6. Collections and Editions: From History to Herstory

One of the main tasks of literary studies is to save the literature of the previous generations from oblivion and to bring contemporary works to the proper shape. At the Faculty of Polish Studies, we undertake numerous editorial projects that bring major works and documents into print, making them accessible to a wide range of readers. The editions we make blend tradition with state-of-the-art tools and theories, and present a variety of perspectives – from history to herstory.

 

Lesser-known currents of Old Polish literature are brought closer to the reader today by the multi-volume series titled Biblioteka Dawnej Literatury Popularnej i Okolicznościowej (The Library of Popular and Occasional Literature of the Past) (edited by R. Krzywy). The series titled Biblioteka Renesansowa (The Renaissance Library) (edited by W. Olszaniec) features Latin masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance, accompanied by Polish translations and commentary.

In the project titled Więcej niż propaganda. Polskojęzyczny program wydawniczy w Królewcu jako projekt edukacji religijnej i kulturalnej (ok. 1544–1575) (Beyond Propaganda: Polish Publishing Programme in Königsberg as a Project of Religious and Cultural Education (ca. 1544–1575)), W. Kordyzon approaches a corpus of Polish-language prints to reconstruct the network of interconnections between printers, publishers, editors, translators and sponsors who financed their activities.

To mark the 250th anniversary of the founding of Szkoła Kadetów, the Warsaw Corps of Cadets, students, under the guidance of E. Wichrowska and A. Wdowik, published two volumes titled Kajety Korpusu Kadetów Szkoły Rycerskiej (Notebooks of the Cadet Corps of the Chivalry School). These hitherto unknown documents, scattered across archives in Poland and abroad, highlight the school’s contribution to the pedagogical thought of the Polish Enlightenment and shed new light on the history and daily life of the Warsaw Corps of Cadets.

Herstory is the history told from the female viewpoint. Forgotten texts written by women include interwar dramas collected in the volume titled Rodzaju żeńskiego. Antologia dramatów (Feminine Gender: A Drama Anthology), edited by A. Chałupnik and A. Łuksza. This anthology was conceived as part of the inter-institutional herstory project dubbed HyPaTia, which seeks to uncover and document the activities of women shaping the history of Polish theatre.

 

(In the photo: one of the old Polish texts that we study at the Faculty; photo by M. Kaźmierczak)