BA Degrees in Polish:

• Polish and East European Studies (UCAS R784)
• Modern Languages (Polish and another language) (UCAS R000)

Dr Katarzyna Zechenter
Lecturer in Polish studies

SSEES is an excellent place to study the language and culture of Poland. Poland, with nearly 39 million citizens, is the sixth largest member state of the EU and an increasingly important actor on the world economic and political stage.

Poland has experienced a dramatic history. An important state as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the early modern period, Poland was wiped off the map in a series of partitions between the Prussian, Austrian, and Russian Empires at the end of the eighteenth century. In 1918, Poland became independent again. After the Second World War, Poland was part of the Soviet block. In the 1980s, the Solidarity movement, led by Lech Wałęsa, was instrumental in preparing the way for the end of communist rule in 1989.

The richness of Polish culture reflects its historical experience. Polish literature includes important writers such as the Romantic (and nationalist) poet, Adam Mickiewicz (1798-1855) and the Nobel-prize-winning poet, Wisława Szymborska (b. 1923).

At SSEES you can study Polish from scratch up to an advanced level in four years. The Polish degree is rooted in the study of language and literature, but the course-unit system gives you flexibility to compose your individual programme of study. As part of the BA Polish and East European Studies degree (UCAS R784), you can take optional courses in comparative literature, cinema, other languages, culture, history and social sciences. Polish is also available as part of a joint Modern Languages degree with other European languages (for example, joint honours Polish and French, or Polish and German, et cetera). The third year of study is normally spent at a University in Poland.

After four years of study, you will have gained not only excellent language skills but also a profound knowledge of Polish literature, history and culture that will prepare you for a wide variety of careers in today's and tomorrow's Europe.
You will also benefit from the knowledge and expertise of visiting speakers and guest lecturers, academics from other universities and artists from the region, who frequently come to the seminars organized by the Centre for the Study of Central Europe.

Downloadable Course Booklet

Core Courses:

First year:
SEEP1001 Polish Language Level 1 (1.0)
SEEP1002 Introduction to East European Literatures in Translation (1.0)
Plus two optional course units

Second year:
SEEP2001 Polish Language Level 2a - Comprehension (0.5)
SEEP2002 Polish Language Level 2b - Production (0.5)
SEEP1004 Polish Literature 1 (1.0)
Plus two optional course units

Third year:
SEEE3001 Year abroad

Fourth year:
SEEP4001 Polish Language Level 3a - Comprehension (0.5)
SEEP4002 Polish Language Level 3b - Production (0.5)
SEEP2011 Polish Literature 2 (1.0)
Plus two optional course units

Optional courses:
SEEE2005 Cinema in Eastern Europe (0.5 or1.0)
SEEE1005 Culture in Eastern Europe: Anthropological Approaches (0.5)
SEEE1004 Language and Society (1.0)
SEEE2007 Linguistics and Verbal Art: Forms of Content (0.5)
SEEE2006 Linguistics and Verbal Art: Forms of Expression (0.5)
SEEE2008 Vampires, Society and Culture: Transylvania and Beyond (0.5)

SEEP4004 History of Polish Literature to 1800 (1.0)
SEEP2004 History of Polish Literature 1800-1890
SEHI2008 The Fall and Rise of the Polish Nation: 1648-1921 (1.0)

Plus options in history, social sciences et cetera.

This page last modified Thursday 19 April 2012.