Andrzej. Graham Greene, the Novelist: A Study of the Cinematic Imagination.

1984

Rusiecki, Jan. Adjectives and Comparison in English: A Semantic Study.

1985

Rozbicki, Michał. Transformation of the English Cultural Ethos in Colonial America: Maryland, 1634–1720.

1986

Wełna, Jerzy. A Critical Survey of a Historical Phonology of English Vowels.

1987

Rulewicz, Wanda. A Semiotic Study of the Plays of Edward Bond.

1988

Wiśniewski, Jacek. Mars and the Muse: Attitudes to War and Peace in 20th-Century English Literature.

1989

Gołębiowski, Marek. Musical amerykański na tle kultury popularnej USA. (The American Musical against the Background of American Popular Art).

1991

Mioduszewska, Ewa. Conventional Implicature and Semantic Theory.

1995

Preis-Smith, Agata. “Inventions of Farewell”: American Elegiac Poetry from the Puritans to Modern Times.

1997

Skurowski, Piotr. A Model and a Warning: The American Reform Mind and the Image of Europe, 1890–1918.

1998

Chylińska, Bożenna. “In search of greener pastures”: A Hundred Years of the Zionist Idea in the United States. From Zionism to Israelism.

2000

Górska, Elżbieta. On Parts and Wholes: A Cognitive Study of English Schematic Part Terms.

2003

Gozdawa-Gołębiowski, Romuald. Interlanguage Formation: A Study of the Triggering Mechanisms.

2004

Grzegorzewska, Małgorzata. The Medicine of Cherries: English Renaissance Theories of Poetry.

2008

Oramus, Dominika. Grave New World. The Decline of the West in the Fiction of J.G. Ballard.

2009

Błaszkiewicz, Bartłomiej. Oral-Formulaic Diction in the Middle English Verse Romance.

Korzeniowska, Aniela. Explorations in Polish-English Mistranslation Problems.

2010

Cetera-Włodarczyk, Anna. Smak morwy. U źródeł recepcji przekładów Szekspira w Polsce. (The Taste of Mulberries: The Reception of Shakespeare in Poland).

Paryż, Marek. Figures of Dependence, Figures of Expansion: Representations of the Post-Colonial and Imperial Experience in the Discourse of American Transcendentalism.

2011

Łuczak, Ewa. How Their Living Outside America Affected Five African-American Authors: Towards a Theory of Expatriate Literature.

2012

Kornacki, Paweł. Studies in Emotions: Ethnolinguistic Perspectives.

Łukaszewicz, Beata. Phonological Acquisition in Optimality Theory: Towards an Integrated Comprehension-Production Grammar.

2013

Babilas, Dorota. Wiktoria znaczy Zwycięstwo. Kulturowe oblicza brytyjskiej królowej (Victoria Means Victory: Cultural Representations of the British Queen).

Rutkowski, Paweł. Kot czarownicy. Demon osobisty w Anglii wczesnonowożytnej. (The Witch’s Cat. Familiar Spirits in Early Modern England).

Sokołowska-Paryż, Marzena. Reimagining the War Memorial, Reinterpreting the Great War: The Forms of British Commemorative Fiction.

Szymańska, Izabela. Mosaics. A Construction-Grammar-Based Approach to Translation.

2014

Łuczyńska-Hołdys, Małgorzata. Soft-Shed Kisses: Re-visioning the Femme Fatale in English Poetry of the 19th Century.

Możejko, Zbigniew. Teaching English at the Tertiary Level. A Study of Tokens of Advanceness, Perceptions of Needs and Quality Management.

2015

Czaplicki, Bartłomiej. Lexicon-Based Phonology: Arbitrariness in Grammar.

Opalińska, Monika. To the Rhythm of Poetry: A Study of Late Old English Metrical Prayers.

Pióro, Tadeusz. Frank O’Hara and the Ends of Modernism.

2016

Błaszkiewicz, Maria. Literatura fantastyczna w dialogu z tradycją. (Fantasy Literature in Dialogue with Tradition).

Fiedorczuk-Glinecka, Julia. Ekopoetyka a konwencje poezji amerykańskiej XX wieku. (Eco-Poetics and the Conventions of American Poetry of the 20th Century).

Keane, Barry. Irish Drama in Poland 1900–2000. Staging and Reception.

Otwinowska-Kasztelanic, Agnieszka. Cognate Vocabulary in Language Acquisition and Use: Attitudes, Awareness, Activation.

Piskorska, Agnieszka. Po co rozmawiamy? O funkcjach komunikacji w ujęciu teorii relewancji. (Why do We Talk? Functions of Communication in View of Relevance Theory).

Pypeć, Magdalena. Victorian Poet and His Readers: The Strange Case of Alfred Tennyson’s The Princess.

2017

Dybska, Aneta. Regeneration, Citizenship, and Justice in the American City since the 1970s.

Łączyńska, Klaudia. Echo i Narcyz. O języku upadłym w poezji Andrew Marvella (1621–1678). (Echo and Narcissus: On the Fallen Language in Andrew Marvell’s Poetry).

Wałaszewska, Ewa. Relevance-Theoretic Lexical Pragmatics: Theory and Applications.

2018

Ładyga-Michalska, Zuzanna. The Labour of Laziness in Twentieth-Century American Literature.

Wojtyś, Anna. The Non-Surviving Preterite-Present Verbs in English. The Demise of *dugan, munan, *-nugan, *þurfan, and unnan.

