SPRING SEMESTER

* Please note that courses are subject to change.

Ethical Problems in Contemporary Polish Philosophy, Poetry and Film

Various forms of expressing and modeling ethical problems will be considered on the basis of analyses of representative philosophical texts, poems and films. The Polish tradition of phenomenology (R. Ingarden, W. Strozewski, J. Tischner, J. Filek and others) will be presented as the source of theoretical propositions on how to shape one’s ethical being in the contemporary, global world. Great Polish poetry (C. Milosz, W. Szymborska, T. Rozewicz, Z. Herbert, E. Lipska and others) will be analyzed and interpreted to show the plurality of tendencies in dealing with important ethical issues and situations. The Polish cinema (A. Wajda, K. Zanussi, K. Kieslowski, A. Holland, R. Polanski, M. Zmarz-Koczanowicz, Z. Rybczynski, P. Dumala and others) will be presented selectively and discussed as a powerful factor educating society to understand principal ethical and unethical behavior. Students will gain insight into the ethical infrastructure of the Polish culture in these chosen areas both in its theoretical as well as practical dimension.

Personality in Cultural Psychoanalysis

This course discusses the following topics: psychoanalytic social psychology; psychodynamic theory of character and personality; productive and non-productive character orientations; personality; faith as a character trait; disobedience; different forms of violence; “Love of Death” and “Love of Life;” an authoritarian and sado-masochistic character; individual and social narcissism; and incestuous ties.

Modern History of Polish Jews

The course will discuss the major topics in the 19th and 20th-century history of Jews in Poland in the larger context of the history of European and particularly Eastern European Jewry. Specific issues of social and cultural history will be situated within a sociological and anthropological conceptual framework focusing on problems of the construction and deconstruction of definitions of Jewishness, questions of a diasporic identity, the plurality of Jewish cultures and ideological trends, Jews-Gentile relations, historical consciousness, etc. The timeline discussed during the lectures starts in the mid-19th century when Haskalah ideals reached Eastern Europe and opened a path of the modernization and emancipation of Jewish communities. The course will discuss a wide range of ideological, political and religious tendencies present in Jewish modernity, including Enlightenment, new Orthodoxy, Hassidism, assimilationism, various streams of Zionism, Jewish socialism, and the left-wing radicalism of pre-World War II Jewish communists. The lectures also focus on problems of the social-demographic composition of Jewish population in Polish lands before 1918 in pre-war independent Poland and after the World War II, changes of religious and communal institutions, modes of cultural life including brief account on literature and art as well as an introduction to the sociolinguistic aspects of the Yiddish language. There will also be a firm focus on the Jews’ relations with the non-Jewish population, patterns of coexistence and conflict, social, economic and cultural exchange as well as the intertwining of Jewish and Polish identities. The problem of pre-war anti-Semitism in Poland will be discussed in the broader context of traditional and modern European anti-Semitism, and in relation to the consolidation of the nationalist movements in the 1930s. Another subject will be differences and similarities in the experiences of Poland’s Nazi occupation by Jews and non-Jews as well as the separation of collective memories during several decades after the war. The course also examines Jewish life in post-WWII Poland, including cultural life, common and state-inspired anti-Semitism (with a particular account of March '68 events), and waves of emigration. Lectures will also include aspects of Jewish life in contemporary Poland as well as an overview of the Polish-Jewish diaspora in various countries.

Central Europe and Poland since 1918

This course covers the problem of the political and social history of this part of Europe since 1918 until now. The course consists of three parts. The first part puts stress on comparing changes in international and internal policy of Poland since its rebirth in 1918 with the situation in other European countries and the attitude toward Nazi and Soviet dangers of the 1930s. The second part considers the problem of Poland and the Central Europe in the policy of Germany, the Soviet Union, Great Britain and the United States during the Second World War and the attitude of societies toward Nazi occupation and the Holocaust. The third part presents the most important issues in the history of Poland and other Central European countries after the war and the main problems connected with the political and economic dependence on the Soviet Union and its influence on the process of the democratic transition of this part of Europe since 1989.

