Course description
Polish
SLA106Y1 - Elementary Polish
Basic vocabulary, essential morphology, simple sentence patterns. Regular language laboratory sessions. Reading of contemporary texts. Open only to students with little or no knowledge of the language.
SLA206Y1 - Intermediate Polish
Intensive study of morphology; translation into Polish. Literary texts; oral practice.
Prerequisite: Grade 13 Polish/SLA106Y
SLA216Y1 - The Dynamics of Polish Literature and Culture: a Survey
Major cultural traditions, historical processes, myths, and figures that have shaped and redefined Polish civilization and national identity are problematized and contextualized with the help of works of literature, history, philosophy, political science, music, visual and performing arts. Readings in English (also available in Polish). (Offered in alternate years)
SLA226H1 - Postwar Polish Cinema
The “Polish School” in cinema, its predecessors and successors, their artistic accomplishments, major theoretical and thematic concerns, and their place on the map of European cinema. Films of Ford, Wajda, Polanski, Konwicki, Borowczyk, Has, Kawalerowicz, Zanussi, Kieslowski, and of the new generation of Polish film makers. Films and discussions in English. (Offered every three years)
SLA306H1 - Advanced Polish I
Syntax, word formation, and stylistics. Compositions and precis. Critical evaluation of literary works and articles in Polish. Extensive reading and translation.
Prerequisite: SLA206Y
SLA336H1 - Advanced Polish II
Continuation of 306H1. A variety of cultural materials are used to advance skills in composition, translation, and conversation.
Prerequisite: SLA306H1 or permission of instructor
SLA346H1 - From Eastern Europe to European Union: Polish Postwar Culture
Probes the paradoxes of politics, culture and everyday life by analyzing the complex coexistence of art and literature with changing cultural politics in a totalitarian and post-totalitarian system, with simplistic ideology and political dissent, and with prevailing myths about the West and the East. Readings in English (Polish for majors).
Recommended Preparation: SLA216Y1
SLA356H1 - What's New? Polish Culture Today
The amazing cultural transformations of Poland in the last fifteen years within a changing Europe. The impact of these changes on Poland's social consciousness and the perception of identity, history, and nationhood. The most recent literature, fine arts, music, and popular culture. Readings in English (Polish for majors).
Recommended Preparation: SLA216Y1
SLA406H1 - The Curtain Never Falls: Polish Drama and Theatre in Context (formerly SLA406Y)
Study of drama as a literary and theatrical genre in its thematic and formal diversity in Polish literature from the 16th to the 20th century is combined with investigations of the role of the theatre as cultural institution in different periods of Polish history. Readings in English (in Polish for students in the major program). (Offered every three years)
Exclusion: SLA406Y
SLA416H1 - Polish Fiction or a Disrupted Funeral of the Novel
Innovative reading of Polish fiction from the 18th to the 20th century. Study of narrative strategies, of the function of language and literary conventions, of various styles and poetics, of the issue of representation. In addition to the works of fiction (primarily novels, but also short stories), the reading list includes literary criticism and literary theory. Readings in English (in Polish for students in the major program). (Offered every three years)
SLA436H1 - Rebels, Scoffers, and Jesters: Polish Culture from Different Perspectives
An advanced course on artistic, political, aesthetic, philosophical, and ideological dissenters who questioned, undermined, and redefined the main traditions in Polish culture from the 18th to the 21st centuries.Readings in English (Polish for majors).
Prerequisite: SLA216Y1 Recommended Preparation: SLA336H1
SLA446H1 - Polish Poetry of the 20th Century
Major poetic movements, genres, and texts from Mloda Polska (Tetmajer, Kasporowicz, Staff, Lesmian, Micinski, Wyspianski) to the present. Study of the metaphyscial, ethical, and aesthetic dimensions of the “Polish School of Poetry.” Readings in Polish. (Offered every three years)
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
