Slavic and East European Journal

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Slavic and East European Journal

Original research and review essays in the areas of Slavic and East European languages, literatures, cultures, linguistics, and methodology & pedagogy.

The Slavic and East European Journal serves the Slavic profession by publishing original research and review essays in the areas of Slavic and East European languages, literatures, cultures, linguistics, and methodology/ pedagogy as well as reviews of books published in these areas. The journal is published quarterly by the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL).

09/25/2026

We are pleased to announce that the 2026 AATSEEL keynote address, given by former CREES Director Dr. Edith W. Clowes has been published in the summer 2026 issue of the Slavic and East European Journal! https://seej.org/issues/70.2.html

09/23/2026

We are pleased to announce the publication of our summer 2026 issue, SEEJ 70.2.

This issue features a special forum, guest edited by Anna Berman, "Nadezhda Khvoshchinskaya in her Third Century," as well as individual articles, book reviews, and the 2026 AATSEEL keynote address, given this year by Edith W. Clowes.

Find the complete table of contents on our website!

09/02/2026

Just a few of the books reviewed in our Spring issue. Find a complete list of Book Reviews and the rest of the contents of SEEJ 70.1 on our website.

08/26/2026

In his article "Myths of Childhood, People, and Trees," Peter Orte compares Akram Aylisli’s early trilogy "People and Trees" with Russian and Soviet literature’s various mythologies of childhood, specifically Maxim Gorky’s. Aylisli has expressed enduring admiration for Gorky, whose “pseudoautobiographical” works were a major inspiration for Aylisli’s tale of orphanhood in an Azeri village during the Second World War. Orte argues that while Aylisli followed the patterns set by Gorky’s pseudoautobiography, he rejuvenated them, discovering certain magical realist elements (fairytales, folkloric “God-building”) in the context of the Thaw, when that school was being used to explore national consciousness by writers throughout the USSR.

Find the complete abstract and the table of contents for the rest of our Spring 2026 issue on our website.

08/19/2026

In our Spring 2026 issue, Nikita Allgire (University of Southern California) examines the “philosophical novel” "One’s Own Fate," written in 1916 (published in 1923) by the Soviet-Armenian author Marietta Shaginian, as perhaps the first literary representation of psychoanalysis. Taking place at a sanatorium in the North Caucasus, it features the activity of psychiatrists and their nervous patients, giving a cross-section of mental illness of the time and describing a unique psychotherapeutic method developed at the fictional sanatorium. This takes shape against discussions of various philosophical and psychological schools, like psychoanalysis, but also in connection to Kant, Goethe, Nietzsche, revivalist Orthodoxy, and other influential cultural movements. Allgire examines how the plot partly rests on a critique of theosophy and mysticism, reflecting Shaginian’s own growing alienation from, and waning dedication to, the Symbolist movement (destined to be replaced by Marxism-Leninism only later).

Find the complete abstract for "The Real Thing: Marietta Shaginian’s One’s Own Fate (1923) as an Early Instance of Psychoanalysis in Literature" on our website.

08/12/2026

In the final article of our special cluster on Polish Textbooks, Krzysztof E. Borowski, University of Wisconsin-Madison, argues that despite its relevance to equity and inclusion, social class remains an underexamined dimension in foreign language education and applied linguistics. Borowski investigates how Polish as a foreign language (PFL) textbooks—particularly the widely used Hurra!!! Po polsku series—embed and promote middle-class cultural norms aligned with Poland’s intelligentsia. Using the Textbook Categorical Discourse Analysis (TCDA) framework, Borowski analyzes language acquisition tasks to reveal how these materials reflect and reinforce class-based assumptions that may not align with the diverse backgrounds of learners, especially in non-European contexts such as North American universities.

Find the complete abstracts for all of articles in the cluster, "Reimagining Polish Language Textbooks: Representation, Pedagogy, and Cultural Relevance in the Twenty-First Century Classroom" on our website!

