M.A. seminars 2024–2026 (selected full-time programmes)

What is this list?

This is a list of M.A. seminars we intend to launch in some of our full-time M.A. programmes whose first year of study is 2024; that is, the seminars are planned to start in 2024 and end in 2026, at the end of the two-year M.A. programme.

What about these seminars?

Part of the admissions procedure for selected full-time M.A. programmes is an interview. The interview you take part in is with a small committee of our teachers headed by your prospective M.A. thesis supervisor, the teacher whose seminar you intend to join upon becoming a student in the programme. At some point between your registration for the given programme—see the easy step-by-step instruction linked to here—and the day of the interview we may contact you to ask about your preferred M.A. seminar. Your task is easy: browse this list in search of seminars which are offered for the programme in which your are enroling and, if there are more than one seminar, let us know, when asked, which seminar is your favourite. We will take note of it and ensure your interview is with the right committee.

Please note: We do not guarantee that upon admission to the programme you will be able to join the preferred seminar. Enrolment into a particular seminar is subject to conditions such as the total number of candidates, the overall result of your enrolment process, and others.

How to navigate the list?

The list is sorted by the full-time M.A. programme to which the seminars apply. As you scroll the page down or click on the links in this paragraph, you will note headings with the names of the programmes:

Underneath each such heading you will find the seminars planned for the given programme, sorted by the name of its instructor, with a detailed description of each seminar.

Notes

Starting in 2024 the full-time M.A. programme in English Philology (Filologia angielska) does not require the candidates to select their preferred M.A. seminar prior to being admitted to the programme. Therefore, candidates for the programme do not need to browse this page—follow this link instead. (For information on the 2024–2026 M.A. seminars in the extramural programme in English Philology, follow this link.)

This page does not cover seminars in the Dutch Studies programme.

Creative and Specialized Translation

Tłumaczenie kreatywne i specjalistyczne

For description of the programme, follow this link (to our website in Polish).

The Future of Multilingual Communication: A Deep Dive into Machine Translation

dr Marta Kajzer-Wietrzny

Description

The role of machine translation (MT) in international communication is becoming increasingly significant. It is omnipresent in both everyday life and professional translation practices. The success of MT can be examined from various perspectives and evaluated using different methodologies. MT evaluation holds practical importance for translators and businesses that leverage texts in multiple languages to convey information about their products or services to current or potential clients.

The rapid generation of numerous texts has led to an escalating demand for their availability in many languages. This demand, coupled with the swift pace of publication, often surpasses the budgets and capacities of many companies. These companies prefer to avoid employing human translators if comparable quality can be achieved instantaneously and at a substantially lower cost or even for free. What seemed like a pipe dream just a few years ago now appears within reach as the quality of MT output continues to improve.

In this seminar, we will employ a corpus-based approach to quantitatively and qualitatively examine and evaluate the texts produced by various MT systems across different communicative contexts. The MA theses completed during this seminar will provide valuable insights for both users and developers of MT systems.

Recommended reading

  • Bowker, L., & Ciro, J. B. (2019). Machine translation and global research: Towards improved machine translation literacy in the scholarly community. Emerald Publishing Limited.
  • Kenny, D. (2022). Machine translation for everyone: Empowering users in the age of artificial intelligence. Language Science Press.

The translator in a multimodal world

dr Iwona Mazur

Description

Today’s world is becoming increasingly multimodal: we watch videos on YouTube, create and consume content on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok, watch films and TV series on streaming platforms, such as Netflix, Max, or Disney+. We play video games, experience 3D cinema and Virtual Reality, and take virtual tours using 360 degrees videos. In the above media, the visual, verbal and aural channels interact to create meaning. However, not always is this meaning clear or accessible to all interested parties. For instance, the verbal channel will not accessible to a person not knowing the source language of a film, the visual channel cannot be accessed by a person with sight loss, while the information conveyed through the aural channel will not be available to a person with hearing impairment. This is where audiovisual translation (AVT) and media accessibility (MA) come into play.

In the seminar we will look at the fundamentals of multimodal and film discourse analysis, followed by theoretical and experimental approaches to the main AVT and MA types: subtitling, dubbing, voice-over, audio description (AD) and subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing (SDHH). The master’s thesis will have a theoretical as well as an applicable practical component (e.g. in the form of specific guidelines created on the basis of the literature review and the analytical part of the thesis).

Credit requirements include regular attendance, careful reading of assigned texts, active participation in class discussions, a passing mark on the end-of-semester test, as well as systematic progress on the M.A. project.

Candidates should be proficient in both written and spoken English and should have a keen interest in translation and/or accessibility issues.

Selected bibliography

  • Adamowicz-Grzyb, G. 2013. Tłumaczenia filmowe w praktyce. Warszawa: Fortima.
  • Chmiel. A. i I. Mazur. 2014. Audiodeskrypcja. Wydział Anglistyki UAM
  • Diaz-Cintas, J. and A. Remael. 2021. Subtitling: Concepts and Practices. London: Routledge.
  • Tomaszkiewicz. T. 2006. Przekład audiowizualny. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN

Polish-English Conference Interpreting

Tłumaczenie konferencyjne polsko-angielskie

For description of the programme, follow this link (to our website in Polish).