2019

Wierzchowska, Justyna. Kruche podmioty: Ciało i relacyjność w autobiograficznie motywowanych produkcjach artystycznych od lat 1960-tych do czasów obecnych. (Vulnerable Subjects: The Body and Relations in Autobiographic Artistic Productions since the 1960s).

Włodarczyk, Justyna. Genealogy of Obedience: Reading North-American Dog-Training Literature, 1850s–2000s.

2021

Rędzioch-Korkuz, Anna. Translation as Dialogue of Constraints. A General Theory of Translation.

2022

Kociołek, Katarzyna. Dress as Metaphor: British Female Fashion and Social Change in the 20th Century.

Miernik, Mirosław. Rethinking Fiction after the 2007/8 Financial Crisis: Consumption, Economics, and the American Dream.

Pochmara-Ryżko, Anna. The Nadir and the Zenith: Temperance and Excess in the Early African American Novel.

Ziarkowska-Ciechanowska, Joanna. Indigenous Bodies, Cells, and Genres: Biomedicalization and Embodied Resistance in Native American Literature.

Bibliography of works consulted

(Note: some In memoriam parts were written by other authors who used additional bibliographical sources, listed under their texts)

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Birkenmajer, Maria; Hanna Morawska. “Brief Chronicle of the English Department based on Excerpts from the Annals of the University of Warsaw from the period 1922/23 to 1938/39,” The Fiftieth Anniversary of the English Department, University of Warsaw, 1923–1973. Zofia Dziedzic (ed.). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 1975, 6–9.

Borowy, Wacław. “Wspomnienia pośmiertne: Andrzej Tretiak (1886–1944),” Rocznik Towarzystwa Naukowego Warszawskiego, 1938–1945, no. 31–38, 262–264.

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Carter, Ronnie D. English Studies in Poland during the 20th Century, 1909–2000: American Studies, British Studies, Linguistics, Applications of Linguistics, and Foreign Language Teaching. Warsaw: University of Warsaw Library, 2009.

Chylińska, Bożenna (ed.). Revolutions, Evolutions, and Devolutions in Europe, America and Elsewhere. Warsaw: Institute of English Studies, University of Warsaw, 2010.

Corse, Edward. “The British Council behind the Iron Curtain: Cultural Propaganda in early Cold War Poland,” Propaganda and Conflict. War, Media and Shaping the Twentieth Century. Mark Conelly, Jo Fox, Stefan Goebel, Ulf Schmidt (eds.). Bloomsbury Academic, 2019, 229–252.

Dakowska, Maria. “Introduction to Foreign Language Teaching in Poland, 1948–2000.” English Studies in Poland during the 20th Century, 1909–2000. Ronnie D. Carter (ed.). Warsaw, 2009, 1587–1596.

Dobrzycka, Irena. “The Institute of English in 1973,” The Fiftieth Anniversary of the English Department, University of Warsaw, 1923–1973. Zofia Dziedzic (ed.). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 1975, 33–38.

Dziedzic, Zofia (ed). The Fiftieth Anniversary of the English Department, University of Warsaw, 1923–1973. Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 1975.

Encyklopedia Teatru Polskiego, “Grzegorz Sinko,” (ETP). [online:] https://encyklopediateatru.pl/krytyk/27423/grzegorz-sinko

Encyklopedia Wielkopolan, “Prof. Stanisław Helsztyński.” [online:] https://www.csw2020.com.pl/biogram/stanislaw-helsztynski/

Fisiak, Jacek. English Studies in Poland: A Historical Survey. Poznań: UAM, 1983.

Fisiak, Jacek. “Margaret Schlauch (1898–1986),” Science & Society, vol. 68, no. 2, summer 2004, 216–218.

Furmańczyk, Wiesław. “Jubileusz Profesora Stanisława Helsztyńskiego. Tabula Gratulatoria,” Acta Philologica, 1976, no. 9, 7–20.

Gdaniec, Ewelina. “Internal clash of cultural identity – the case of George Bidwell,” Heteroglossia, 2020, no. 10, 199–206.

Gołębiowski, Marek. “The Way We Were. A Personal Note,” Revolutions, Evolutions, and Devolutions in Europe, America and Elsewhere. Bożenna Chylińska (ed.). Warsaw: Institute of English Studies, 2010, xv–xviii.

Grider, Jeannette. “Michał Rozbicki, Ph.D.: 1946–2019,” Saint Louis University. [online:] https://www.slu.edu/news/2019/august/michal-rozbicki-phd-obituary.php

Grzegorzewska, Małgorzata. “In Memory of Professor Grzegorz Sinko. Written in 2010,” Acta Philologica, 2010, no. 37, 9–10.

Grzegorzewska, Małgorzata. “Wspomnienie o prof. dr hab. Wandzie Rulewicz,” Acta Philologica, 1996, no. 23, 95–96.

Helsztyński, Stanisław. “The English Department of the University of Warsaw. Its History in the Polish People’s Republic,” The Fiftieth Anniversary of the English Department, University of Warsaw, 1923–1973. Zofia Dziedzic (ed.). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 1975, 24–32.

Helsztyński, Stanisław. “Andrzej Tretiak,” Pamiętnik Literacki, 1946, no. 36/3–4, 398–404.

“Informator. Instytut Anglistyki Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego. Rok 1987,” Institute of English Studies Library, Warsaw.