History of Silesian Art and Culture within the context of Central European Art

During this course the art and culture of Silesia will be analyzed and examined in the broader context of European art. In the introductory part the notions of “art” and “culture” will be discussed and the geographical borderlines of Silesian and Central European art will be established. Silesia, which is located at the crossroads of Central Europe, is rich in monuments, which illustrate the diversity of the art of the region. Wroclaw, situated close to Prague, Berlin, Vienna, Budapest and not far away from Minsk, Lvov, Vilnius, is the meeting point of Protestant and Catholic art, as well as orthodox and Jewish, the old and modern art. The cultural diversity of the region will be discussed in a few modules: city, church, secular art (house and palace) and based on the examination of artifacts. In comparison with traditional art, modern and contemporary art will be analyzed. New approaches, challenges and forms of contemporary art that have emerged in Central Europe will be examined. Some of them are of a universal character, while others bear the seal of the specific historical circumstances which occurred in Central Europe. The selected topics will be discussed theoretically in class and illustrated by slides (video material, etc.) depicting the Central European heritage. The theoretical part will be followed by an analytical one including the active participation of the students, who should analyze, compare, and interpret the artifacts. Lectures also include visits to numerous museums and monuments in Wroclaw and excursions out of the city to the palaces, cloisters and churches. There is also a chance to participate in interesting ongoing cultural activities such as exhibitions, theatre performances, as well as meetings with artists.

Contemporary Polish Society in Transition

The goal of this course is to give students some orientation regarding basic sociological concepts in relation to contemporary Polish society and its changes during the period of transition. The course will examine the transformation of different dimensions of social structure together with changes of cultural patterns. The direction and tempo of changes of Polish society depends on the effects of the still present socialist heritage and on contemporary globalization and integration processes. How Polish society will face the challenges of the transformation period is a very important problem not only for Poles but also for all European countries.

Governing Europe? Evolution of European Integration

This course will focus on the following topics: Europe, European identity, integration (political, economic, cultural aspects); the place of Europe in world processes (cooperation, integration, competition, conflict-structures and institutions of integration in the world); the history of European ideas and aspirations; the division of Europe and the beginning of European unity after 1945; the emergence and development of the EC to the end of the 1970s; the intensification of integration processes in the 1980s and 1990s (the Maastricht Treaty and its revision in Amsterdam and Nice); the institutions and law of the EC/EU; the main political and economic problems of the EC/EU and its member states; the governing East - challenges of Eastern enlargement; and EU-Russian cooperation. How far towards a united Europe?

Implications of the Eastern Enlargement on Establishing an Area of Freedom, Security and Justice Within the EU
The beginning of the course will focus on the following topics: elements of public international law, community law and private international law; the differences between the public international law, the Community law (acquis communautaire) and the national law; the Community method of integration (supranational cooperation and intergovernmental cooperation.

The second part will discuss the main problems of creating an area of freedom, security and justice in the European Union: the origin and the development of the cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs between the member states of the European Communities (before the Maastricht reform) and in the framework of the European Union (after the Maastricht and Amsterdam reforms and in the post-Nice process); the legal and political basis for supranational cooperation (the first pillar of the EU) and intergovernmental cooperation (the third pillar of the EU) in the fields of justice and home affairs; the decision procedures and the political and legal instruments of creating EU policy in the areas of justice and home affairs in the framework of the first and third pillars

The final part of the course will present detailed issues such as sectorial policies and selected areas of the EU activities: policy in the field of external borders protection and visas issues; asylum and immigration policies; judicial cooperation in civil matters; police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters; and the fight against discrimination, organized crime, trafficking in human beings, drug trafficking, cross-border corruption, and fraud.

Israeli - Palestinian Conflict

The goal of this course is to understand the roots of the conflict. We will also take a look at the historical turning points, and finally we will try to create a prognosis for future relations between Palestine and Israel. The lectures will focus on the following: the historical background of the conflict; social and political characteristics of Palestinian society (ideas, problems, organizations); Israel and Israelis (society, social and political organizations, parties and conflict with Palestinians); external factors that influence the conflict (Arab countries, the USA, the EU); the rise and fall of the peace process (1st and 2nd Intifada, the ‘Oslo’ peace negotiations, Camp David 2000, Road Map, the Death of Arafat); and possible scenarios and solutions of the conflict.

Immigration and Integration Policies in the European States

In this course, the following issues will be discussed: general trends in contemporary migration; international migration; explaining the migratory processes; labor migration within Europe; the impact of immigration on receiving countries; immigration and integration in Western Europe (a comparative study of economic, social, cultural and political dimensions of the migrant’s integration); European policy directions - towards a common policy?; asylum policy; and immigration in the new Member States of the European Union.

Liberty, Equality and Justice: An Introduction to the Basic Concepts of Public Discourse

The aim of this course is to present an outline of contemporary understandings of liberty, equality and justice. Since ancient times these three concepts have been the main axes in ongoing public debates. The question of what justice is needs to be answered first. The classical definition of justice is giving what is due to everyone. In practice, this statement opens up a discussion in which liberty and equality are very important elements. Liberty was classically understood as a necessary condition to discuss problems of the public domain (political problems). Ancient Greeks believed that the public domain is a sphere of freedom, as opposed to the household governed by necessity. Without freedom politics would be simply impossible. To be free meant to exercise one’s citizenship duties. Equality was a necessary element to complete the idea of free citizens building a just society. To be equal meant to represent the same value (based on merit) as fellow citizens.

