Reading groups

PsychLing Discussion Club

PsychLing Discussion Club is a club for everybody interested in issues related to psycholinguistc and neurolinguistic aspects of language processing. Some of the topics discussed so far have included: the structure of the bilingual and multilingual mental lexicon, the processing of language in clinically impaired populations (in autistic individuals and aphasic patients), the neurological underpinnings of bilingualism, as well as various methodologies of psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic experimentation. The meetings have featured presentations by members of the group, discussions and debates in a friendly atmosphere. They have provided opportunities to report on experiments, suggest new research proposals or simply exchange ideas and opinions among people who share an interest in language acquisition and processing. In the meetings to come we encourage student presentations and we would like to broaden the scope of issues addressed so as to include e.g. psycholinguistic aspects of interpreting and translation, metalinguistic awareness, effects of bilingualism on L1, processing of figurative language or task switching in bilingual speakers.

Phon&Phon

Webpage

We are a group of people passionately interested in how people around the globe speak in their first, second and third languages. Boasting a long tradition at WA (going back to the late 1980s), Phon&Phon is a section of Koło Naukowe Anglistów, organised by the Department of Contemporary English Language. The meetings encompass a wide range of topics within broadly construed phonetics and phonology, including interdisciplinary research. Researchers and students (mainly Ph.D and M.A.) from the Faculty of English, as well as external guests, present their current research. Each presentation is approximately 45 minutes long, oftentimes followed by a heated discussion providing speakers with feedback. Occasionally, Phon&Phon meetings take the form of poster sessions presenting posters prepared by our colleagues and accepted/presented at international linguistic conferences. Phon&Phon is supervised by Prof. Dziubalska-Kołaczyk and Anna Balas. All interested parties are invited to join our meetings, but especially M.A. students who plan to apply for a Ph.D. scholarship in the area of phonetics and phonology are warmly welcome.

Literary Meetings

Lady Oisille, one of the characters from Marguerite de Navarre's The Heptamenron (deNavarre 2004: 66) said: "when you ask me to show you a pastime that is capable of delivering you from your boredom and your sorrow, you are asking me to do something that I find very difficult. All my life I have searched for a remedy, and I have found only one - (...) reading (...)". The members of the Department of English Literature and Literary Linguistics share this opinion. That is why, each month, usually on a Thursday, we hold a literary meeting for everyone interested in English literature. The Department of English Literature and Literary Linguistics tries to cater for all literary tastes, particularly those of students of literature at WA. The themes of our literary gatherings are not only beneficial and student-friendly but, most importantly, they are eclectic and up-to-date. Using various modes of presentation, from slide-shows to movie-sessions, we try to react to the latest events in the world of literature (e.g. Doris Lessing's Nobel Prize). Moreover, being aware of the multi-disciplinarity of literary studies, we also take a literary look at architecture, geography and history. Since our meetings are often bilingual, we cordially invite everyone to a democratic, supranational discussion. After all, literature knows no boundaries... .

Lexicography and Lexicology

The main objective of the Lexicography and Lexicology Reading Group is to present and discuss various topics connected with the meaning of words as well as the presentation of the lexicon in monolingual and bilingual dictionaries. Some of the issues discussed during the monthly meetings of the group over the last couple of years included:

  • semantic analysis of English prepositions
  • definitions in monolingual pedagogical dictionaries of the English language with emphasis on verb coding
  • usage labels in dictionaries
  • metonymy and metaphor as applied in the definitions in monolingual dictionaries for learners of English
  • comparison of definitions of abstract nouns in dictionaries for native speakers and learners of English
  • corpus case studies
  • socio-cognitive model of language
  • bilingual dictionary in the translation practice
  • electronic dictionaries and their role in acquiring vocabulary

The meetings are also an occasion to exchange news on recent conferences and workshops attended by members of the Department of Lexicography and Lexicology or WA students.

Anyone with an interesting presentation pertaining to lexicography or lexicology is welcome to submit their proposal to prof. Arleta Adamska-Sałaciak.

American Literature

American Literature Reading Club, organized by the Department of American Literature, is meant to broaden students’ knowledge of US literature and culture and to provide them with a friendly venue to share and shape their literary interests. The Club meets once a month and each meeting is devoted to a different text representing the American literary canon. The selection covers a wide spectrum of formal and thematic concerns and embraces the cultural and ethnic diversity of the United States. Each discussion is moderated by a different teacher, which ensures a greater variety of approaches and more dynamic interactions. The relaxed atmosphere of the meetings and their open character is meant to encourage students’ independent thinking and inspire their further literary pursuits in the field of American literature.