Jabłkowska, Róża. “Prewar English Studies at Warsaw University: Luminaries and Graduates,” The Fiftieth Anniversary of the English Department, University of Warsaw, 1923–1973. Zofia Dziedzic (ed.). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 1975, 13–23.

Jaworska, Anna; Anna Cetera-Włodarczyk. Wystawa w 75. rocznicę śmierci prof. Andrzeja Tretiaka (1886–1944). [online:] http://tretiak.wn.uw.edu.pl/#wystawa

Karmel Maryi Matki Pojednania w Bornem Sulinowie, “Historia Bornego Sulinowa.” [online:] http://karmelborne.pl/historia/historia-bornego-sulinowa/

Karpieszuk, Wojciech. “Internet w Polsce zaczął się na Hożej w Warszawie. Dokładnie 30 lat temu,” Gazeta Wyborcza, 17 August 2021. [online:] https://warszawa.wyborcza.pl/warszawa/7,164950,27464289,internet-w-polsce-zaczal-sie-na-hozej-w-warszawie-dokladnie.html

Komorowska, Hanna. Kształcenie językowe w Polsce. 60 lat czasopisma Języki obce w szkole. Fundacja Rozwoju Systemu Edukacji, 2017.

Konderski, Stefan; Piotr Ruszkiewicz; Jerzy Wełna. “Professor Alfred Reszkiewicz on the English Language,” Acta Philologica, 1978, no. 7, 5–24.

Kowalik, Barbara. “Z kart warszawskiej neofilologii: dwieście lat i dobry początek,” Acta Philologica, no. 49, 2016, 7–28.

Krzeszowski, Tomasz. “Introduction to English Linguistics and Applications of Linguistics.” English Studies in Poland during the 20th Century, 1909–2000. Ronnie D. Carter (ed.). Warsaw, 2009, 1033–1048.

Kuźnicka, Danuta. “Grzegorz Sinko. Sylwetka badacza i krytyka teatru,” Pamiętnik Teatralny. 2021, no. 1–2 (241–242), 211–222.

Kwiatkowska, Maria Irena. Pałac Uruskich. Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1974.

Kujawińska-Courtney, Krystyna. “Masters and Teachers: English Studies in Poland,” European English Studies: Contributions towards the History of a Discipline. Balz Engler, Renate Haas (eds.) The European Society for the Study of English, 2000, 161–181.

Kuryłowicz & Associates, “The Modern Languages and Applied Linguistics building.” [online:] https://www.apaka.com.pl/en/projekty/wydzialy-filologiczne-uniwersytetu-warszawskiego

Lipoński, Wojciech. “Western Teachers and East European Students: An Essay on the History and Present Plight of British and American Studies in Poland,” Polish Anglo-Saxon Studies, 1997, vol. 6–7, 5–56.

Majewski, Jerzy S. “Warszawa. Gmach Lingwistyki Stosowanej i Neofilologii UW. Z ogrodem na dachu i w środku.” Blog Miasta Rytm, 07.06.2022. [online:] https://miastarytm.pl/warszawa-gmach-lingwistyki-stosowanej-i-neofilologii-uw-z-ogrodem-na-dachu-i-w-srodku/

Mazur, Zygmunt. Sto lat Instytutu Filologii Angielskiej Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego. Kraków: IFA UJ, 2011.

Podhajecka, Mirosława. Lektorzy języka angielskiego w międzywojniu. Kraków: Universitas, 2021.

Preis-Smith, Agata et al. (ed). Mosaics of Words: Essays on the American and Canadian Literary Imagination in Memory of Professor Nancy Burke. Warsaw: Institute of English Studies, 2006.

Reszkiewicz, Alfred. “The Warsaw English Department – Linguistics,” The Fiftieth Anniversary of the English Department, University of Warsaw, 1923–1973. Zofia Dziedzic (ed.). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 1975, 39–45.

Richmond, Yale. “Margaret Schlauch and American Studies in Poland during the Cold War,” The Polish Review, 1999, vol. XLIV, no. 1, 53–57.

Rubinstein, Annette. “Margaret Schlauch: 1898–1986,” Science & Society, winter 1986/1987, vol. 50, no. 4, 387–389.

Rusiecki, Jan. “Report of the Section of Applied English Linguistics,” The Fiftieth Anniversary of the English Department, University of Warsaw, 1923–1973. Zofia Dziedzic (ed.).. Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 1975, 47–49.

Snopek, Andrzej; Tomasz Czachulski (eds.). Wacław Borowy – po latach. Instytut Badań Literackich PAN, 2019.

Stamirowska, Krystyna. “English Studies at the Jagiellonian University after World War II,” NEWS Letter, autumn 2013, no. 51, 8–13.

Stanisz, Elżbieta. Kierunki polskiej szekspirologicznej myśli krytycznej w dwudziestoleciu międzywojennym. Toruń: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, 2011.

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Winnicka, Ewa. “Śmierć profesora,” Polityka, 2000, no. 17. [online:] https://www.polityka.pl/archiwumpolityki/1870092,1,smierc-profesora.read

Wojtczuk, Michał. “Wielka inwestycja UW. Gmach lingwistyki do rozbiórki,” Gazeta Wyborcza, 07.09.2016. [online:] https://warszawa.wyborcza.pl/warszawa/7,34862,20654841,wielka-inwestycja-uw-gmach-lingwistyki-do-rozbiorki.html

Wróblewski, Andrzej Kajetan. “Zarys dziejów Hożej,” Postępy fizyki, 1994, no. 45, 459–483. [online:] chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.fuw.edu.pl/~ajduk/75/hozapf.pdf

Zieliński, Jarosław. Atlas dawnej architektury ulic i placów Warszawy. Vol. XIV. Warszawa: Biblioteka Towarzystwa Opieki nad Zabytkami, 2008.

