Absorb the Polish experience first-hand while learning about its past, present and future. The American - European economic and cultural exchange provides a window into the presence of American culture in Poland, assesses its impact, and surveys American businesses working in Poland. Learn about the challenges they face, as well as the opportunities they create for both Americans and Poles.

POL 2710, POL 3990 (1-3 credits).

Poland is a very interesting case to study. Having just joined the EU, it was criticized for siding with the U.S. on the decision to go to war in Iraq and earned a condescending label as part of "New Europe". Poland also decided to buy American made F-16 fighter planes, not European made Grippens or Mirages, which contributed to a discord between Poland and some of the original EU members, especially France and Germany. While taking these pro-American stands, Poland at the same time is trying to preserve certain values of life styles perceived as traditionally European and not succumb to the American (and Asian) work ethic. There is serious concern with Poland losing its traditional, cultural and history-based identity. So, is Poland indeed a "Trojan horse" for American politics and an agent of the rapid Americanization of Europe, as some old members of the EU tend to suspect? Are traditional Polish values and life styles doomed? These are the questions which this course will attempt to answer.

In order to receive the full university credit (3CR) for the trip you need to do the following:

A. Take part in four preparatory sessions prior to the trip

B. Pass the exam at the end of the preparatory sessions

C. Prepare a final project (video, photo journal, and a journal of the trip, an essay) during the trip. You will share this project with the whole group after the return to the States. Video project can be a group project (groups can not be bigger than 4 people)

D. Do an oral presentation which will serve as an introduction to a city, museum, problem, etc. You will choose your topic before the trip and do the presentation during the trip. Instructor will provide the list of possible topics.

E. Take part in all of the educational and tourist components of the trip.

Full credit (3CR) —if you take this course as POL 2710

Partial credit (1 or 2 CR) — if you take this course as Directed Studies (POL 3990)

To receive ONE credit you need to complete components A, B and E.

To receive TWO credits you need to complete components A, B, D and E.

Krakow, Poland

Summer 2008

May 13 - May 27, 2008

$2,525 includes roundtrip airfare, housing, insurance, class trips, in-country transportation, and some group dinners. Program fees may change due to unexpected increases in airline surcharges.  If this occurs, those fees will be passed on to program participants.

Please note: If you do not own (or plan on owning) a US passport, it is your responsibility to obtain a visa to enter the country you will be visiting. Not all programs require a visa so check here for more information.

Approval from Dr. Klin

Day 0

Departure from Detroit (afternoon)

Day 1

Arrival in Krakow - 1:00 p.m.

Transfer to the Piast dormitory

Rest

Getting to know the town: walk around downtown and dinner

Day 2

Tourist program: Old Town (organized by the Jagiellonian University School of Polish Language)

Lunch

Lecture #1: Everyday Life under Communism

Streetcar trip to Nowa Huta. Optional: visit to the Nowa Huta Museum

Aesthetics of social realism

Day 3

Tourist program: Wawel (organized by the Jagiellonian University School of Polish Language)

Lunch

Lecture #2: Poland after 1989

Meeting with Polish students: what do we know about Poland and the US?

Day 4

Visit to the Ethnographical Museum.

Polish folk art

Lunch

A visit to Massolit Books (run by American expatriates).

Day 5

Train trip to Warsaw

Program: visiting downtown with a guide, visit to the Polish Parliament (Sejm) and to Lazienki Park and Palace.

Departure: 7.00 a.m. from Krakow train station; arrival in Warsaw: 10:00 a.m.

Return: 8:00 p.m. (on 5:00 p.m. train from Warsaw)

Day 6

Lecture #3: A brief survey of Polish literature

Lunch

Visit to Rydlowka Museum ("Mloda Polska") with a guide.

Dinner and time for your own town exploring (suggestions: movies, shopping centers, and students' clubs).

Any traces of Americanization of Polish culture?

Be ready for the next morning briefing on your findings.

Day 7

Briefing on your previous night explorations

Lunch

Lecture 4: Polish Jews and Polish - Jewish relations

A walk around Kazimierz. Remu cemetery and the Jewish museum.

Dinner in "Chlopskie Jadlo": "typical" Polish fare (?)

Day 8

Briefing

Czartoryski Museum

Lunch

Exploring Krakow on your own: talking to people in the streets, taking streetcars or buses, (maybe taking the full loop of a chosen streetcar and reporting on observations: behavior of people on the streetcar, points of interest outside).

Other possible destinations: other museums, historical mounds (Kosciuszko, Krak), botanical garden, cafe Jama Michalika, Rakowicki Cemetery.

Briefing

Day 9

Bus trip to Oswiecim/Auschwitz

Briefing upon the return to Krakow

Day 10

Lecture #5: Poland and the EU

Lunch

Visit to Wieliczka Salt Mine

Days 11 and 12

Bus trip to Zakopane

Day 1: visiting Zakopane with a guide. "Zakopianski" style: Willa pod Jedlami on Koziniec and Jaszczurowka Chapel. Historical Peksowy Brzyzek Cemetery; cable car rides to Gubalowka and Butorowy Wierch to explore the mountains. Life style, arts and foods of gorale. Dinner with music (as a group).

Day 2: a trip in the mountains: cable car ride to Kasprowy Wierch, a visit to Chocholow (mountain architecture).

Lunch

Return to Krakow

Day 13

A bus trip to Czestochowa, the most famous religious sanctuary in Poland ("Black Madonna")

Day 14

Packing and departure

Please note that you are required to pay tuition for 1-3 credit hours at your appropriate rate, payable through the normal tuition payment process. For more information, click here.

The Office of Study Abroad and Global Programs
5155 Gullen Mall
1600 Undergraduate Library
Detroit, MI 48202
Tel: 313-577-3207
studyabroad@wayne.edu

March 7, 2008

The $525 non-refundable deposit is due within two weeks of acceptance into the program. Four payments of $500 are due December 3, 2007, January 11, February 8 and March 17, 2008.

All payments are to be made out to Wayne State University by check, money order, Visa and MasterCard. Students wanting to pay program fees with either a Visa or MasterCard must print out the credit card authorization form and submit it to the office with the appropriate information.

Additionally, you are required to pay tuition for 1-3 credit hours at your appropriate rate which is payable through the normal tuition payment process.

Amberly Chirolla
Study Abroad and Global Programs
5155 Gullen Mall
1600 Undergraduate Library
Detroit, MI 48202
amberly@wayne.edu

Participants are responsible for all program fees until notification is received by Study Abroad and Global Programs. Refunds are subject to the refund policy as listed below.

The Office of Study Abroad and Global Programs guarantees space on the program for participants upon receipt of their confirmation. At that point, the Office of Study Abroad and Global Programs incurs non-recoverable costs. Therefore, any participant who cancels at any time after the confirmation deposit has been received will be responsible for the deposit in addition to the following, upon cancellation from the program:

Cancellation Period Refund

Brochure

Program Application

Dr. Alina Klin
German and Slavic Studies
411 Manoogian Hall
(313) 577-6245
E-mail a.klin@wayne.edu

Shannon Walker
Office of Study Abroad and Global Programs
1600 David Adamany Undergraduate Library
(313) 577-3207
E-mail: studyabroad@wayne.edu

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