Kinga Kosmala
Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures | The University of Chicago
1130 East 59th Street, Foster 410 | Chicago, IL 60637 | 773 517 3351 | kkmaciej@uchicago.edu
EDUCATION
Ph.D. University of Chicago (Chicago, IL): Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures,
2010
Dissertation: “Ryszard Kapuściński: Reportage and Ethics or Fading Tyranny of Narrative”
Major Field: Polish Literature | Minor Field: Polish Film
Area of Specialty: Nonfiction writing, journalism and ethics of the media, Polish cinema
B.S.
University of Life Sciences (Lublin, Poland): Department of Botanical Genetics, 1994
UNIVERSITY TEACHING APPOINTMENTS
Lecturer in Polish, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures & Summer Language
Institute, University of Chicago (2010 – Present)
Adjunct Lecturer in Polish, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Northwestern
University (2001-Present)
Polish Language Instructor, Summer Language Workshop, Indiana University Bloomington
(Summer 2014; Summer 2005)
Visiting Lecturer, Department of Modern Languages, Loyola University Chicago (Winter 2011;
Fall 2009)
Preceptor, Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities Program (IS-HUM), University of Chicago
(2007–2008)
Instructor, McNair Summer Research Training Program, University of Chicago (Summer 2007)
PUBLICATIONS
Books
Ryszard Kapuściński: Reportage and Ethics or Fading Tyranny of the Narrative. Peter Lang
International Academic Publishers in Frankfurt am Mein, Germany, July 2012.
Refereed Articles
“Olga Stanisławska’s Charles de Gaulle Roundabout: Raw Facts and the Danger of Finalizing
Narratives.” The Polish Review (TPR: 58.1, 2013), pp. 15-28.
Refereed Book Chapters
“Ryszard Kapuściński’s Travels with Herodotus: Reportage from the Self” in The Reception of
Herodotus in Antiquity and Beyond, eds. Vasiliki Zali and Jessica Priestley. Contract signed
with Brill Publishing House. Forthcoming in Fall 2015.
Translations
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Translation into Polish, Bożena Shallcross, “Dziwne mydło: Zofia Nałkowska i gospodarka
Zagłady” (Uncanny Soap: Zofia Nałkowska and the Economy of the Holocaust), Teksty
Drugie, 2007:5, p. 62-73.
Translator and Native-speaker consultant for New Polish Writing, special double issue of Chicago
Review, 2000: 46.
Book Reviews
Mateusz Werner, ed., Polish Cinema Now!: Focus on Contemporary Polish Cinema, for Slavic and
Eastern European Journal 57.2 (Summer 2013)
Ewa Mazierska, Polish Postcommunist Cinema: From Pavement Level, for Slavic and Eastern
European Journal 53.3 (Summer 2009)
Ryszard Kapuściński, Lapidaria, for New Polish Writing, Chicago Review, 2000: 46.
GRANTS, HONORS, AND ACADEMIC AWARDS
Grant, Center for East European, Russian/Eurasian Studies (CEERES) and the Chicago Language
Center (CLC) at the University of Chicago, “Strategies for Building a Successful Polish
Language Program – Professional Development Workshop for Instructors of Polish” (May
2015)
Grant, The Consortium for Language Teaching and Learning, “Internet-based Cultural Enrichment
in the Polish Language Classroom,” Chicago Language Center, University of Chicago (20142015)
“Ida,” an Oscar winning film; grant for a film screening for all levels of Polish language classes;
sponsored by The College, University of Chicago (February 2015)
Course Development Grants, Chicago Course Connection and The College, Polish Food Contest
“Smak Down!” & Polish Food and Movie Night, University of Chicago (2015, 2014; 2013)
Northwestern University, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Course Enhancement
Grants for Polish (2002–2015); annual grants
“The Fourth Partition” by Adrian Prawica; grant for a film screening about the lives of Polish
immigrants in Chicago for all levels of the Polish language classes; co-sponsored by CEERES
and the Polish American Students Association (February 2014)
Excellence in Teaching Award, Slavic Department, Northwestern University (2013)
Course Development Grant, Chicago Course Connection & CEERES, University of Chicago (2013)
Summer Professional Development Grant, Center for Study of Languages, University of Chicago