“Zlot absolwentów anglistyki 2005,” CD, Institute of English Studies Library, Warsaw.

List of illustrations

In memoriam

Professor Andrzej Tretiak – from The Fiftieth Anniversary of the English Department, University of Warsaw, 1923–1973. Zofia Dziedzic (ed.). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 1975.

Professor Wacław Borowy – the portrait from the lecture hall of the Institute of English Studies, the University of Warsaw (Krakowskie Przedmieście – Nowy Świat – Hoża).

Professor Tadeusz Grzebieniowski – from The Fiftieth Anniversary of the English Department, University of Warsaw, 1923–1973. Zofia Dziedzic (ed.). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 1975.

Professor Alfred Reszkiewicz – from The Fiftieth Anniversary of the English Department, University of Warsaw, 1923–1973. Zofia Dziedzic (ed.). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 1975.

Professor Margaret Schlauch – from The Fiftieth Anniversary of the English Department, University of Warsaw, 1923–1973. Zofia Dziedzic (ed.). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 1975.

Professor Stanisław Helsztyński – from The Fiftieth Anniversary of the English Department, University of Warsaw, 1923–1973. Zofia Dziedzic (ed.). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 1975.

Professor Wanda Rulewicz – from Acta Philologica, 1996, no. 23.

Professor Grzegorz Sinko – from “Zlot absolwentów anglistyki 2005,” CD, the Institute of English Studies Library, Warsaw.

Professor Nancy Burke during one of her travels. From the family archive (by permission).

Professor Irena Dobrzycka – from The Fiftieth Anniversary of the English Department, University of Warsaw, 1923–1973. Zofia Dziedzic (ed.). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Universytetu Warszawskiego, 1975.

Professor Stanisława Kumor at the promotion of her doctoral students, Bożenna Chylińska and Piotr Sadowski, 14 May 1986. From: Chylińska, Bożenna (ed.). Revolutions, Evolutions, and Devolutions in Europe, America and Elsewhere. Warsaw: Institute of English Studies, University of Warsaw, 2010.

Professor Jan Rusiecki celebrating his 80th birthday in 2006. By A. Szarkowska (by permission).

Professor Maria Dakowska. From the family archive, by Marek Dakowski (by permission).

The Institute of English Studies

1. 1966, 40th anniversary of Professor Schlauch’s work. 1st row from left: visiting Prof. W. Weinsberg, Stanisława Kumor, Maria Grabowska, Bronisława Golańska, Zofia Dziedzic, Leszek Biedrzycki. 2nd row: Irena Dobrzycka, Stanisław Helsztyński, Margaret Schlauch, Grzegorz Sinko, 3rd row, standing: Leon Ter-Oganjan, Alfred Reszkiewicz, Wiesław Furmańczyk, Jan Rusiecki, Alicja Kędzielska, J. Norwid, Jerzy Szkup, Wanda Krajewska, Maria Michalska-Geryk, Elżbieta Ryszka. (From The Fiftieth Anniversary of the English Department, University of Warsaw, 1923–1973. Zofia Dziedzic (ed.). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 1975).

2. 1966, students of the 4th year with Margaret Schlauch and Zofia Dziedzic (from The Fiftieth Anniversary…). Among the students: (top row) Andrzej Weseliński, Marek Gołębiowski, (2nd row, extreme right) Anna Weselińska.

3. July 1973, the main campus of the University of Warsaw. Holding the banner: Wanda Rulewicz, Wiesław Furmańczyk, Jerzy Rubach. 2nd row: Maria Blus (librarian), Irena Dobrzycka, Anna Kędzielska, Zofia Kapczyńska. 3rd row: Barbara Łapińska (librarian), Anna Weselińska, Andrzej Weseliński. Some people could not be identified.

4. July 1973, the main campus of the University of Warsaw. (From The Fiftieth Anniversary of the English Department, University of Warsaw, 1923–1973. Zofia Dziedzic (ed.). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 1975). 1st row (from top): Wiesław Furmańczyk, NN, Jan Rusiecki, Marek Gołębiowski, Jerzy Rubach, Teresa Kieniewicz. 2nd row: NN, Irena Dobrzycka. 3rd row: Elżbieta Ryszka, Wanda Rulewicz, Leokadia Szyndler (janitor), Teresa Głębicka, Zofia Piekarec (?), Anna Weselińska, Maria Blus (librarian), Alicja Miłek (secretary), Barbara Łapińska (librarian), Alicja Kędzielska, Zofia Kapczyńska, Joanna Krasowska. 4th row: NN, Elżbieta Kurowska.

5. 1978, Jabłonna conference. Scholars including (from the top): 1st row (from left): Jacek Wiśniewski (1), Marek Gołębiowski (5), Jerzy Szkup (10), Bogusław Lawendowski (11). 2nd row: Wiesław Furmańczyk (1), Anna Kołyszko (3), Wanda Rulewicz (4), Teresa Kieniewicz (5), Bronisława Bałutowa (8). 3rd row: Jarosław Anders (1), Stanisława Kumor (4). 4th row: Elżbieta Ryszka (7), Maria Bylina (9), Elżbieta Foeller-Pituch (10), Zbigniew Lewicki (14), Michał Rozbicki (15). 5th row: Agata Preis-Smith (1), Irena Dobrzycka (5), Maria Jędrzejkiewicz (7), Wanda Krajewska (8), Ludmiła Sobolew (9). Some people could not be identified.

