Vilnius of the 20th century: a panorama of the city's social, literary and cultural life

general courses

The classes are intended to:

• deepen the knowledge acquired during courses in Polish history, literature and culture (in terms of regional versions of modernism, avant-garde and directions of development of literature in the second half of the 20th century);

• show the role of literature in building and perpetuating qualitatively different images of Vilnius within the multicultural space of the current capital of Lithuania;

• synthetically show the similarities and differences in the treatment of the above-mentioned issues in the literature (and contextually the culture) of different nations, resulting from the genre, style, type of narrative, literary direction or historical conditions.

Class participants will learn the role and place of "themes with Vilnius in the background" based on a selection of literary works written in Polish, Lithuanian and Yiddish in the 20th century (texts written in languages ​​other than Polish are available in translation).

Classroom

Participants of the classes will learn the role and place of "themes with Vilnius in the background" in the achievements of the co-creators of the literary and cultural panorama of the city in the 20th century (Polish, Lithuanian, Jewish perspectives). The following will be analyzed and interpreted: images of Vilnius and its inhabitants recorded in literature, personal relationships and art, the multiculturalism of the city (interference of motifs, areas of conflict), mythical and symbolic spaces, generic and genre implementations of the city's vision (circular and original), geopoetics as a way capturing cultural images of Vilnius. Urban issues will be discussed in a broader historical and social context, taking into account the history of the development of the local cultural press, phenomena of theatrical and artistic life within the high and popular culture of the past century.

The classes are intended to:

• deepen the knowledge acquired during courses in Polish history, literature and culture (in the field of regional versions of modernism, avant-garde and directions of development of literature of the second half of the 20th century);

• show the role of literature in building and perpetuating qualitatively different images of Vilnius in within the multicultural space of the current capital of Lithuania;

• synthetically show the similarities and differences in the treatment of the above-mentioned issues in the literature (and contextually the culture) of different nations, resulting from the genre, style, type of narrative, literary direction or historical conditions.

Class participants will learn the role and place of "themes with Vilnius in the background" based on a selection of literary works written in Polish, Lithuanian and Yiddish in the 20th century (texts written in languages ​​other than Polish are available in translation). The following will be analyzed and interpreted: images of Vilnius and its inhabitants recorded in literature, personal relationships and art, the multiculturalism of the city (interference of motifs, areas of conflict), mythical and symbolic spaces, generic and genre implementations of the city's vision (circular and original), geopoetics as a way capturing cultural images of Vilnius.Urban issues will be discussed against a broader historical and social background, taking into account the history of the development of the local cultural press and the most interesting phenomena of theatrical and artistic life in both high and popular culture of the past century.

While analyzing selected works, students will improve their skills in critical interpretation of texts and learn about the possibilities of applying concepts from other areas of the humanities useful in assessing literary phenomena. In addition, participants will become acquainted with basic (classic) and new studies in the field covered by the subject of the classes, with particular emphasis on comparative research.

Student workload:

– participation in classes – 1 ECTS

– ongoing preparation for classes – 1 ECTS

– preparation of a presentation/paper – 1 ECTS.

As a result, the student gains knowledge of the following issues:

1. methodology of research on urban issues in literature and culture, methods of geopoetics in contemporary literary theories and practices, applicable to the cities of Vilnius established in the 20th century (state and prospects of research, new studies, methods of analysis, description and interpretation of phenomena important for development of several cultures coexisting in one space);

2. ways of functioning of various images of Vilnius in literature, ego-documents and art of the 20th century (the role of means of expression, strategies of description, tools of artistic persuasion),

as well as the directions of modification of the tradition of urban discourse in the light of the evolution of the worldview and aesthetic assumptions of modernism, avant-garde and postmodernism;

3. the role of the close relationship between literature and art (painting, theater, photography) in shaping the specific local cultural space of Vilnius in the 20th century.