08/07/2026

In our Spring 2026 issue, Justyna Zych (University of Warsaw)
advocates for the inclusion of the most up-to-date Polish vocabulary, often derived from English words, in textbooks for teaching Polish as a foreign language. The rationale behind this claim is that many recent Polish vocabulary items reflect the contemporary lifestyle of Poles. Zych's article discusses four main groups of neologisms. First, the most productive conjugation pattern, namely infinitives ending in -ować, which includes many verbs referring to Internet and online activities. Second, words with the suffixes -holik/-holiczka, which denote various hobbies and passions. Third, numerous new culinary terms that reflect Poles’ preference for foreign cuisines as well as the growing importance of vegetarianism and veganism in Poland. Finally, the article analyzes the phenomenon of hybrid words combining Polish roots with the English gerund ending -ing, often used to describe leisure activities. The article argues that incorporating the newest Polish vocabulary into Polish as a foreign language classes would help present a more accurate depiction of Polish society today.

Find the complete table of contents for SEEJ 70.1 on our website.

07/30/2026

In the SEEJ special cluster, Reimagining Polish Language Textbooks, Tony Lin argues that as Asian cultures gain more exposure and popularity in Poland, it becomes essential to address the lag between the situation on the ground and the curricular materials used in Polish language classes. In the United States, Polish language programs remain relatively insular, populated mostly by students of Polish descent; they struggle to attract students from other backgrounds. While Asians are a growing minority in Poland, they are a significant presence on US college campuses and represent prime targets for recruitment. Given that the Polish language textbooks used in the United States are predominantly published in Poland, Lin's article discusses how Asians are represented in these textbooks and offers suggestions for instructors to broaden the appeal of Polish to students of East Asian descent. Including minorities in more aspects of course curricula not only better reflects Poland’s evolving multicultural society but also is important in broadening the appeal of Polish language programs.

Find the complete table of contents for our spring 2026 issue on the SEEJ website.

07/23/2026

In SEEJ 70.1, Izolda Wolski-Moskoff (University of Chicago) examines the needs and characteristics of Polish heritage speakers in relation to their representations in Polish textbooks currently used in the United States. She writes that while Polish heritage speakers constitute approximately half of the students enrolled in Polish courses, no recent textbooks have been designed specifically for this group. Furthermore, the current Polish textbooks, though developed in Poland, not only fail to address the needs of this audience but also overlook Polish immigrants, who are an integral part of Polish culture. Wolski-Moskoff's paper suggests strategies to supplement existing materials, including the incorporation of carnivalesque language and the exploration of regional Polish dialects. Additionally, it highlights the importance of positioning heritage Polish as one of many valid variants of the language rather than a substandard form, while ensuring that the teaching of academic Polish remains uncompromised. By doing so, the paper aims to foster a more inclusive and effective approach to teaching Polish heritage speakers.

This paper is part of a special cluster of articles in our spring issue, "Reimagining Polish Language Textbooks: Representation, Pedagogy, and Cultural Relevance in the Twenty-First Century Classroom." Find the complete table of contents on our website!

07/17/2026

SEEJ 70.1 includes a special forum, Reimagining Polish Language Textbooks: Representation, Pedagogy, and Cultural Relevance in the Twenty-First Century Classroom, guest edited by Krzysztof E. Borowski, University of Wisconsin–Madison.

In the forum's introduction, Borowski addresses the growing need to redesign Polish as a foreign language (PFL) textbooks to better reflect twenty-first-century Poland’s cultural and social diversity and its Polish-speaking communities abroad. Building on prior studies in Polish language pedagogy, he highlights the disconnect between popular PFL textbooks and the realities of contemporary Polish-speaking society—whether among heritage speakers, in contemporary Polish lifestyles and cultural landscapes, or in the North American classroom.

The forum articles advocate for a more representative approach to PFL teaching materials, challenging the conventional underrepresentation of East Asia versus its increasingly visible presence in the Polish cultural landscape, the invisibility of Polish heritage speakers outside of Poland, outdated portrayals of everyday Polish lifestyles, and preference for middle-class views and activities in textbooks.

Find the complete table of contents for the forum on our website.

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