6. 1978, American literature conference, Jabłonna. Irena Dobrzycka, Michał Rozbicki, Zbigniew Lewicki, Elżbieta Ryszka (from Prof. Z. Lewicki).

7. 1979, Professor Irena Dobrzycka receiving the honorary degree in Bristol.

8. 1988, British Council. Richard Alford (Director of the British Council), Margaret Thatcher, Jacek Fisiak, Irena Dobrzycka.

9. c. 1990, Irena Dobrzycka, Wanda Rulewicz, Elżbieta Sieniutycz.

10. c. 1990, Pałac Kazimierzowski. Bronisława Bałutowa, Chris Bobiński (Financial Times), Emma Harris, Andrzej Sieroszewski (Dean), Jacek Wiśniewski.

11. 1994, private social meeting. Irena Dobrzycka, Jacek Taylor, Ludmiła Sobolew, Marek Gołębiowski, Bożenna Chylińska, Elżbieta Sieniutycz.

12. c. 1992, Nowy Świat 4. Maria Łyżwińska, Marek Gołębiowski, Emma Harris, Zofia Filipowicz.

13. c. 1992, Nowy Świat 4. Jerzy Wełna, Emma Harris, Irena Dobrzycka, Zofia Filipowicz, Marek Gołębiowski.

14. c. 1993, Pałac Kazimierzowski. Brian Spittles (Ruskin College Oxford), Paddy Lyons, Emma Harris.

15. 1995, the visit of Charles, the Prince of Wales to the University of Warsaw, Pałac Kazimierzowski. Students at the Institute including: Dorota Mościbrodzka (Babilas), Monika Śmiałkowska, Paweł Rutkowski, Wojciech Kasprzak.

16. 1999, Professor Dobrzycka’s jubilee, Nowy Świat 4. Andrzej Kaznowski, Jacek Fisiak, Emma Harris, Grażyna Bystydzieńska, Dominika Oramus, Anna Cetera-Włodarczyk, Maria Bylina, Maria Błaszkiewicz.

17. 2000, Ph.D. promotion, Pałac Kazimierzowski. Beata Łukaszewicz, Jerzy Rubach, Piotr Bański.

18. c. 2001, Pałac Kazimierzowski. Nancy Burke, Joanna Krasowska, Emma Harris.

19. 2001, PASE conference, Kraków. Elżbieta Foltyńska, Jerzy Wełna, Marta Kisielewska, Agnieszka Piskorska, Dorota Babilas, Ewa Wałaszewska.

20. 2002, Ph.D. promotion, Pałac Kazimierzowski. Piotr Skurowski, Piotr Borkowski, Emma Harris, Grażyna Bystydzieńska, Eliza Borkowska, Małgorzata Łuczyńska-Hołdys.

21. 2004, Relevance conference, Kazimierz Dolny. Ewa Mioduszewska, Ernst-August Gutt, Regina Blass.

22. 2004, Ph.D. promotion, Pałac Kazimierzowski. Anna Wojtyś, Joanna Janecka (Esquibel), Marta Sylwanowicz, Jerzy Wełna, Marta Kisielewska-Krysiuk, Jerzy Rubach.

23. 2006, Professor Rusiecki’s jubilee, Pałac Kazimierzowski. Jan Rusiecki, Jerzy Zybert, Aniela Korzeniowska, Hilda Andrews.

24. 2006, Professor Rusiecki’s jubilee, Pałac Kazimierzowski. Agnieszka Otwinowska-Kasztelanic, Jan Rusiecki, Zbiegniew Możejko, Hilda Andrews.

25. 2007, Ph.D. promotion, Pałac Kazimierzowski. Zuzanna Ładyga-Michalska, Ewa Nowik, Agnieszka Szarkowska, Joanna Esquibel, Anna Wojtyś.

26. 2014, relocation to Hoża 69. Joanna Sokołowska, Jakub Żywko, Paweł Rutkowski, Agnieszka Otwinowska-Kasztelanic, Lucyna Krawczyk-Żywko.

27. 2014, relocation to Hoża 69. Mirosław Miernik, Małgorzata Grzegorzewska, Alicja Miłek.

28. 2014, relocation to Hoża 69. Jerzy Wełna, Anna Wojtyś.

29. 2014, Ronald W. Langacker, and Elżbieta Górska with her former Ph.D. students including Agata Kochańska and Michał Rosiński.

30. 2016, Ph.D. promotion, Pałac Kazimierzowski. Bożenna Chylińska, Przemysław Grabowski-Górniak, Barbara Kowalik.

31. 2018, Professor Wełna’s retirement party, Hoża 69, 1st row: Ewa Wałaszewska, Jerzy Wełna, Monika Opalińska, Marta Kisielewska-Krysiuk, Anna Łukaszewicz, Maja Gajek, Mateusz Sarnecki. 2nd row: Elżbieta Górska, Agata Kochańska, Marta Sylwanowicz, Anna Wojtyś. 3rd row: Bartłomiej Czaplicki, Romuald Gozdawa-Gołębiowski, Marcin Opacki, Jerzy Rubach, Paweł Kornacki, Michał Kaluga. On the computer screen, John G. Newman.

