The Kosciuszko Foundation online programs present the webinar Ten Competing Concepts of Polish Studies with Prof. Norman Davies.

In this webinar, Prof. Norman Davies, author and distinguished scholar who taught Polish history and held a chair at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies in London for nearly three decades will delve into the concept of Polish Studies and examine its scope. He will argue that Polish Studies, traditionally defined as “Polonistyka” or “Polish Language and Literature,” ought to form part of all the academic disciplines, especially in the Humanities, and that Poland, being the center of an essential but much-neglected region of Europe, should be studied in conjunction with its neighbors.

Norman Davies first visited Poland in March 1962, when he was still a student in his final year at Oxford. Fascinated by what he learned, and by what the authorities did not want him to learn, he made the study of Polish history the starting point of his academic career. His early books – White Eagle, Red Star: the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-20, (1972), God’s Playground: a history of Poland (1981), and Heart of Europe: the past in Poland’s present (1984) – were banned by the censorship of the Soviet Block and long unavailable to Polish readers. As a successful historian writing in English, however, he rapidly gained a worldwide readership and devoted himself to informing the world about Poland.

More: KF online page with the webinar description, bios of the participants and the registration info

This is a free public event. Register early as the number of slots in the virtual audience is limited.