Czy to jest trudne do przetłumaczenia? Wyzwania w polsko – angielskim tłumaczeniu ustnym i pisemnym

What makes a text or speaker difficult to translate? Challenges in Polish – English translation and interpreting

dr Anna Jelec

Description

Translation and interpreting are difficult in the best of circumstances. It takes time, experience and skill to understand the message and convey it in another language. And yet, speakers and their texts often add to this challenge by using indiscriminate borrowings, such as “pejgap” (the gender pay gap); making jokes or using proverbs and puns; swearing; requiring specific forms of address (Polish “ty” is different from “szanowni państwo” but this is lost in the English “you”); or drawing heavily on intertextuality and lengthy quotations (“wiem, że jest to konferencja o projektowaniu mebli, ale pozwolę sobie zacytować średniowieczny traktat o sadzeniu fasoli”). Translators and interpreters also need to cope with difficulties caused by method of delivery: a handwritten doctor’s note, or a presentation read out aloud so fast the speaker is gasping for air.

In this seminar, we take a look at these challenges through a linguistic lens. Questions we might tackle include what makes a text or speaker difficult to translate; what strategies are used to translate a difficult text and how they affect the message and whether coping with a difficult text or speaker affects the translator / interpreter.

Recommended reading

The list of literature on conference interpreting on the European Commission’s website [external link]

Interpreting Studies: Perspectives and methods

prof. UAM dr hab. Paweł Korpal

Interpreting has been studied from various perspectives in recent decades. Previous research has focused on aspects, such as language processing in conference interpreting, cognition, textual features of the interpreting product, and interactional factors in interpreted events. In this seminar we are going to explore the main paradigms in Interpreting Studies (Pöchhacker 2004), review empirical research on interpreters, and discuss the main research methods applied to study both the product and the process of interpreting.

Students will conduct their own research projects and write their theses on a selected aspect of Interpreting Studies. For instance, they might investigate language processing in simultaneous and/or consecutive interpreting, analyse existing interpretations, measure interpreting quality, or investigate other factors involved in the practice of interpreting. Some examples of research methods that can be applied include a controlled experiment, a corpus-based study, and survey research.

Recommended reading
  • Gile, Daniel. 2009. Basic concepts and models for interpreter and translator training. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
  • Pöchhacker, Franz. 2004. Introducing Interpreting Studies. London: Routledge.
  • Pöchhacker, Franz and Miriam Shlesinger (eds.). 2002. The Interpreting Studies reader. London: Routledge.
  • Tryuk, Małgorzata. 2007. Przekład ustny konferencyjny. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.

Language, Mind, Technology

For description of the programme, follow this link.

Meaning making

prof. UAM dr hab. Katarzyna Bromberek-Dyzman

Description

People share meanings by what they say (verbal code), how they say it (nonverbal code), and even by not saying anything (silence can create a lot of meaning). Meanings can come coded in voices, speech melodies, words, facial expressions (or emojis), gestures, postures, as well as the degree of confidence, or proximity (or lack of it) the speaker exhibits. Streams of multimodal communicative cues carry complex configurations of potentially meaningful, but not obviously related communicative signs, comprehenders need to select, connect and make sense of. Recent research shows that people make meaning rapidly (in milliseconds) and quite effortlessly. How come?

How do we make meaning: what mechanisms gear the meaning making? Are the mechanisms the same in the native and foreign language systems? Do they depend on how a person feels while making meaning?

Together, we will be tracking the dynamics of meaning making to discover (i) how people construct and capture implicit and explicit meaning; (ii) how do we acquire the mindreading networks in the brain, and what is their role in meaning making; (iii) how do we embody a language, and what feelings have got to do with meaning making; (iv) do bilinguals feel the meanings in their foreign languages, or they merely understand. On top of that, this course will equip you with the experimental tools for testing hypotheses, and experimenting on meaning making, and will give you hands-on experience in gaining insight into the meaning making mechanisms in real time.

If you would like to learn more about how people mindread, if bilinguals outperform monolinguals in mindreading, and if you are keen on co-participating in exploring the mindreading processes – join the course!

Bilingual minds: How language shapes thought and emotion

dr Katarzyna Jankowiak

Description

Bilingualism, one of the most dynamic and rapidly expanding fields in psycholinguistics, offers fascinating insights into the complex relationship between language and the mind. It uncovers how the two languages influence one another and how the language of operation shapes cognitive processes. This MA course is designed for students eager to explore how bilingualism impacts not only the processing of native (L1) and non-native (L2) languages but also our emotional responses and perceptions of social norms. Throughout the course, we will delve into theoretical frameworks and empirical studies on language co-activation, executive control, and the cognitive flexibility bilinguals develop. Additionally, we will examine cutting-edge research on how bilingualism alters emotional experiences and shapes our understanding of social norms in both L1 and L2 contexts. As part of the MA project, students will have the opportunity to design and conduct their own empirical study, investigating the cognitive mechanisms that drive bilingualism and its broader implications for language, thought, and society.

Selected bibliography
  • Bazzi, L., Brouwer, S., Khan, Z. N., Verdonschot, R. G., & Foucart, A. (2024). War feels less horrid in a foreign accent: Exploring the impact of the foreign accent on emotionality. Frontiers in Language Sciences, 3, 1357828.
  • Geipel, J., Hadjichristidis, C., & Surian, L. (2015). The foreign language effect on moral judgment: The role of emotions and norms. PLOS ONE, 10(7), e0131529.
  • Jankowiak, K. (2021). Current trends in electrophysiological research on bilingual language processing. Language and Linguistics Compass, 15(8), 1–17.
  • Wu, Y. J., & Thierry, G. (2012). How reading in a second language protects your heart. The Journal of Neuroscience, 32(19), 6485–6489.