32. 2018, Professor Rubach’s jubilee. Barbara Kowalik, Jerzy Rubach, Monika Opalińska, Beata Łukaszewicz, Bartłomiej Czaplicki.

33. 2021, Halloween. Katarzyna Hryniuk, Joanna Ziarkowska-Ciechanowska, Zuzanna Ładyga-Michalska, Anna Pochmara-Ryżko, Justyna Włodarczyk, Jack Harrison.

34. 2022, Berlin, “TE-Con3 Erasmus+” project meeting. Paulina Wacławik, Magdalena Walenta, Marcin Opacki, Romuald Gozdawa-Gołębiowski.

35. 2022, Mrs Alicja Miłek’s retirement party, Hoża 69. Anita Dołęgiewicz, Robert Żmijewski, Marta Czyżewska, Alicja Miłek, Bartłomiej Błaszkiewicz, Agnieszka Piskorska.

36. 2022, Thanksgiving, Dobra 55. Standing: Anna Pochmara-Ryżko, Joanna Ziarkowska-Ciechanowska, Jack Harrison, Marek Paryż, Justyna Włodarczyk. Sitting: Tadeusz Pióro, Agnieszka Piskorska, Ewa Łuczak.

37. 2022, Institute Christmas Party, Dobra 55. Justyna Włodarczyk, Bartłomiej Czaplicki, Magdalena Pypeć.

38. 2023, Dobra 55. The current Heads of the Institute: Bartłomiej Czaplicki, Ewa Łuczak, Agnieszka Piskorska, Elżbieta Foltyńska.

39. 2023, Dobra 55. The current Heads of the Faculty of Modern Languages: Anna Wojtyś, Anna Cetera-Włodarczyk, Monika Kostro, Robert Małecki.

40. 2023, Dobra 55. The current Students’ Office staff: Lidia Matuszewska, Joanna Sokołowska, Marta Czyżewska.

Illustrations

1. 1966, 40th anniversary of Professor Schlauch’s work. 1st row from left: visiting Prof. W. Weinsberg, Stanisława Kumor, Maria Grabowska, Bronisława Golańska, Zofia Dziedzic, Leszek Biedrzycki. 2nd row: Irena Dobrzycka, Stanisław Helsztyński, Margaret Schlauch, Grzegorz Sinko, 3rd row, standing: Leon Ter-Oganjan, Alfred Reszkiewicz, Wiesław Furmańczyk, Jan Rusiecki, Alicja Kędzielska, J. Norwid, Jerzy Szkup, Wanda Krajewska, Maria Michalska-Geryk, Elżbieta Ryszka. (From The Fiftieth Anniversary of the English Department, University of Warsaw, 1923–1973. Zofia Dziedzic (ed.). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 1975).

2. 1966, students of the 4th year with Margaret Schlauch and Zofia Dziedzic (from The Fiftieth Anniversary…). Among the students: (top row) Andrzej Weseliński, Marek Gołębiowski, (2nd row, extreme right) Anna Weselińska.

3. July 1973, the main campus of the University of Warsaw. Holding the banner: Wanda Rulewicz, Wiesław Furmańczyk, Jerzy Rubach. 2nd row: Maria Blus (librarian), Irena Dobrzycka, Anna Kędzielska, Zofia Kapczyńska. 3rd row: Barbara Łapińska (librarian), Anna Weselińska, Andrzej Weseliński. Some people could not be identified.

4. July 1973, the main campus of the University of Warsaw. (From The Fiftieth Anniversary of the English Department, University of Warsaw, 1923–1973. Zofia Dziedzic (ed.). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 1975). 1st row (from top): Wiesław Furmańczyk, NN, Jan Rusiecki, Marek Gołębiowski, Jerzy Rubach, Teresa Kieniewicz. 2nd row: NN, Irena Dobrzycka. 3rd row: Elżbieta Ryszka, Wanda Rulewicz, Leokadia Szyndler (janitor), Teresa Głębicka, Zofia Piekarec (?), Anna Weselińska, Maria Blus (librarian), Alicja Miłek (secretary), Barbara Łapińska (librarian), Alicja Kędzielska, Zofia Kapczyńska, Joanna Krasowska. 4th row: NN, Elżbieta Kurowska.

5. 1978, Jabłonna conference. Scholars including (from the top): 1st row (from left): Jacek Wiśniewski (1), Marek Gołębiowski (5), Jerzy Szkup (10), Bogusław Lawendowski (11). 2nd row: Wiesław Furmańczyk (1), Anna Kołyszko (3), Wanda Rulewicz (4), Teresa Kieniewicz (5), Bronisława Bałutowa (8). 3rd row: Jarosław Anders (1), Stanisława Kumor (4). 4th row: Elżbieta Ryszka (7), Maria Bylina (9), Elżbieta Foeller-Pituch (10), Zbigniew Lewicki (14), Michał Rozbicki (15). 5th row: Agata Preis-Smith (1), Irena Dobrzycka (5), Maria Jędrzejkiewicz (7), Wanda Krajewska (8), Ludmiła Sobolew (9). Some people could not be identified.

6. 1978, American literature conference, Jabłonna. Irena Dobrzycka, Michał Rozbicki, Zbigniew Lewicki, Elżbieta Ryszka (from Prof. Z. Lewicki).

