Center for American Studies, MCSU Lublin

15/05/2026

It was a pleasure to welcome ethnomusicologist Dr. Chris Ballengee from the Polish Academy of Sciences for “Sounding the Nation: Tracing the Roots of American Music,” organized as part of our Sounds of America lecture series.

During the lecture, Dr. Ballengee explored the complex history of North American music, highlighting its connections to transatlantic cultural exchange, race, and class. By combining musical examples with historical and social context, he demonstrated how sound and musical traditions can reflect broader cultural structures and identities.

We are incredibly grateful to Dr. Ballengee for sharing his expertise on American music with our students and faculty. We are already looking forward to more events devoted to American culture in the future!

15/05/2026

On May 11th, Dr. Lidia Kniaź-Hunek visited the Institute of American Studies and Polish Diaspora at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, where she delivered an invited plenary lecture on Afrofuturism.

The talk introduced students to Afrofuturism as a cultural, artistic, and political framework present across media. For many attendees, it was their first encounter with the topic, which led to a lively discussion and numerous excellent questions after the lecture.

Thank you to Dr Maciej Smółka for the invitation!

06/05/2026

🎤 Sounds of America | SOUNDING THE NATION: TRACING THE ROOTS OF AMERICAN MUSIC
The Center for American Studies at UMCS invites you to a lecture by Dr. Chris Ballengee(Polish Academy of Sciences), held as part of the Sounds of America lecture series.
📅 May 13, 2026
🕐 6:00–7:00 PM
📍 Online (MS Teams)
Ethnomusicologist at the Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Dr. Christopher Ballengee, will explore the history of North American music, highlighting its connections to transatlantic cultural exchange, race, and social class. The lecture will examine how various musical traditions – from folk music and minstrelsy to jazz, country, and bluegrass – helped shape American cultural identity.
🗣️ The lecture will be delivered in English.
🎟️ Free admission, registration required.
📩 To register, please contact the organizer: Lidia Kniaź-Hunek ([email protected])
The event is sponsored by American Corner UMCS Education & Business Center .

05/05/2026

We were delighted to host Prof. Peter Cipkowski from UCLA for “Willa Cather: American Voice,” part of our Voices of America lecture series. Students and faculty alike were captivated by our guest’s exploration of Cather’s life, work, and enduring literary voice. As Prof. Cipkowski remarked, there may well be future Willa Cather scholars in the audience!

05/05/2026

Dr. Izabella Kimak had a truly busy week! She participated in the Fulbright Enrichment Seminar in Philadelphia, organized to celebrate the 80th anniversary of The Fulbright Program and the 250th anniversary of the proclamation of the Declaration of Independence 🇺🇸

The participants, 125 Fulbright scholars from 50 countries, took part in lectures and discussions focusing on the legacy of the Founding Fathers. As part of the program, they visited the National Constitution Center and other locations in Philadelphia.

And then Dr. Kimak flew back to Chicago just in time to take part in the annual Polish Constitution Day Parade 🇵🇱

04/05/2026

🎤 WILLA CATHER: AMERICAN VOICE
The Center for American Studies at UMCS invites you to a lecture by Prof. Peter Cipkowski (UCLA), held as part of the Voices of America lecture series.
📅 May 5, 2026
🕐 10:30 AM
📍 Faculty of Humanities Council Hall, UMCS
This lecture explores the remarkable life and work of Willa Cather, one of America’s most original literary figures. Prof. Cipkowski will show how her distinctive voice – shaped by migration, displacement, artistic ambition, and solitude – gave lasting form to the American experience.
From the frontier to the rise of modernism, her fiction illuminates not only a nation in transition but also enduring, universal questions of belonging, memory, faith, and meaning, helping explain why her work continues to resonate far beyond the United States.
🗣️ The lecture will be delivered in English.

28/04/2026

Food is never just food! Today we explored how food advertising shapes identity, culture, and power in the U.S. during a fantastic Voices of America lecture by prof. Urszula Niewiadomska-Flis (KUL)—a leading expert in food studies. From race and representation to everyday consumption, the discussion showed just how rich and thought-provoking this field can be.
Great to see not only our students and faculty, but also visiting high school students joining the conversation!

27/04/2026

See you tomorrow!

📣 Voices of America: "Food Ads as Identity Machines: American Edition" 📣

🇺🇸 Katedra Anglistyki i Amerykanistyki UMCS oraz Centrum Studiów Amerykanistycznych UMCS zapraszają na wykład dr hab. Urszuli Niewiadomskiej-Flis, prof. KUL pt. "Food Ads as Identity Machines: American Edition" 🍿🥧

📅 28 kwietnia 2026, godz. 9:45
📍 Sala Obrad Rady Wydziału Filologicznego UMCS (nr 9)

🇬🇧 Wykład zostanie przeprowadzony w języku angielskim.

🔗 https://www.umcs.pl/pl/aktualnosci,22413,voices-of-america-food-ads-as-identity-machines-american-edition,183253.chtm
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English Studies at UMCS
Center for American Studies, MCSU Lublin

27/04/2026

Some news from Dr. Izabella Kimak, our Fulbrighter at Loyola University Chicago! Dr. Kimak is a recipient of the Fulbright Poland Senior Award for her research project "Mapping the Polish Midwest: Polish American Literature and Place-Making."

Last week, Dr. Kimak gave a well-attended talk at Niles-Maine District Library, titled "Sweet Home Chicago? Polish American Authors on the Windy City."

The lecture was followed by a lively discussion, during which Polonian writers, scholars, journalists, librarians, and community members reflected on the past, present, and future of the Polish diaspora in Chicago and of its literary output.

The event was organized by the Chicago Chapter of The Kosciuszko Foundation.

25/04/2026

On April 23, 2026 dr. Ewa Antoszek took part in XXVI Coloquio anual de literatura, lingüística y cultura hispanoamericanas y peninsulares: Identidad y cultura: diálogos que unen saberes organized by Spanish Graduate Association (Saga) at the University of Central Florida. She was part of Panel 1, Voces que cruzan: cuerpos, afectos y fronteras en la escritura moderna moderated by Professor Lisa Nalbone and she talked about border crossing narratives in A Dream Called Home and Silent Trees (2024). It was a great experience - thank you, Professor Nalbone, for the invitation!

25/04/2026

Between April 21 and 24, 2026 dr. Ewa Antoszek took part in the Migration and Gender meeting of the MigraMigra project at the University of Münster. The meeting involved both internal discussions on the project's progress, including the consortium meeting, as well as students’ presentations, film
screenings, and debates on current migration issues. It was also a great opportunity to meet the consortium partners. Many thanks to the Münster team for the organization and their hospitality!