Institutions

University of Łódź (Department for German-language Literature and Culture)

The primary research focus of the department is German-language literature of the 20^th and 21^st centuries, whereby the research perspective is a comparative one. An important field of research in this area is German-language and Polish drama and theatre. Another innovative area of research in Łódź is research conducted on the history and culture of Germans and Jews from Łódź. The most important result of this project is the edition of the Ghetto Chronicles (published in cooperation with the Justus Liebig University in Giessen.)

Within a broad framework of studies offered at the department, it is possible to focus on a specific subject both for the B.A. and M.A. degrees. Degree programs are offered where German studies can be combined with other areas of study (e.g., other linguistic programs or journalism).

Both German Studies basic course programs (B.A. and M.A.) also offer translation courses. In this context the teaching activities of Dr. Małgorzata Półrola should be mentioned, who translated many collections of poems, short stories and novels within the framework of numerous didactic projects. Within the M.A. degree program it is possible to elect a module on “Interpretation and Translation”.

The German Studies Department in Łódź engages in active exchange activities with German universities such as for instance Giessen, Regensburg, Bielefeld, Potsdam, Chemnitz, Trier and Bamberg amongst many others. As a result, many opportunities present themselves for lecturers as well as for graduate and post-graduate students: conferences are organized every year, project and workshops arranged as well as study trips and German/Polish seminars.

University of Łódź

Department for German-language Literature and Culture

Project Staff

Prof. Dr. Joanna Jabłkowska

Joanna Jabłkowska is professor at the Department of German-Language Literature and Culture at the University of Łódź. Research interests: German-language literature of the 20^th and 21^st centuries, literature and politics, Holocaust literature, literary end time visions. She completed her habilitation in 1993 with the study on: “Literature Without Hope: The Crisis of Utopia in German Contemporary Literature”, Wiesbaden 1993. She was appointed as professor in 2002 with the study on: Between Heimat and Nation: The German Paradigm. On Martin Walser, Tübingen 2001. She was Vice Dean of the Philological Faculty (2002 – 2005), and Vice Chancellor of the University of Łódź (2008 – 2012). New publications (articles): Austrian Holocaust Literature? Or a Kafka Duplicate? Ilse Aichinger and the Group 47 (2012); Writing as a Strategy of Survival: Literary Texts from the Łódź Ghetto (together with Krystyna Radziszewska – 2012).

Contact: jojabl@uni.lodz.pl

Dr. Elżbieta Kapral                                 

Dr. Elżbieta Kapral studied German Studies at the universities of Łódź and Giessen. Since 2003 she is employed at the Department of Literature and Cultures of Germany, Austria and Switzerland at the University of Łódź, where she successfully defended her PhD thesis on the topic: “Jurek Becker: A Monography” in 2010. She also held seminars on Polish literature and language at the Martin Luther University in Halle (Saale).

The multifaceted literature of former East Germany (GDR) is one of her primary research interests. In addition, she works on topics such as: coming to terms with the past in German literature after 1945; Polish and German post-reunification literature. She is very active in a number of international (translation) projects whose aim is to popularize German and Polish literature in the respective neighboring country. She also works as an interpreter and translator from the German and Italian languages.

Since 2013 she is the coordinator of the international EU-funded project TransStar at the University of Łódź.

Contact: elzbieta.kapral@uni.lodz.pl

Hanna Kołodziejczyk             

She majored in German Literature at the University of Łódź and studied one year at the Humboldt University in Berlin. From 1995 until today she has been teaching at the University of Łódź. Subjects of study are: language practice and didactics of foreign language teaching (elective course). She also holds courses in advanced training and education of teachers.

She is a teacher trainer of German teachers (she has received a diploma from the Swiss Center for the Advanced Training of Secondary School Teachers in Lucerne, Switzerland), an expert for adult education (she has a diploma of the Academy of Adult Education in Lucerne Switzerland and the Institute of Pedagogics in Kielce). Her research and work interests include didactic questions with respect to the education of teachers and also the following didactic issues: autonomy in the learning and teaching process, implementation of activating methods in teacher education, project as a method for supporting autonomous learning, blended learning at institutions of higher education.

Contact: h.kolodziejczyk@uni.lodz.pl

Villa Decius

The Villa Decius Association (Krakow) is a non-profit cultural organization which was established in 1995 in order to promote the dialogue between European intellectuals and to advance the ideals of democratic thinking and integration. A special focus lies on Central and Eastern Europe. The programmatic work of the association lies on the role of the artist in social dialogue, the protection of cultural heritage, concerns of ethnic minorities and the promotion of tolerance. Since 1998 the Villa Decius provides long-term scholarships for European authors, literary critics and translators. The most important literary projects that have been implemented by the Villa Decius Association in the past years are the programs of the residence scholarships (Homines Urbani, DAGNY, VLRS) and the publication of the trilingual magazine RADAR. Partners of the association include amongst others the City of Krakow, the International Visegrad Fund, the European Cultural Foundation, Circle, the Foundation for German/Polish Cooperation, the Goethe Institute, numerous universities and diplomatic representations in Poland and abroad.

Villa Decius

Project Staff

Małgorzata Różańska

She completed her studies of Germanic Philology at the Jagiellonen University in Krakow and studied Applied Linguistics (English, Spanish) at the Józef Tischner European University in Krakow. From 2005 until 2008 she was active as an internal reviewer at ZNAK publishers and since 2008 she is a free coordinator of the scholarship programs of the Villa Decius Association in Krakow (artist scholarships, DAGNY, Visegrad Literary Residency Program, scholarships for persecuted authors ICORN). She is co-editor of the anthology Podróż na północ [Northbound Journey] (2011) with texts of Polish and Norwegian recipients of a residency scholarship at Villa Decius. Since 2010 she is the secretary of the editorial staff of the international literary journal called RADAR. She is a freelance translator from German and English and a participant in the “TransStar” project.

Contact: gosia@villa.org.pl

Renata Serednicka

She majored in German Studies at the Jagiellonen University in Krakow and Modern German Literary Sciences at the New University Augsburg. From 1997 until today she works as a free project coordinator for the Villa Decius Association in Krakow. Her most important projects are the residency stipend programs for authors and literary translators „Homines Urbani“ and „Dagny“, the co-editorship of two anthologies Ludzie, miasta (People, Cities; 2008) and Podróż na północ [Northbound Journey] (2011) with texts of Polish, German-language, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Norwegian residency stipend recipients of the Villa Decius as well as coordinating and editing the trilingual literary journal RADAR for the latest literature from Poland, the German-speaking countries and the Ukraine. She is a participant in the “TransStar” project.

Contact: renata@villa.org.pl