7. 1979, Professor Irena Dobrzycka receiving the honorary degree in Bristol.

8. 1988, British Council. Richard Alford (Director of the British Council), Margaret Thatcher, Jacek Fisiak, Irena Dobrzycka.

9. c. 1990, Irena Dobrzycka, Wanda Rulewicz, Elżbieta Sieniutycz.

10. c. 1990, Pałac Kazimierzowski. Bronisława Bałutowa, Chris Bobiński (Financial Times), Emma Harris, Andrzej Sieroszewski (Dean), Jacek Wiśniewski.

11. 1994, private social meeting. Irena Dobrzycka, Jacek Taylor, Ludmiła Sobolew, Marek Gołębiowski, Bożenna Chylińska, Elżbieta Sieniutycz.

12. c. 1992, Nowy Świat 4. Maria Łyżwińska, Marek Gołębiowski, Emma Harris, Zofia Filipowicz.

13. c. 1992, Nowy Świat 4. Jerzy Wełna, Emma Harris, Irena Dobrzycka, Zofia Filipowicz, Marek Gołębiowski.

14. c. 1993, Pałac Kazimierzowski. Brian Spittles (Ruskin College Oxford), Paddy Lyons, Emma Harris.

15. 1995, the visit of Charles, the Prince of Wales to the University of Warsaw, Pałac Kazimierzowski. Students at the Institute including: Dorota Mościbrodzka (Babilas), Monika Śmiałkowska, Paweł Rutkowski, Wojciech Kasprzak.

16. 1999, Professor Dobrzycka’s jubilee, Nowy Świat 4. Andrzej Kaznowski, Jacek Fisiak, Emma Harris, Grażyna Bystydzieńska, Dominika Oramus, Anna Cetera-Włodarczyk, Maria Bylina, Maria Błaszkiewicz.

17. 2000, Ph.D. promotion, Pałac Kazimierzowski. Beata Łukaszewicz, Jerzy Rubach, Piotr Bański.

18. c. 2001, Pałac Kazimierzowski. Nancy Burke, Joanna Krasowska, Emma Harris.

19. 2001, PASE conference, Kraków. Elżbieta Foltyńska, Jerzy Wełna, Marta Kisielewska, Agnieszka Piskorska, Dorota Babilas, Ewa Wałaszewska.

20. 2002, Ph.D. promotion, Pałac Kazimierzowski. Piotr Skurowski, Piotr Borkowski, Emma Harris, Grażyna Bystydzieńska, Eliza Borkowska, Małgorzata Łuczyńska-Hołdys.

21. 2004, Relevance conference, Kazimierz Dolny. Ewa Mioduszewska, Ernst-August Gutt, Regina Blass.

22. 2004, Ph.D. promotion, Pałac Kazimierzowski. Anna Wojtyś, Joanna Janecka (Esquibel), Marta Sylwanowicz, Jerzy Wełna, Marta Kisielewska-Krysiuk, Jerzy Rubach.

23. 2006, Professor Rusiecki’s jubilee, Pałac Kazimierzowski. Jan Rusiecki, Jerzy Zybert, Aniela Korzeniowska, Hilda Andrews.

24. 2006, Professor Rusiecki’s jubilee, Pałac Kazimierzowski. Agnieszka Otwinowska-Kasztelanic, Jan Rusiecki, Zbiegniew Możejko, Hilda Andrews.

25. 2007, Ph.D. promotion, Pałac Kazimierzowski. Zuzanna Ładyga-Michalska, Ewa Nowik, Agnieszka Szarkowska, Joanna Esquibel, Anna Wojtyś.

26. 2014, relocation to Hoża 69. Joanna Sokołowska, Jakub Żywko, Paweł Rutkowski, Agnieszka Otwinowska-Kasztelanic, Lucyna Krawczyk-Żywko.

27. 2014, relocation to Hoża 69. Mirosław Miernik, Małgorzata Grzegorzewska, Alicja Miłek.

28. 2014, relocation to Hoża 69. Jerzy Wełna, Anna Wojtyś.

29. 2014, Ronald W. Langacker, and Elżbieta Górska with her former Ph.D. students including Agata Kochańska and Michał Rosiński.

30. 2016, Ph.D. promotion, Pałac Kazimierzowski. Bożenna Chylińska, Przemysław Grabowski-Górniak, Barbara Kowalik.

31. 2018, Professor Wełna’s retirement party, Hoża 69, 1st row: Ewa Wałaszewska, Jerzy Wełna, Monika Opalińska, Marta Kisielewska-Krysiuk, Anna Łukaszewicz, Maja Gajek, Mateusz Sarnecki. 2nd row: Elżbieta Górska, Agata Kochańska, Marta Sylwanowicz, Anna Wojtyś. 3rd row: Bartłomiej Czaplicki, Romuald Gozdawa-Gołębiowski, Marcin Opacki, Jerzy Rubach, Paweł Kornacki, Michał Kaluga. On the computer screen, John G. Newman.

32. 2018, Professor Rubach’s jubilee. Barbara Kowalik, Jerzy Rubach, Monika Opalińska, Beata Łukaszewicz, Bartłomiej Czaplicki.

33. 2021, Halloween. Katarzyna Hryniuk, Joanna Ziarkowska-Ciechanowska, Zuzanna Ładyga-Michalska, Anna Pochmara-Ryżko, Justyna Włodarczyk, Jack Harrison.