The Club can also be found on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/163363007028198/. Everybody is welcome!

BLASt (Book Lovers Among Students) is a student section of the American Literature Reading Club. The meetings are hosted by and addressed to students. Visit the blog at: http://bookloversamongstudents.blogspot.com.

Contact at: blast.wa.uam@gmail.com, or on Facebook.

Teachers in Practice - TiP

Webleader: Anna Broszkiewicz

TiP Reading Club aims to develop teacher trainees' competence and skills concerning teaching English as a foreign language. We want to achieve this aim by learning from experts in the field, practising teachers and from our own experiences.  The meetings are planned once a month on Thursday afternoons and feature workshops/presentations conducted by experienced practitioners. We also welcome discussions on students' experiences from teaching practice and encourage the exchange of ideas that can work in an EFL classroom. During every meeting an article on contemporary EFL is presented for the participants to read and reflect on.

If you want to become a better English teacher, join us!

Koło Naukowe TiP ma na celu rozwój kompetencji studentów specjalizacji nauczycielskiej Wydziału Anglistyki UAM, a także współpracę z nauczycielami opiekunami praktyk ze szkół.

Spotkania, zaplanowane na czwartkowe popołudnia, koncentrują się na konkretnym temacie, który jest omawiany podczas warsztatu/prezentacji/prelekcji przeprowadzonej przez doświadczonego praktyka: nauczyciela lub pedagoga. Spotkania mają być również okazją do wymiany doświadczeń i spostrzeżeń z praktyk pedagogicznych, a także prezentacji ciekawych materiałów do nauczania języka angielskiego. Podczas każdego spotkania uczestnicy otrzymują artykuł dotyczący dydaktyki języków obcych, z którym mogą zapoznać się przed następnym spotkaniem.

Jeżeli chcesz być coraz lepszym nauczycielem, dołącz do nas!

Phontasticbiały napis Phontastic krojem przypominającym pismo ręczne na ciemnozielonym tle oraz czarny oscylograf, wizualizacja sygnału dźwiękowego

Phontastic is a reading group organised by the PhD students from the Department of Contemporary English Language and is strictly connected to Phon&Phon, but it eliminates the intimidating factor of its older sibling . It is aimed at BA and MA students only, who are interested in phonetics and phonology and its main objective is to familiarise the students with the current issues in these branches of linguistics, present and discuss newest studies, talk about the methodology of phonetic and phonological research, and broaden our knowledge of the quirks of sound structures of human languages in an informal setting.

Phontastic is also on facebook: http://facebook.pl/phontasticWA.

WAME: WA Musical Ensemblebiałe drukowane litery W, A, M, E ułożone w kolejności W A w górnym rzędzie, M E w dolnym, na ciemnoczerwonym tle

WAME (WA Musical Ensemble) was formed at the Faculty of English in February 2014 by two PhD students, Mateusz Jekiel and Kacper Łodzikowski. Its current line-up includes six students and teaching staff members.

WAME convenes regularly for rehearsals, honing its repertoire of cover songs, which span from the 1970s rock classics to the 2000s radio pop hits to the contemporary downtempo and alternative tracks.

In May 2014, WAME debuted at the WA Absolutorium at Adam Mickiewicz Concert Hall with a three-song show, returning a year later to perform with a special guest appearance by the Faculty of English Deputy Dean Radosław Dylewski on bass guitar.

In December 2014, the band was invited to play at the Faculty of English Christmas Special Party for staff members. The eight-song set that night included popular Christmas radio hits: “Last Christmas”, “Driving Home For Christmas”, “Merry Christmas Everyone”, and “Christmas Time”.

In March 2015, WAME gave a 30-minute concert as part of a charity event at Good Time Radio Café & Lunch in aid of a 10-year-old suffering from multiple sclerosis.

In May 2015 and 2016, WAME performed as part of the two-day CIN_ART Festival held annually at Collegium Iuridicum Novum.

The band is currently working on its own original material.

Subscribe to WAME’s Official YouTube channel here.

Follow WAME on Facebook here.