List of topics:

1. Vilnius at the threshold of the 20th century (leading to the issues)

2. Vilnius living rooms and suburbs (M. Jałowiecki, J. Mineyko, Wł. Gutowski)

3. Modernism(s) in Vilnius (general characteristics, artists, representative works)

4. Towards beauty: local art press („Żórawce”, „Tygodnik Wileński”, „Vaivorykštė”)

5. Vilnius laughter Belle Époque (cabaret "Ach", Polish and Lithuanian satirical press of the early 20th century)

6. Vilnius – literary circles (regionalism in the poetry of the "Żagary" group)

7. Vilnius jokers in the interwar period

8. Artistic life of interwar Vilnius (photography, Reduta theater, painting)

9. Lithuanian and Jewish culture in Vilnius in the interwar period

10. The image of the city and people of Vilnius in poetry and satire of the 1950s-1990s

11. Vilnius as an object of nostalgia (Cz. Miłosz – T. Venclova)

12. "Vilnius Poker" by R. Gavelis

13.In the footsteps of the local artistic bohemia (J. Kunčinas „Tula”, poetry about Vilnius end of the 20th century)

14. The topic is proposed by the course participants (final presentations)

Basic reading:

2. Vilnius living rooms and suburbs (M. Jałowiecki, J. Mineyko, Wł. Gutowski)

2.1. M. Jałowiecki, Na skraju Imperium, selected by M. Jałowiecki, Warszawa: Polonika, 2021. [fragments]

2.1. J. Mineyko, Zamieszkanie w Wilnie, 1905-1914, [in id.:] Wspomnienia z lat dawnych, edited by M. Wrede, M. Sierocka-Pośpiechowa. Warszawa: Biblioteka Narodowa, 1997. [fragments]

2.1. Wł. Gutowski, Pilne sprawy, Mój przyjaciel, Karnawał, [in id.:] Szarzyzny Wilna, Wilno: Druk. „Związek Drukarzy” w Wilnie, 1911.

2.2. M. Kvietkauskas, Przełom XIX i XX wieku – preludium modernizmu [cz.: Miasto i literatura – związek z przełomu stuleci; Mieszczaństwo wileńskie – nowe dyskursy], [in id.:] Polifonia literatury w Wilnie okresu wczesnego modernizmu 1904-1915, trans. by B. Kalęba, Kraków: Universitas, 2012, 47-61.

3. Modernism(s) in Vilnius (general characteristics, artists, representative works)

3.1. St. Szadurska, Fale, Wilno: Druk J. Zawadzkiego, 1906 [selections]

3.1. K. Žegota [K. Puida], Laboremus, [in id.:] Ruduo, k. I, Vilnius: „Vilniaus Žinių” spaustuvė, 1906. [translated into Polish]

3.1. J. Biliūnas, Płomień szczęścia, [in id.:] Smutna opowieść i inne opowiadania, trans. by A. Lau-Gniadowska, Warszawa: Czytelnik, 1956, 147-150.

3.2. A. Romanowski, Młoda Polska wileńska, Kraków: Universitas, 1999. [fragments]

3.2. M. Kvietkauskas, Polifonia literatury w Wilnie okresu wczesnego modernizmu 1904-1915, trans. by B. Kalęba, Kraków: Universitas, 2012. [fragments]

4. Towards beauty: local art press („Żórawce”, „Tygodnik Wileński”, „Vaivorykštė”)

4.1. Żórawce, foreword by J. Jankowski, Wilno 1910; „Tygodnik Wileński” (1911) [selection of numbers]

4.2. A. Romanowski, Młoda Polska wileńska, Kraków: Universitas, 1999 [chapter: Czasopiśmiennictwo]

5. Vilnius laughter Belle Époque (cabaret "Ach", Polish and Lithuanian satirical press of the early 20th century)

5.1. [M. Minkiewicz, St. Bohusz-Siestrzeńcewicz], ACH!! Żart sceniczny w jednym akcie: rzecz grana w Wilnie 19 stycznia 1909 roku

https://kpbc.umk.pl/dlibra/publication/17660/edition/26827/content

5.1. A selection of texts and press illustrations prepared by the leading („Plotka Wileńska”, „Ežys”, „Brukowiec”).

5.2. I. Fedorowicz, Śmiech jako broń zniewolonych. O wileńskiej prasie humorystycznej z lat 1907-1909, [in:] Europejskość ojczyzn: litewsko-polskie związki literackie, kulturowe i językowe: materiały międzynarodowej konferencji naukowej, Wilno. 23-24 października 2008 roku, edited by M. Dawlewicz, Wilno: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wileńskiego, 2009, 130-145.