Summer 2013)
The College grant, Polish Language Stand at the Universe of Languages, University of Chicago
(2011; 2012; 2013; 2014)
Grant for the book publication; Council of Educators in Polonia (2012)
Grant for the book publication, The Kosciuszko Foundation (Summer 2012)
The Kuncewicz Fund Grant, Promotion of the Polish Language Program, Department of Slavic
Languages and Literatures, University of Chicago (2011; 2012)
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Grant, The Arts Council, Promotion of the Polish Language Program, University of Chicago (2011)
Course Enhancement Grants for Russian, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures,
University of Chicago (2008)
Doolittle Fellowship, Dissertation Research Travel Grant, University of Chicago (2004; 2005)
Grants, Title VI FLAS, University of Chicago (2001-02) (2002-03)
Scholarship, American Institute for Polish Culture’s Dissertation Fellowship, Pulaski Scholarship
for Advanced Studies (2006)
Scholarship for Graduate Studies, Kosciuszko Foundation (2000-01)
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
LITERATURE AND CULTURE COURSES:
University of Chicago
 From Post-war to Post-wall: A History of Polish Film (Spring 2013, Winter 2015)
 Lady Jane in Warsaw: Communism Brought Down by Rock’n’Roll (Fall 2014)
 Responsible Readers: Ethics of Fiction and Non-Fiction in 20th Century East European and
American Literatures (Spring 2007)
 Survey in Polish Literature, Part III
 Critical Methodologies From Adorno To Žižek (Fall 2006)
 After the Wall Has Fallen: (Trans)National Cinema of the Other Europe (Spring 2006)
 Milan Kundera Course
Northwestern University
 Postwar Polish Film: Contemporary East European Literature (Winter 2014)
 Polish Literature (Spring 2007, Winter 2011)
Loyola University Chicago
 Postwar Polish Literature (Fall 2009, Winter 2011)
LANGUAGE COURSES:
University of Chicago
Lecturer
 Elementary Polish 1 (Fall 2010)
 Elementary Polish 2 (Winter 2011)
 Elementary Polish 3 (Spring 2011)
 Second Year Polish 1 (Fall 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)
 Second Year Polish 2 (Winter 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014)
 Second Year Polish 3 (Spring 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015)
 Advanced Polish (Fall 2012, 2013, 2014)
 Advanced Polish (Winter 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)
 Advanced Polish (Spring 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)
 Polish Through Literary Readings I (Fall 2011, 2013, Fall 2014)
 Polish Through Literary Readings II (Winter 2012, 2014, 2015)
 Polish Through Literary Readings III (Spring 2012, 2014, 2015)
 Polish Through Literary Readings IV (Fall 2012)
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Polish Through Literary Readings V (Winter 2013)
Polish Through Literary Readings VI (Spring 2013)
Reading Polish for Research Purposes (Summer 2015)
Independent Study (Fall 2010, Fall 2012, Winter 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Winter 2014,
Spring 2014)
Teaching Assistant:
 Elementary Russian (RUSS 101, 102, 103)
 Russian Through Pushkin (RUSS 104, 105, 106)
Northwestern University
 Elementary Polish I Fall (2002, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014)
 Elementary Polish II (Winter 2003, 2005, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015)
 Elementary Polish III (Spring 2003, 2005, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015)
 Intermediate Polish Language and Culture I (Fall 2003, 2005, 2012)
 Intermediate Polish Language and Culture II (Winter 2002, 2004, 2006, 2011, 2013)
 Intermediate Polish Language and Culture III (Spring 2002, 2004, 2006, 2011, 2013)
 Polish for Heritage and Native Speakers (Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2012, Winter
2013, Spring 2015)
 Independent Study Courses (Fall 2002, Winter 2003, Fall 2003, Winter 2004, Fall 2004,
Winter 2005, Spring 2005, Winter 2006, Spring 2010, Fall 2011, Winter 2012, Spring 2012,
Fall 2013, Winter 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Winter 2015, Spring 2015)
Indiana University Bloomington
