Undergraduate

• Major Prerequisites
• Major Courses
• Minors Offered

Polish at KU

The University of Kansas has a more than thirty-year tradition of teaching Polish language and literature. The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures offers yearly regular courses of elementary, intermediate and advanced Polish. Students who already have advanced knowledge of Polish can take independent study courses in Polish Language and Literature after obtaining the consent of the instructor.

KU offers a Summer Study Abroad Program for intensive study of Polish at the University of Warsaw. Our partner, Polonicum, is the oldest academic center for teaching Polish to foreigners in Poland. In addition to the daily language classes, the program offers lectures in Polish history and culture, excursions to Kraków, Gdansk, Sopot, Zelazowa Wola, culture walks around Warsaw, museum visits, concerts, film screenings, etc.

Professor Svetlana Vassileva-Karagyozova is the Director of the Polish Program. She teaches upper-level courses of Polish and courses in West Slavic (Polish and Czech) literature, culture and cinema. Her research interests include 21st century West Slavic prose, West Slavic post-1989 Bildungsroman, Communism, memory studies, and trauma theory

Polish Concentration

The first thing any student must do is to study the catalog well, especially those pages concerning general education requirements for the B.A. degree, and those dealing with Departmental requirements, in the most current University of Kansas Undergraduate Catalog. Note, however, that regulations sometimes change even after the catalog has gone to print, so please check with the Undergraduate Advisor about current regulations. The Advisor is currently Prof. Kerry Sabbag; Associate Advisor Prof. Stephen J. Dickey.

Major Prerequisites

These courses do not count towards the Polish major, but they are prerequisites for further course work in the Polish Studies concentration. Students entering KU with previous knowledge of Polish should contact Professor Svetlana Vassileva-Karagyozova, svk@ku.edu for placement.

Courses

• PLSH 104-108 - Elementary Polish I-II (or equivalent) —10 Credits
• PLSH 204 - Intermediate Polish I — 3 Credits
• Total — 13 Credits

Major Courses

The minimum course hours requirement for the Polish major is 27. Prospective Polish majors have to fulfill the core requirements and select additional 12 course hours from the list of electives. The Department recommends that you take maximum of two Polish history courses.

Courses

• PLSH 208 - Intermediate Polish II — 3 Credits
• PLSH 504-508 - Advanced Polish I-II — 6 Credits
• PLSH 675 - Readings in Polish Language and Literature — 3 Credits
• SLAV 506 - West Slavic Literature and Civilization — 3 Credits
• Total — 15 Credits

Electives

• SLAV 144/145 Survey of Russian Literature in Translation — 3 Credits
• SLAV 340/341 Introduction to the Languages and Peoples of Russia and East-Central Europe — 3 Credits
• SLAV 504 Introduction to East-Central European Culture and Society — 3 Credits
• SLAV 514 Totalitarianism and Literature in Central Europe — 3 Credits
• SLAV 516 Film Adaptations of Polish and Czech Literary Works — 3 Credits
• SLAV 635 Language, Culture, and Ethnicity in Prehistoric Eastern Europe — 3 Credits
• HIST 377 Everyday Communism in Eastern Europe — 3 Credits
• HIST 577 Nationalism and Communism in East Central Europe from 1772 to the Present — 3 Credits
• PHIL 580 Marxism (or other relevant course in philosophy) — 3 Credits

Minors Offered

Slavic Cultures in Translation

This minor requires no knowledge of a Slavic language, but provides a solid knowledge of West, South, and East Slavic cultures through texts read in English translation.

• Two courses chosen from: SLAV 140/141, SLAV 144/145, SLAV 148/149, or SLAV 240/241.
• 12 hours of Slavic literature and culture courses at the 300 level or above.
• Students should consult with an undergraduate advisor to make sure that their selection of Junior-Senior hours assures broad enough representation of different aspects of Slavic Literatures and Cultures.

Russian

This minor requires at least two years of course work in Russian language and offers a broadly based knowledge of Russian language, linguistics, and literature.

• RUSS 208 (6 hours).
• 3 hours in linguistics at the 300 level or above.
• 3 hours in literature at the 300 level or above.
• 6 hours in language, linguistics, or literature at the 300 level or above, at the student’s discretion.

Polish

This minor requires at least two years of course work in Polish language and offers a broadly based knowledge of Polish language, literature, culture, and history.

• PLSH 204-208 (6 hours).
• 3 hours in Polish culture at the 300 level or above.
• 9 hours in language, history, culture, or literature at the 300 level or above (please refer to the list of available courses in the Polish Studies concentration).

South Slavic

This minor requires at least two years of course work in Croatian/Serbian language and offers a broadly based knowledge of South Slavic languages, literatures, cultures, and history.

• CRSB 204-208 (6 hours).
• 3 hours in South Slavic cultures at the 300 level or above, for example, SLAV 390
• 9 hours in South Slavic languages, history, cultures, or literatures at the 300 level or above (please refer to the list of available courses in the South Slavic Studies concentration).