6. Vilnius – literary circles (regionalism in the poetry of the "Żagary" group)

6.1. Żagary. Antologia poezji, intorduction by T. Bujnicki, edited by J. Fazan, K. Zajas, Biblioteka Narodowa seria I 335, ed. 1, Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 2019. [selections]

6.2. Żagary. Środowisko kulturowe grupy literackiej, edited by T. Bujnicki, K. Biedrzycki, J. Fazan, Kraków: Universitas, 2009. [fragments]

7. Vilnius jokers in the interwar period

7.1. VII Szopka Akademicka vulgo Betlejki Wileńskie, juże po raz 7 [...] przez scholarów Facultatis Artizm Almae Matris Vilnensis [...] zdziałane [...], Wilno [1928].

7.1. A selection of satires by T. Bujnicki and K. I. Gałczyński prepared by the leading.

7.2. M. Kozłowska, O Wilnie i śmiechu wileńskim (Regionalna satyra i humor poetycki (1920-1939) – rekonesans); J. S. Ossowski, Wileńskie satyry Gałczyńskiego, [in:] Poezja i poeci w Wilnie lat 1920-1940. Studia, edited by T. Bujnicki and K. Biedrzycki, Kraków: Universitas, 2003.

7.2. A. Szawerna-Dyrszka, Śmiech katastrofisty. Teodor Bujnicki w kręgu Żagarów, Katowice: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego, 2007. [fragments].

8. Artistic life of interwar Vilnius (photography, Reduta theater, painting)

8.1. J. Bułhak, Pejzaż Wilna. Wędrówki fotografa w słowie i obrazie, Wilno: Wydawnictwo Polskie w Wilnie, 2012. [fragments]

8.2. Wileńskie środowisko artystyczne, 1919-1945: malarstwo, grafika, rzeźba, rysunek, fotografia: Galeria Sztuki Współczesnej BWA w Olsztynie, czerwiec-sierpień 1989 r.: edited by K. Brakoniecki… [et al.]; Biuro Wystaw Artystycznych w Olsztynie. Olsztyn: Biuro Wystaw Artystycznych, 1989.

8.2. Z. Osiński, Pamięć Reduty. Osterwa, Limanowski, Grotowski, series „Terytoria Teatru”, Gdańsk: Słowo/obraz/terytoria, 2003. [fragments]

9. Lithuanian and Jewish culture in Vilnius in the interwar period

9.1. Antologia poezji litewskiej, trans., selected and edited by J. Wichert-Kajruksztisowa; introduction A. Górski, Warszawa: Instytut Popierania Nauki, 1939. [selections]

9.1. D. Kac, Wilno Jerozolimą było: rzecz o Abrahamie Sutzkeverze, introduction by Cz. Miłosz, ed. 2, Sejny: Pogranicze, 2004. [selections]

9.1. A selection of Lithuanian and Jewish literary works (translated into Polish) prepared by leading.

9.2. T. Bujnicki, Polskojęzyczne pisarstwo Litwinów w Wilnie. Rekonesans; A. Lapinskienė, Litewskie życiu literackie w międzywojennym Wilnie, [in:] Życie literackie i literatura w Wilnie XIX-XX wieku, edited by T. Bujnicki and A. Romanowski, Kraków: Collegium Columbinum, 2000, 177-185; 241-264.

10. The image of the city and people of Vilnius in poetry and satire of the 1950s-1990s

10.1. Widziałem świat: skrypt do kursu historii literatury litewskiej, edited by B. Kalęba; J. Niedźwiedź; Kaunas: Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas; Vilnius: "Versus aureus" leidykla, 2014. [selections]

10.1. Šluota. Beczka w gabinecie, selected by J. Bulota, selection of illustrations by A. Pakalnis, trans. by A. Stoberska, Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Artystyczne i Filmowe, 1989. [selections]

10.2. A. Kalėda, Mityczne miasto (Literackie obrazy Wilna), [in id.:] Od M. do M. Szkice o literaturze polskiej i litewskiej, edited by A. Rembiałkowska, Warszawa 2005: Galeria Polskiej Książki „Ex-Libris”, 61-76.