Celtic Research Circle

picture: a colouful circle with the arc filled with the captions {Celtic Research Circle} and {AMU Faculty of English}; the inner part of the circle is filled with fragments of flags of countries associated with the Celtic cultureThe Celtic Reading Group organized by the Celtic Studies Research Unit provides a friendly platform to discuss a wide variety of topics connected with contemporary Celtic countries and enables students to expand on their interests. Durings the meeeting, the BA and MA students as well as the staff and Ph.D. students of the Centre and guests from other institutions present their projects and research interests. We also organise translation worskshops, conversations in Welsh and Irish and film screenings. The meetings take place once or twice a month and are open to everyone interested in the topics discussed.

Coordinator: Dr Marta Listewnik

Last update: 2024-10-14

Oranjes Reading Group

Logo of the {Oranjes} reading group; caption {Oranjes} and a shape reminiscent of an orange or a bicycle made of an orange, all in orange on a white backgroundThe main objective of the Oranjes Reading Group is to introduce the culture of Dutch-speaking countries to students of the Faculty of English as well as the entire academic community. Through various initiatives, we promote the traditions, literature, art, and Dutch language—both within the university and beyond. As part of our activities, we organize film nights, guest speaker events, workshops for high school students from Poznań and its vicinity, and a poster session at the Young Linguists’ Meeting in Poznań conference.

Coordinators: dr Mikołaj Buczak and dr Robert de Louw

Facebook [external link]
Instagram: @niderlandzkiuam [external link]

Last update: 2024-11-14

Found in Translation Discussion Group

Meetings are organised by the Department of Translation Studies. They provide an opportunity to discuss various aspects of translation, including audiovisual translation (AVT), and interpreting. The meetings involve lectures by invited speakers, workshops, and research presentations by WA students and staff.

Coordinator: dr hab. Paweł Korpal, prof. UAM

Last update: 2024-11-13

History of English Language

The scholarly activities of the HEL Reading Group are oriented towards both WA staff and students. They consist in:

  1. The Reading Club, where recent publications in the field of English historical linguistics are analysed and critically discussed (convenes every few weeks)
  2. a bi-monthly Open Lecture, where members of the Department, students, and guests from outside WA present their (usually work-in-progress) research

All meetings are open and everyone is welcome to join us.

Co-ordinator: dr hab. Marcin Krygier

Last update: 2024-10-17

Syn & Sin

Logo of the Syn and Sin reading group, a binary tree (with its root a the top) branching out into two sub-constituents, the right-hand one branching further into another two, the terminal nodes filled with the captions: Syn, an ampersand, and Sin, all black on transparent“Syn & Sin” is a reading and discussion group hosted by the Department of English-Polish Comparative Linguistics. Through monthly meetings, faculty, students, and invited speakers share their ongoing or completed research and discuss recent publications in syntax. All those interested in syntax are warmly welcome to join.

Coordinator: dr Sylwiusz Żychliński

Last update: 2024-10-31

Culture Vultures

logo of the Culture Vultures reading group, red lettering on a red-and-blue star and a blue vulture, all on a white backgroundThe “Culture Vultures” discussion club, which has been active since 2014, is run by the Department of Studies in Culture and is addressed to students and staff of the Faculty of English. Its goal is to create a friendly forum for discussing various issues of broadly understood culture of the English-speaking countries. Members of our Department propose for consideration topics related to their research fields but also take up for discussion some issues of current interest as well as those that go beyond the framework designated by the name of our Department. Some meetings are also organized by students proposing topics important or interesting to them and presenting their first scientific research. In the “In conversation with” series, we expand the area of discussion by inviting writers, musicians, as well as scholars from outside the English Faculty. The issues discussed so far have touched upon, for example, the concepts of identity, ethnicity, as well as politics, art, and cultural life, often films. One meeting a year is specifically dedicated to the integration of foreign students who study at our Faculty with Polish students.

Coordinator: dr Elżbieta Wilczyńska

Last update: 2024-10-31

Love Lit Club

logo of the Love Lit Club reading group, Love Lit in black as if typed on a typewriter and Club in red as if handwritten, all on whiteThe activities of the Love Lit Club consist of a monthly book club, as well as a poetry reading circle which organizes periodic events. The monthly book club is student-led, with student members voting upon the titles for inclusion and (typically) with the student who proposed the book subsequently moderating its discussion. Discussions of five selected works by writers from the British Isles - and/or the British Commonwealth (excluding Canada) - are planned for the upcoming academic year.