 The Indiana University Summer Language Workshop: Summer Intensive Elementary Polish
Course (Summer 2005 & Summer 2014)
ADVISING
University of Chicago
BA senior thesis adviser, Alex Opechowski, International Studies (2015)
BA senior thesis reader, Charles Kurzydlowski, Department of Economics (2015)
MA thesis adviser, Stephanie Oehrlein, MA Program in the Humanities (2014)
BA senior thesis second reader, Alexandra Williams, Department of Slavic Languages and
Literatures, West Slavic major (2014)
Northwestern University
MA thesis adviser, Agatha Kielczewski, Comparative Literary Studies Program, “An Exploration in
the Relevance of Witkacy’s theory of Pure Form to Absurdist Theater as represented in
Beckett’s Waiting for Godot” (2013)
PRESENTATIONS
Invited Lectures
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“The Passenger” at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, pre-performance lecture at the invitation of the
University Arts Engagement Office, University of Chicago (March 2015)
“Content Based Instruction in Advanced Polish,” Symposium on Content Based Instruction,
Consortium for Language Teaching and Learning, Cornell University (October 2014)
Keynote lecture “Ryszard Kapuściński: Life and Oeuvre”: Annual Meeting of the Chicago Chapter
of the Kosciuszko Foundation (April 2013)
“Ryszard Kapuściński’s Imperium,” Polish Literature in Translation: Post World War II,” Loyola
University (January 27, 2012)
“Ryszard Kapuściński and his ethics” at the 14th Annual Polish American Heritage Celebration,
Northeastern University (November 4, 2011)
Guest Speaker, Poster Exhibit “Ryszard Kapuściński: Poet of Reportage,” The Richard J. Daley
Library at the University of Illinois at Chicago (November 8, 2011)
“Ryszard Kapuściński and the Ethics of Nonfiction Writing,“ The University of Chicago, Polish
American Students Association (PASA, January 2011), by invitation.
Refereed Oral Presentations
“Lady Jane in Warsaw: Communism Brought Down by Rock’n’roll,” Cities East and West
Conference at the University of Illinois at Chicago, April 2015 (Chicago, IL)
Panel on Literature: Responsibility to Tell and Retell the Story, commentator and participant, Jan
Karski Conference, September 2014 (Chicago, IL)
“Content Based Advanced Polish,” presenter, Less Commonly Taught Languages Poster Session for
at the American Association for Teachers of Slavic and Eastern European Languages
(AATSEEL) Annual Conference, January 2014 (Chicago, IL).
Roundtable for Teachers of the Polish Language, participant, AATSEEL Annual Conference,
January 2014 (Chicago, IL).
Panel on Polish Literature, commentator and panel chair, AATSEEL Annual Conference, January
2014 (Chicago, IL).
“Ryszard Kapuściński’s Travels with Herodotus: Reportage from the Self,” AATSEEL Annual
Conference, December 2012 (Seattle, WA).
Panel on Jewish-Slavic Cultural intersections, commentator and panel chair, AATSEEL Annual
Conference, December 2012 (Seattle, WA)
“Ryszard Kapuściński: a writer, a reporter, a philosopher,” Slavic Colloquium, University of
Chicago, May 2010 (Chicago, IL).
“Olga Stanisławska’s De Gaulle’s Roundabout between Out of Africa and Heart of Darkness,”
Center for European Studies, University of Florida in Gainesville, May 2010 (Gainesville,
FL)
“Charles de Gaulle Roundabout and the Danger of Finalizing Narratives,” 2nd International
Conference on Polish Studies, Indiana University, April 2008 (Bloomington, IN).
“Epistemic Responsibility in Literary Journalism in Modern Poland,” AATSEEL Annual
Conference, 2005 (Washington, DC).
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“Pillars of Reality: The Function of Objects in Kapuściński’s Shadow of the Sun,” Modern
Language Association (MLA) Annual Conference, December 2002 (New York, NY).
“Ryszard Kapuściński: A Foreign Correspondent, A Prose Writer or A Literary Critic?,” Slavic
Forum Annual Graduate Student Conference, University of Chicago, April 2001 (Chicago,
IL).
“Na tropach Smętka by Melchior Wańkowicz: The Development of Reportaż in Inter-War Poland,”
Slavic Forum Annual Graduate Student Conference, University of Chicago, April 2000
(Chicago, IL).