11. Vilnius as an object of nostalgia (Cz. Miłosz – T. Venclova)

11.1. Cz. Miłosz, Miasto bez imienia, [in id.:] Wiersze, t. 1-2, Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, 1985.

11.1. T. Venclova, Cz. Miłosz, Dialog o Wilnie, [in:] Powroty do Litwy, selected and edited by B. Toruńczyk, M. Nowak-Rogoziński, Warszawa: Fundacja Zeszytów Literackich, 2011, 44-81.

11.2. Cz. Miłosz, T. Venclova, Powroty do Litwy, selected and edited by B. Toruńczyk, M. Nowak-Rogoziński, Warszawa: Fundacja Zeszytów Literackich, 2011. [selections]

12. "Vilnius Poker" by R. Gavelis

12.1. R. Gavelis, Wileński poker, trans. by K. Pecela, Wojnowice: Kolegium Europy Wschodniej, 2017 (or 2019).

12.2. T. Dalecka, Próba „odczytania” Wilna (na podstawie powieści Ričardasa Gavelisa „Wileński poker”), „Acta litteraria comparativa” 2009, Vol. 4, 206-215.

13.In the footsteps of the local artistic bohemia (J. Kunčinas „Tula”, poetry about Vilnius end of the 20th century)

13.1. J. Kunčinas, Tula, trans. by A. Rybałko, Sejny: „Pogranicze”, 2002. [fragment]

13.1. A selection of Polish and Lithuanian poetry from the last decade of the 20th century prepared by the leading.

13.2. M. Kowerko-Urbańczyk, Wilno jako projekt nienostalgiczny. Litewska proza wobec wielokulturowości i palimpsestowości Wilna, „Porównania” 2013, 87-102.

14. The topic is proposed by the course participants (final presentations)

Supplementary reading (in Polish)

K. Buchowski, Litwomani i polonizatorzy. Mity, wzajemne postrzeganie i stereotypy w stosunkach polsko-litewskich w pierwszej połowie XX wieku, Białystok: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu w Białymstoku, 2006.

A. Kalėda, Ieškant poetinės Vilniaus tapatybės – W poszukiwaniu poetyckiej tożsamości Wilna – In search of poetical identity of Vilnius, Vilnius: Vilniaus universiteto leidykla, 2016.

M. Kozłowska, O „polifonię głosów zbiorowych”. Wileńska krytyka teatralna 1906-1940, Szczecin: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego, 2003.

M. Niemojewski, Zwierciadła i drogowskazy: litewskie almanachy literackie w I połowie XX wieku, Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 2005.

Życie literackie i literatura w Wilnie XIX-XX wieku, pod red. T. Bujnickiego i A. Romanowskiego, Kraków: Collegium Columbinum, 2000.

Upon finishing the course a student:

KNOWLEDGE

1. describe and analyze in-depth the evolution of images of Vilnius, recorded in selected works of Polish, Lithuanian and Jewish literature created throughout the 20th century.

2. interprets literary works from the perspective of different methodological approaches, with the knowledge of the most recent literary lines of thought

SKILLS

3. analyzes literary work in the context of literature of a given time, taking into account historical and social background of the period, formulates competent statements about it

4. prepares a paper on the basis of individually collected references

5. has an ability to draw conclusions, discuss, formulate opinions and arguments about statements devoted to historical and literary issues.

ATTITUDE

6. perceive literature about Vilnius as a result of the culture of a given time, depending on the development of aesthetic trends and historical and social conditions

7. perceives literature as an important tool for exploration of the cultural characteristics of a community, understands the relationship between literature and other areas of life.

Form of classes - classroom/Google (depending on current regulations). Classes will involve working in groups, developing skills in reading and understanding scholarly texts through discussion, presenting and arguing one’s views on some topic of literature, preparing class papers with the aid of multimedia techniques.

Continuous assessment (preparedness and in-class activity),

presentation of an essay. Class participants are entitled to two absences per semester, each subsequent absence should be counted in a manner agreed with the academic teacher.

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