Jan Długosz Academy in Częstochowa

Institute of Polish Philology

Directors of the Institute (since June 2009):

Director

Dr hab. Agnieszka Czajkowska
 

Deputy Directors

Dr Dorota Suska

Prof. Maria Lesz-Duk

The Institute of Polish Philology became an independent unit of the Faculty of History and Philology on 1 July 1983. As the research potential of the Institute was growing, its structure had to change in order to become better adjusted to academic standards and the specialisations of the staff. The main goals were to ensure the richest possible educational offer, stimulate research activities in the didactics area and create a local Polish studies environment.
 

Polish studies at the Institute of Polish Philology of Jan Długosz Academy in Częstochowa received a positive assessment of the State Accreditation Commission (Resolution no. 298/2004 of the Presidium of the State Accreditation Commission dated 15 April 2004).
 

The Institute of Polish Philology consists of various departments, similarly to other institutes in the Faculty of History and Philology.
 

The list of departments:

Department of Classical and Old Polish Literature

Department of History of 18^th- and 19^th-century Polish Literature

Department of History of 20^th-century and Contemporary Polish Literature

Department of Theory of Literature

Department of Cultural Studies

Department of Contemporary Polish Language

History of Polish Language Research Group

Department of Didactics of Polish Language and Literature

The studies at the Institute are of teacher-training kind, which means that the graduates are qualified teachers of Polish in various educational institutions, such as primary schools, junior secondary schools and senior secondary schools, as well as in cultural institutions. After the third year of the studies, within the main teaching specialization, students can choose between two further specializations: media education and journalism. They enable students to expand their knowledge and develop skills necessary to work with multimedia equipment, organize and run school clubs and work in so-called ‘authorial’ classes. The specializations have been created in order to increase the graduates’ chances of finding employment in media and media-related institutions. Currently, the syllabus for another specialization, Theatre Education, is being prepared. In the future, with the gradual development of the staff, the Academy intends to transform all the three specializations into independent institutes. With this view in mind, postgraduate courses in journalism are organized. Not only have they been successful in didactic terms but they have also enabled to establish regular cooperation with the local media. Various workshops are held in authentic surroundings, which helps students benefit from professional journalists’ experience and makes it possible for the Institute to gain practical knowledge used in creating the syllabi of the specialization.
 

An integral part of the Polish Philology is the Summer School of Polish Language and Culture. Its main goal is to attract and integrate Polish expatriates and foreign learners of Polish (more at: http://www.szkolaletnia.ajd.czest.pl). The Summer School of Polish Language and Culture has received a permission of the Ministry of National Education to hold courses every year. The classes are taught by experienced lecturers and teachers of the Academy. The participants of the Summer School can use the following publication (which was written specially for this purpose): Czajkowska A., Żywiołek A., Prze-pisane i za-pisane. Wybrane problemy współczesnej literatury polskiej, Częstochowa, 2005.
 

The Faculty of History and Philology intends to create another specialization: Teaching Polish as a Foreign Language. Therefore, all the activities at the Summer School of Polish Language and Culture are closely connected with this plan. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that five graduates of Polish Philology of the Jan Długosz Academy have been delegated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to teach Polish in countries situated east of Poland.

MAIN AREAS OF RESEARCH

The staff of the Institute of Polish Philology is involved in research in the following fields:

- literature

- linguistics

- methodology and didactics of Polish language and literature

- history of literature and history of Polish culture

Within the above mentioned areas, the following aspects are researched:

LITERATURE:

- history of old Polish literature

- history of the 19^th- and 20^th -century Polish literature

- contemporary literature

- theory of literature and poetics

- history of film and theatre

- literature vs. other fields of art

LINGUISTICS

- history of Polish language

- Polish stylistics and lexicology

- syntax and text linguistics

- language of media

METHODOLOGY AND DIDACTICS OF POLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE:

- history of Polish language teaching

- current trends in young speakers’ vocabulary

- aspects of pedeutology

- latest didactic and evaluation methods

In the Institute literature is the most prominent branch of research. The staff specialize in many different areas and conduct research in a wide array of subjects. Currently, the Institute of Polish Philology is identified with unique research fields. It has become possible because the staff regularly and actively participate in conferences as well as local and international academic life. Additionally, the Department of History of 20^th-century and Contemporary Polish Literature and the Department of Theory of Literature are known for their interdisciplinary symposiums.

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