The club’s Poetry Reading Circle has planned two events for each semester of the 2024-2025 academic year: a film night and discussion of The Green Knight; a reading circle concentrated on ekphrastic poetry; a book club session (devoted to Bernadine Evaristo’s verse novel Lara); and a final hybrid meeting (a reading circle on poems about poetry, followed by a creative writing session). A fifth poetry event might be organized for May, in the event of propositions from the student members.

Facebook page [external link]

Faculty advisore: prof. dr hab. Lilina Sikorska, dr Jacek Olesiejko, dr Jeremy Pomeroy

Last update: 2024-11-05

Canadian Literature in Perspective (CLIP)

Logo of the Canadian Literature in Perspective reading group, capital letter C, L, I, P, and the name of the group, all in red, next to a picture showing a fragment of a maple leafThe meetings of CLIP Reading Group, organized by the Center for Canadian Literature, are devoted to open, text-based discussions and presentations on Canadian literature of different periods and genres. We also organise events, such as the Maple Syrup Day, to provide a venue for those interested in Canada to learn and talk about Canadian culture. The meetings and events are moderated by staff members and students passionate about Canada. Come and join us!

Look for Canadian Literature in Perspective (CLiP) on Facebook [external link], on Instagram [external link], and join us!

Last update: 2024-11-08

Critical Approaches to Language in Society

The Critical Approaches to Language in Society reading group brings together three existing groups:

The reading group offers a forum for those interested in language, the role it plays in society and how society structures how we communicate. Participants address a range of topics relevant to communication and interaction, including health, age, gender, social rank and ethnicity.

We are guided by the mission to support inclusivity and to expose discriminatory attitudes constructed through language. Our monthly meetings are a chance for staff and students to come together and share their work, offering a space for presentations on current research. Students will be inspired to conduct their own research and will be able to present it, for example, at undergraduate and postgraduate conferences.

For information about the group, contact dr Magdalena Zabielska.

Last update: 2024-11-12

Language and Communication in Media and Politics (LANCOM)

This reading group brings together researchers and students of various disciplines including Linguistics, Political Sciences, Social Sciences, Communication studies and Journalism studies who are interested in applying critically discursive analytical techniques to issues of politics and the media.

Meetings are an inter-disciplinary space for open critical debate which hopes to facilitate scholarly self-development, which in turn may assist academic output.

The group has three aims: firstly to investigate and discuss new approaches to Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), secondly to apply CDA approaches to the analysis of political and media generated talk and text and finally, to provide an opportunity for participants to present findings of empirical or theoretical research in this field.

Potential results of the group’s activity includes collaborative work leading to submissions to leading journals in the field as well as participation in national and international conferences.

The reading group is open to faculty staff and students both undergraduate and graduate.

For information about the group contact Samuel Bennett

Last update: 2024-10-16

Language & Gender & Sexuality (LaGeS)

abstract drawing of two human heads facing each other; next to them the caption {Language Gender Sexuality}LaGeS is a forum set up to discuss current issues in the field of language, gender and sexuality. We view both gender and sexuality as socially constructed phenomena, which are prone to constant change. This makes language one of the main tools which we use to construct ourselves as gendered and sexualized beings. The words that best characterize our meetings are ‘interdisciplinarity’ and ‘open-mindedness’.

We aim to provide a platform for open discussions bringing together established and beginning academics as well as students in this fascinating post-structuralist subfield of linguistics. The LaGeS meetings are devoted to presenting research results of WA students, PhD students and faculty staff as well as discussing most up-to-date literature falling in the scope of language & gender & sexuality.

For more information please contact prof. Joanna Pawelczyk

Last update: 2024-11-12

Communication in Healthcare (MEDICOM)

picture: a human encapsulated in a cogwheel, next to an electrocardiogramme, a vase and a serpent as in the Rod of AsclepiusThe Communication in Healthcare (MEDICOM) discussion group promotes the study of communication processes that are involved in the maintenance of good health and high-quality medical treatment. Group members use their expertise in linguistics to analyse verbal and non-verbal practices found, for example, in:

  • medical interviews
  • medical record documentation
  • activity of online peer support groups for patients
  • portrayals of medical care in popular culture
  • health promotional materials

Our discussion group is suitable for everybody who would like to increase their awareness of the important role that communication plays in patients’ and doctors’ healthcare-related experiences. During regular meetings, both students and academics get an opportunity to present their projects as well as participate in scholarly discussions, which inspires new ideas for research and application of generated knowledge in practice.

For additional information, everyone is welcome to contact mgr Zuzanna Jechna.

Last update: 2024-11-12