POLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE “POLISH STUDIES” AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO AN OVERVIEW 2010 CONTENTS I. Overview.....................................................................................................3 II. Polish Stud ies at the University of Toronto...............................................5 III. Current Status of U o f T' s Polish Program.............................................14 IV. The Future of the Polish Program..........................................................15 Appendix..........................................................................................16 Please Note: The term “Polish Studies ” for the University of Toronto should include both the Konstanty Reynert Chair of Polish History as well as the Polish Language and Literature Program in the Department of Slavic Studies. In this report the term “Polish Studies ” refers only to the Polish Language and Literature Program. We regret any confusion that this terminology may have created. I. OVERVIEW The University of Torontos Faculty of Arts and Science is home to Canadasand one of the worldslargest and strongest clusters of expertise and teaching in languages and literatures. As one of the foundations of a first-class liberal arts education is fluency in world languages, and a deep knowledge of their literatures and cultures, this fount of expertise represents a tremendous asset. Students who study, live and work in an interconnected world, after all, are able to participate more meaningfully and with greater confidence and influence when they can speak other languages and appreciate multiple cultures. Their knowledge of language and literature, valuable for its own sake, also deepens their understanding of the history, politics, economics and cultures around the world. This kind of knowledge enables students to navigate across cultures with greater ease and is one of the critical building blocks of global citizenship. In recognition, generally, of the importance that knowledge of foreign languages and cultures has in multicultural, globalized society, and, specifically, of the constitutive role that Slavicnotably Polish and Ukrainianimmigrants have played in building our nation and contributing to the cultural mosaic, the University of Toronto (U of T) has made Polish Studies part of the rich offerings of humanities courses since the 1960s. Housed in the Department of Sla vic Languages and Literatures, it is in the unique position of being the only full undergraduate and graduate program in Polish language and culture in Canada, and one of only a handful in North America, equal in terms of resour ces attributed to it to the elite American programs F In fact, it is one of the biggest programs in North America in terms of course offerings, comprehensiveness and number of students served. Polish language and literature courses are complemented by Polish history courses, taught by an eminent scholar, Prof. Piotr Wrobel, who holds an endowed chair. Moreover, the Polish Program cooperates with other humanities and social science programs to which bridges have been built over decades, such as cinema studies, drama and of course the Centre for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (CERES). In but one example, in 2008, a troupe of 15 drama students traveled to Poland as part of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Internationalized Course Modules program, where they participated in two international theatre festivals; this expedition was instigated by Professor Tamara Trojanowska, who heads both the Polish Program and the University College Drama Program. Thanks to the exemplary scholarship and commitment to teaching of the programs distinguished leadership over the years, U of Ts Polish Program has gained a reputation for excellence in North America and Poland. Furthermore, it is important to note significant ways in which Polish studies at U of T is integrally connected with the broader academic community. A prominent example is a major international collaborative research project on the literary histories of East Central Europe that was seeded by U of Ts Centre for Comparative Literature and funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Professor John Neubauer 3 of the University of Amsterdam and Professor Marcel Cornis-Pope of Virginia Commonwealth University assumed editorship of the ambitious five-volume project, which involved dozens of scholarsamong them graduate studentsfrom Canada, the US and Europe, including those from U of Ts Slavic, history and comparative literature units. This monumental rethinking of the literary history of the region has served to forge productive connections across disciplines, institutions and borders, an impressive achievement which speaks powerfully to the interdisciplinary ethos and international reach of humanities initiatives at U of T. Thus, as students of Polish descent decide to explore their heritage, and as more non- Polish students become intrigued by the Polish achievements in film, theatre, literature and the arts and seek to gain insight into the relations with other world cultures, we are confident that Polish culture, language and history within the Canadian, and indeed global, perspective will continue to grow in significance. We appreciate this opportunity to inform you about the activities of the Polish Program in recent years, and to provide you with an indication of its future at the University of Toronto, the challenges which must be met, and the opportunities which are available for those committed to preserving this area of study. 4 0II. POLISH STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO: A WORLD LEADER IN HIGHER EDUCATION Founded in 1827, the University of Toronto (U of T) is Canadas largest and most distinguished university. U of T offers teaching programs in 17 academic divisions located on three campuses and in 10 fully affiliated teaching hospitals. Over the last two decades, our faculty memberswho represent eight per cent of Canadas university facultyhave won approximately 25 per cent of the nations most distinguished awards. U of T is one of only two Canadian members in the prestigious Association of American Universities. Not content to rest on these impressive achievements, U of T is building on its reputation as Canadas leading university and now is among the foremost public teaching and research universities in the world. Indeed, in the 2009 Times Higher EducationQS World University Rankings , in terms of academic reputation, U of T is the worlds ninth strongest university as judged by academics at other institutions around the world; U of T also stood out globally in terms of its performance in specific disciplines, notably ranking 11 th in the arts and humanities. THE FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCE: ADVANCING GLOBAL FLUENCY The heart of this great university is the Faculty of Arts and Sciencea vibrant intellectual community of students and scholars who are deeply committed to excellence, discovery and innovation. With over 27,000 full- and part-time undergraduate and 3,000 graduate students, Arts and Science represents over half the student population on the Universitys St. George campus. Overall, 73 per cent of U of T undergraduates and one third of graduates pursue degrees in the humanities, social sciences and sciences. The Faculty is the core of a three-campus graduate program focusing on doctoral education and research. The Faculty is committed to offering the highest quality liberal arts education to all qualified students, and to providing an academic environment which promotes the production of leading scholarship and openness to the diversity of world cultures. U of T and the Faculty of Arts and Science understand the important role that knowledge of world languages and cultures plays in fostering cross-cultural understanding and global fluency. We are committed to ensuring that their study is an integral part of the curriculum, both as individual programs and as important elements in cross-disciplinary programs. Polish Studies has been a notable part of our humanities offerings through units like the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures and the Department of History, the latter of which is home to an endowed Polish history chair made possible thanks to donations from Torontos Polonia community. It has close links with the Cinema Studies Program, University College Drama Program and the Graduate Centre for Study of Drama. The Polish Program, moreover, is part of the CERES, which promotes interdisciplinary scholarship in the affairs of all European countries with a 5 special interest in the Slavic world (not exclusively Russia), primarily in the social sciences. This cooperation takes the form of cross-listing undergraduate and graduate courses, supervising doctoral theses and administrative ties. 2B Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures U of Ts Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures offers undergraduate and graduate (both M.A. and Ph.D.) programs in Croatian, Czech, Polish, Russian, Serbian and Ukrainian languages and literatures as well as a graduate program in Slavic linguistics and undergraduate courses in Macedonian. This constitutes one of the broadest ranges of Slavic languages, literatures and cultures among North American universities. The department is also home to a strong Finnish program. In addition to national-specific courses, a number of cross-Slavic courses put a national culture within the context of the broader region, enabling students to understand the cross-fertilizations