34. 2022, Berlin, “TE-Con3 Erasmus+” project meeting. Paulina Wacławik, Magdalena Walenta, Marcin Opacki, Romuald Gozdawa-Gołębiowski.

35. 2022, Mrs Alicja Miłek’s retirement party, Hoża 69. Anita Dołęgiewicz, Robert Żmijewski, Marta Czyżewska, Alicja Miłek, Bartłomiej Błaszkiewicz, Agnieszka Piskorska.

36. 2022, Thanksgiving, Dobra 55. Standing: Anna Pochmara-Ryżko, Joanna Ziarkowska-Ciechanowska, Jack Harrison, Marek Paryż, Justyna Włodarczyk. Sitting: Tadeusz Pióro, Agnieszka Piskorska, Ewa Łuczak.

37. 2022, Institute Christmas Party, Dobra 55. Justyna Włodarczyk, Bartłomiej Czaplicki, Magdalena Pypeć.

38. 2023, Dobra 55. The current Heads of the Institute: Bartłomiej Czaplicki, Ewa Łuczak, Agnieszka Piskorska, Elżbieta Foltyńska.

39. 2023, Dobra 55. The current Heads of the Faculty of Modern Languages: Anna Wojtyś, Anna Cetera-Włodarczyk, Monika Kostro, Robert Małecki.

40. 2023, Dobra 55. The current Students’ Office staff: Lidia Matuszewska, Joanna Sokołowska, Marta Czyżewska.

Table of Contents

Table of contents

PART 1. The history of English Studies at the University of Warsaw

1.1. The condition of English Studies in Poland since the beginning of the 20th century

1.2. English Studies within the organisational structure of the University of Warsaw

1.3. The premises of the Institute

1.4. Changes in the official name of the Institute

1.5. Heads of Department

1.6. The history of the Institute

1.7. The Institute at 50 (1973)

The Department of English and American Literature

The Department of the English Language

The Department of English Applied Linguistics

1.8. The Institute from the late 1970s into the 21st century

1.9. Administrative offices (Sekretariaty)

1.10. The Institute library

1.11. The students

PART 2. The Institute of English Studies today (2023)

2.1. Department of British Literature

2.2. Department of North American Cultures and Literatures

2.3. Department of British Culture

2.4. Department of the English Language

Cognitive linguistics

Cross-cultural communication and anthropological linguistics

Historical linguistics

Corpus studies in historical linguistics

Phonology

Syntax

Verbal communication (semantics, pragmatics)

2.5. Department of Applied Linguistics and Translation Studies

PART 3. In memoriam

3.1. Andrzej Tretiak (1886–1944) by Anna Cetera-Włodarczyk

A Tale of (Dis)continuity

References:

3.2. Wacław Borowy (1890–1950)

3.3. Tadeusz Grzebieniowski (1894–1973)

3.4. Alfred Reszkiewicz (1920–1973)

3.5. Margaret Schlauch (1898–1986)

3.6. Stanisław Helsztyński (1891–1986)

3.7. Wanda Krajewska (1927–1989) by Emma Harris

3.8. Wanda Rulewicz (1948–1995)

3.9. Maria Jędrzejkiewicz (1942–1998) by Emma Harris

3.10. Grzegorz Sinko (1923–2000)

3.11. Bronisława Bałutowa (1919–2005) by Emma Harris

3.12. Nancy Burke (1935–2006) by Ewa Łuczak

References:

3.13. Nancy Burke (1935–2006): A life well-lived by Cecelia Lawless

3.14. Irena Dobrzycka (1909–2007) by Emma Harris

3.15. Teresa Kieniewicz (1944–2008)

3.16. Wiesław Furmańczyk (1926–2011)

3.17. Stanisława Kumor (née Skrodzka) (1922–2012) by Bożenna Chylińska

References:

3.18. Alicja Kędzielska (1933–2013)

3.19. Jan Rusiecki (1926–2015) by Agnieszka Otwinowska-Kasztelanic

References:

3.20. Michał Rozbicki (1946–2019)

3.21. Maria Łyżwińska (née Bachman) (1942–2021)

3.22. Maria Birkenmajer (1942–2021) by Klaudyna Michałowicz and Dorota Babilas

3.23. Maria Dakowska (1950–2022) by Katarzyna Hryniuk

PART 4. Remembering the Past Reminiscences of the Professors of the Institute of English Studies

Andrzej Kaznowski

4.1. “We shall overcome” or a struggle for academic autonomy; First “Solidarity” movement – memories of the time

Jerzy Wełna

4.2. Reminiscences

Zbigniew Lewicki

4.3. Those were the days

Emma Harris

4.4. Recollections: the Institute of English Studies, 1974–2023

Jerzy Rubach

4.5. Recollections

Jerzy Rubach

4.6. A short story about [closure in (sic!) the mouth] and the fall of the communist system

Grażyna Bystydzieńska

4.7. Recollections

Grażyna Bystydzieńska

4.8. A short history of the Department of English Literature

Aniela Korzeniowska

4.9. Reflections on the history of the Department of Applied Linguistics and Translation Studies

Jerzy Zybert

4.10. My work at the Institute of English Studies

Appendices

Receivers of the doctoral degree in the years 1930–2022

Habilitacje (post-doctoral degrees)

Bibliography of works consulted

List of illustrations

In memoriam

The Institute of English Studies

Illustrations