Lectures / Events / Workshops
Co-organizer of The Professional Development Workshop for Instructors of Polish at the University
of Chicago: “Strategies for Building a Successful Polish Language Program” (May 2015)
“Mapping the Plays of Szczęsny Zahajkiewicz, Polish Chicago Playwright,” Humanities Without
Walls, Global Midwest Project, funded by Northwestern’s Kaplan Institute for the
Humanities and the Mellon Foundation, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, and the
National Library in Warsaw, Poland (March 2015).
ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) workshop and certification process (started in September
2014)
Heritage Language Teaching Conference, National Heritage Language Resource Center, Los
Angeles, CA, March 2014
Language Proficiency Workshop, Chicago Language Center, The University of Chicago, Winter
2014
Summer Workshop for Teachers of Polish language (outside Poland), School of Polish Language
and Culture at the University of Silesia, Cieszyn, Poland, August 2013
Workshop, Teaching Heritage Speakers: professional development workshop, Language Center,
Yale University, May 2012
Interviewed for “Postscriptum Polonistyczne” on the Polish language pedagogy and methodology in
the United States; the School of Polish Language and Culture, Uniwersytet Śląski in
Katowice, Poland, January 29, 2012
Guest lectures at Polish Saturday Schools in the greater Chicago area, encouraging Polish students
to pursue college level education – every Fall since 2011 Interviewed by Michelle Skinner
for a story she was developing regarding the exhibit for the Library, Nov 8, 2011
Co-organized Olga Tokarczuk’s visit in Chicago together with the Consulate General of the
Republic of Poland and the Polish Cultural Institute in New York, April 2011
Co-organized Andrzej Stasiuk’s visit together with the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland
and the Polish Cultural Institute in New York, May 2010
Symposium “After Kapuściński: The Art of Reportage,” cosponsored by the Polish Cultural
August 12, 2015
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Institute in New York, New York Institute for Humanities at NYU, the Literary Reportage
Concentration of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at NYU, and the National Book
Critics Circle, October 2009
EXHIBITIONS
“Ryszard Kapuściński: Poet of Reportage” Poster Exhibit; keynote speaker, organizer and presenter,
in cooperation with The Polish Consulate, Center for East European, Russian/Eurasian
Studies, and Department of Visual Arts, University of Chicago, January 2012 (Chicago, IL)
UNIVERSITY SERVICE
Invited to be the Trip Scholar for the “Discovering Eastern Europe” organized by the The
University of Chicago Alumni Association (upcoming in September 2015)
English Language Assessment for the Chicago Language Center and the English Language Institute
(2015)
Faculty Advisor, The University of Chicago Polish American Students Association (Fall 2010 –
Present)
FLAS Language Evaluations and Assessment for Polish language FLAS recipients (Center for East
European and Russian/Eurasian Studies CEERES), on annual basis
Polish language consultant for Erik Houle’s doctoral dissertation research, Department of Slavic
Languages and Literatures, University of Chicago, 2013
Member, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Language Program Review Committee
(Spring 2012)
Native speaker consultant for W. Martin’s English translation of Lovetown by Michał Witkowski
(London: Portobello Books, 2010)
Research assistant and native speaker consultant for The Case Book for Polish, a project conducted
at the University of Chicago, sponsored by the Slavic and East European Language
Resource Center at Duke University/UNC at Chapel Hill, January 2001–Fall 2002
Editor, proofreader and native speaker consultant for W. Martin’s translation of Farewells to
Plasma by Natasza Goerke (Prague: Twisted Spoon Press, 2001)
SERVICE TO THE DISCIPLINE
Commissioned to prepare the Polish Proficiency Exam for New York University (Summer 2015)
Blind reviewer for:
 Slavic and East European Journal
 Studies in Travel Writing
 Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis
 Studia Historicolitteraria
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Reviewer for:
 University of Chicago Press
 Northern Illinois University Press
 National Science Centre, Kraków, Poland
 Austrian Science Fund, Vienna, Austria
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Member, Board of the Chicago Chapter, The Kosciuszko Foundation
American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)
Polish Studies Association (PSA)
Association for Slavic, East European & Eurasian Studies (ASEEES)
American Association of Teachers of Slavic and Eastern European Languages (AATSEEL)
Member, Editorial Board, Przemyśl Society of Friends of Learning, Rocznik Przemyski, ISSN 013741-68
August 12, 2015
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