Nowadays that view faces many challenges. Different currents of political philosophy raise important questions about the nature of liberty and equality. Is liberty necessarily connected with exercising political activity? Can merit be a criterion of equal treatment of citizens? A full inquiry on this subject, in the limited time available, is not possible. Nevertheless, the aim of the course is to discuss the main elements of the debate concerning liberty equality and justice.

During the seminar students are expected to discuss the problems raised in the recommended readings. A multicultural debate during the seminar is thought to deepen the understanding of the analyzed concepts and to open the participants’ minds to approaches different to those based on their cultural background.

Polish-Jewish Relations in the 20th Century

This course will discuss the following topics: Poles and Jews in Poland “regaining of independence” in 1918 (the “inheritance” of Poland’s partitions); interwar Poland - good for the Jews or bad for the Jews?; Poles and Jews during WW II – The Widening Gap; Jedwabne; Polish-Jewish relations in occupied Poland, 1939-1945; Poles and Jews during the Holocaust and its aftermath; the Impact of the Holocaust on Polish Jews after WW II; Poles and Jews: the meeting of different experiences; anti-Jewish violence in Poland/anti-Semitism in Poland after WW II; Poles and Jews in communist Poland; the Catholic Church’s attitudes towards the Jews; and Polish-Jewish relations in New Poland (after 1989).

International Public Law

In this course, the following topics will be discussed: a definition of international public law and its main features; the development of international law and municipal law; sources of international law; law of international treaties; international custom and other sources; international personality: states, international organizations and individuals; the state’s organs in international relations; diplomatic and consular law; territory, borders, and international rivers; law of the sea; humans rights in international law: citizenship, asylum, extradition, protection of human rights; international organizations: definition, structure, functions, types; characteristics of the UN and its system; law of war and international humanitarian law; and international jurisdiction: international tribunals and courts.

Interest Groups, Social Dialogue and Industrial Relations in Chosen European Countries
This course is based on comparative studies of industrial relations, collective bargaining and social dialogue in EU countries. The most frequent form of institutional relations between social partners and administrative authorities are not corporatist structures. The lectures will present descriptions of the mentioned structures and profiles of interest groups and their organizations in selected new EU countries (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia, the Slovak Republic, and Ukraine).

International Protection of Human Rights

The subject of the course is the international protection of human rights. Its content is divided into three general thematic groups. The first may be described as an introduction to the material and it is associated with the main categories of human rights protection analysis, which is presented in a historic and philosophical context. The second group of issues concerns international systems of human rights protection (universal and regional systems). The core of the next part consists of discussing certain problems related to material and procedural rights, such as the right to life; the right to freedom from torture or inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment; the right to liberty and personal security; the right to a fair trial; the right to respect for private life or the right to freedom of expression. The main aim of the course is to acquaint students with fundamental knowledge on the evolution of the concept of human rights and international instruments aimed at these rights protection in the international and national fields. Students will become familiar with the catalogue of the basic rights and freedoms as well as existing possibilities of claiming these rights. This is the reason why special emphasis will be put on students’ own analysis of the most significant international documents within the scope of human rights.

Multilateralism and Globalization Processes

The course is organized into three parts, each of which will be presented by a different lecturer. We shall seek to understand the nature of the transnational connections and different patterns of governance in Asia, South America, and Africa. The main objective of the course is to provide students with knowledge about the current issues and problems that countries of those three continents are coping with at the beginning of the 21st century. Each of the lecturers will focus on aspects of regionalism, globalization and security in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

International Criminal Law

This course will cover the following topics: international criminal law as a legal discipline; sources of international criminal law; the distinction between the responsibility of states and individuals in international law; universal jurisdiction and international criminal jurisdiction; transnational offences; international criminal law of the sea; international crimes; extradition; mutual assistance in criminal matters; international criminal tribunals; the main principles of individual criminal responsibility and international criminal law; international criminal procedures; and the enforcement of sentence.

Crucial Problems of Polish Economic Policy in the Globalization Era

This course is designed to familiarize students with broad issues related to the crises and transformation of the centrally planned economy and the establishment of a new economic system in Poland. Based on orthodox economic theory, institutional economics and political-economy approaches, the systematic transformation in Poland is analyzed. Primary focus is given to the process of the integration of the Polish economy in the European Union. Moreover, the impact of political and economic institutions on economic performance will be discussed.