Between November 30th and December 4th, the UFPR hosted the “1st International Conference of Polish Studies”, promoted by the Department of Polish, German and Classical Literature (Depac). Artistic and cultural presentations marked the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the University’s Polish Language Degree, the only one in Latin America, created in 2009.

The presentation of the Polish Folkloric Group of Paraná Wisła in the courtyard of the Rectory of the UFPR opened the program of the event.

Three partner universities were represented. Jolanta Tambor, director of the School of Polish Language and Culture at the University of Silesia in Katowice; Renata Przybylska, director of the Polonistics Department at the Jagiellonian University; and Jerzy Mazurek, professor at the Institute of Iberian and Ibero-American Studies at the University of Warsaw.

The speeches highlighted the long presence of Polish language and culture at UFPR – through courses and specializations offered since 1982 – and the creation of the undergraduate course in Polish Literature in 2009.

Initially, the training in Polish was linked to the Department of Modern Foreign Languages (Delem). In 2015, it became part of the Depac. Currently, through teaching, research and extension activities, the work regarding the Polish language, literature and culture is consolidated in the Universidade Federal do Paraná.

Theatrical presentations open to the public were held at the Memorial of Curitiba. In the play “Sanatorium”, three short stories by the Polish writer Bruno Schulz were taken to the stage by the group “A Turma do Dionísio”, from Rio Grande do Sul. The performance “Eradication” brought a reflection on identity and cultural differences based on the memory of Polish immigrants in South America. The performance was written by Maciej Rozalski, Polish artist and professor at the Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia.

The program also included conferences, workshops, round tables and thematic symposia. Among other topics related to the history of Poland and migration, Polish language, literature and culture were discussed. There was also the launch of the book “I didn’t get to Treblinka in time”, by Irit Amiel, in a bilingual edition organized by Piotr Kilanowski, professor at UFPR.

The “1st International Conference of Polish Studies” received 180 registrations from Brazil, Poland, and Italy, among teachers and researchers, students and members of non-academic communities. The importance of the UFPR’s Polish Literature course in Curitiba, a region marked by the presence of Polish immigration in Brazil, was emphasized at various times. For 2020, it is planned to offer a Bachelor’s Degree in Letters – Polish and Portuguese and a Bachelor’s Degree in Letters – Polish.