Krzysztof E. Borowski

Language(s): Polish, Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin/Serbian, Russian, Italian, Spanish, German. Reading knowledge of Silesian, Molise Slavic, Old Church Slavic. Structural knowledge of other Slavic and Romance languages.

Research/Language Interests: Multilingualism and identity in East-Central Europe, transnationalism and transnational studies, regional literary production, borderland studies, sociolinguistics, critical discourse studies, digital humanities.

About: I am a scholar of language, literature, and culture, with primary expertise in Polish studies and a secondary specialization in South Slavic (Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin/Serbian) languages and cultures. My research explores sites of identity, multilingualism, and transnational cultural production—both physical and digital—across East-Central Europe, with a particular focus on literature and language as arenas of sociopolitical negotiation and cultural memory. My recent projects include investigations into transnational poetics as a strategy of resistance in Polish literature, representations of everyday heroism in Miljenko Jergović’s prose, and the construction of social class values in popular language teaching materials. These projects combine literary analysis with critical discourse studies, sociolinguistics, and anthropological inquiry, yielding insights that challenge conventional approaches to language and culture.

My work is driven by linguistic, literary, and cultural mechanisms that challenge the status quo and reverse traditional narratives concerning life in increasingly multicultural and interconnected societies, past and present. These questions include: How do cultural texts negotiate belonging in newly Westernized countries such as Poland? What role does multilingual (regional) literature play in shaping national identity? How products of “high” and popular culture index aspirational desires in post-socialist contexts? My work contributes to the multilingual turn across the humanities and social sciences, as well as ongoing debates in identity studies, cultural studies, and European studies, particularly in post-socialist Europe.

My research has appeared in the Slavic and East European Journal, Studies in Eastern European Cinema, Journal of Slavic Linguistics, and Encyclopedia of Slavic Languages and Linguistics, for which I have also translated several scholarly texts from Polish and Russian. I have presented my work at Columbia University, the University of Washington, the University of Florida, Trinity College Dublin, and the Institute for Montenegrin Language and Literature, and at major conferences, including the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL), American Anthropological Association (AAA), International Conference on Sociolinguistics (ICS), and the Slavic Linguistics Society (SLS) meetings.

These research interests inform my teaching, which emphasizes broad cultural literacy, critical analysis, and interdisciplinary perspectives. At the University of Wisconsin, I teach Polish language at all levels and offer courses on political comedy, the Polish-American experience, and the multicultural heritage of Central Europe. I also offer independent instruction in Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin/Serbian (BCMS). My teaching integrates cultural and social theory with case studies, emphasizing practical applications and a holistic approach to the region that crosses borders and historical periods. As a digital humanities enthusiast, I regularly incorporate digital humanities projects into my courses. These have included a collaborative mapping project highlighting multicultural sites across East-Central Europe and a digital storytelling initiative focused on narratives of Polish immigration to the Americas. Both student-led projects are publicly available as open-access resources at go.wisc.edu/polish. As a language instructor, I have also organized multiple events on language pedagogy for the North American Association of Teachers of Polish (NAATPl). In addition to my work at UW, I have taught at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Kansas.

Currently, I serve as President of the North American Association of Teachers of Polish, a professional organization affiliated with AATSEEL, where I have served as a board member since 2023. At UW–Madison, I have co-organized the annual Madison Polish Film Festival, the Slavic unit’s largest public engagement event, facilitated the Polish Language Table, and co-advised the Polish Student Association in addition to serving as advisor to the newly established Balkan Student Organization. I have also brought guest speakers to campus, including the acclaimed poet and author John Guzlowski. I have been involved with the Multilingual UW–Madison initiative, which addresses linguistic discrimination and promotes support for studying and speaking multiple languages, and have contributed public-facing articles on Polish studies in the U.S. for Wikipedia. I have served as manuscript reviewer for Cambridge University Press, Studies in Eastern European Cinema, Journal of Slavic Linguistics, and Journal of Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe. I have also reviewed books for the Slavic and East European Journal, Canadian Slavonic Papers, and other venues.

Education:
• University of Kansas, Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literatures (2020)
• University of Wrocław, M.A. in Serbian and Croatian Languages and Literatures (2011)
• University of Wrocław, B.A. in Slavic Languages and Literatures (2009)

Selected Publications