Robert F. Byrnes Russian and East European Institute
Minor in Polish Studies
Students on Summer 2023, Fall 2023, or Spring 2024 requirements POLISTMIN
Requirements
The minor requires at least 18 credit hours, including the requirements listed below.
- Polish Language. One (1) course:
- SLAV-P 202 Intermediate Polish II
- SLAV-P 301
- SLAV-P 302
- SLAV-P 473 Fourth-Year Polish I
- SLAV-P 474 Fourth-Year Polish II
SLAV-P 202 Intermediate Polish II
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- SLAV-P 201 with a grade of C or higher; or consent of department
- Description
- Continuation of SLAV-P 201.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of SLAV-P 202, SLAV-P 222, or SLAV-P 314.
SLAV-P 473 Fourth-Year Polish I
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Refinement of active and passive language skills, with emphasis on vocabulary building and word usage. Extensive readings, discussion, composition writing. Individualized remedial drill in grammar and pronunciation.
SLAV-P 474 Fourth-Year Polish II
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Refinement of active and passive language skills, with emphasis on vocabulary building and word usage. Extensive readings, discussion, composition writing. Individualized remedial drill in grammar and pronunciation.
- Core Courses. Nine (9) credit hours:
- HIST-D 201 Democratic Revolutions since 1980
- POLS-Y 340 East European Politics
- SLAV-P 223 Introduction to Polish Culture
- SLAV-P 363 Faces of War and Freedom
- SLAV-P 364 From Anxiety To Revolution
- SLAV-P 365 Topics in Polish Literature and Culture
- SLAV-P 366 The Bold and the Restless: Polish Film from the 1950s to the Present
- Independent readings course approved by the Institute (up to 3 credit hours)
- Additional course(s) that focus predominantly on Poland, with approval of the Institute
HIST-D 201 Democratic Revolutions since 1980
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- In recent decades democratically-oriented revolutions have occurred in Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, Latin America, Africa, East and Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. What accounts for this phenomenon? What common ideas and practices link them? Why were some more successful than others?
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POLS-Y 340 East European Politics
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Compares political change in the East European states, and emphasizes the legacies of authoritarianism and communism and the post-communist transition to democracy. Topics include the building of political institutions, the inclusion of citizens into the polity, the reform of the economy, the management of ethnic and social conflicts, and integration into the European Union.
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- Summer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
SLAV-P 223 Introduction to Polish Culture
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Survey of Polish culture from the origins of the Polish state to modern times. Important historical, political, and social developments and trends as seen through literature, art, science, music, architecture, and political documents. Knowledge of Polish not required.
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- Summer 2025CASE GCCcourseSpring 2025CASE GCCcourseFall 2024CASE GCCcourse
SLAV-P 363 Faces of War and Freedom
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Polish literature and culture from the nineteenth century to World War II in its turbulent historical and sociopolitical context. Special attention will be given to cultural representations of historical upheavals and the analysis of literary and artistic strategies of responding to the conditions of foreign occupation, colonization, and genocide. Knowledge of Polish language and culture not required.
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SLAV-P 364 From Anxiety To Revolution
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Polish literature and culture from the end of World War II to the present day in the context of Poland's and Europe's historical and sociopolitical transformations. The main focus will be on literary and artistic representations of the shifting landscape of Polish culture. Students will analyze literature, film, and the arts, and interpret wide-ranging expressions of existential, aesthetic, and social anxieties and contestations. Knowledge of Polish language and culture not required.
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SLAV-P 365 Topics in Polish Literature and Culture
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Focus on Polish literature and culture with comparisons to other world literatures and cultures; intensive study of an author, a period, or a literary or cultural development. Readings and lectures in English. No previous knowledge of Polish literature or culture required.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
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SLAV-P 366 The Bold and the Restless: Polish Film from the 1950s to the Present
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- An exploration of the post-World War II history of Polish cinema, made famous worldwide by directors such as Wajda, Kieslowski, and Polanski. Topics of interest include the cinema of moral anxiety (1970s); absurd comedies depicting life under communism; adaptations of literary classics; and new topics and genres in contemporary Polish film.
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- Related Electives. Six (6) credit hours:
- ANTH-E 412 Anthropology of Russia and Eastern Europe
- HIST-B 323 History of the Holocaust
- HIST-D 200 Issues in Russian/East European History
- HIST-D 300 Issues in Russian/East European History
- HIST-D 304 Jews of Eastern Europe
- HIST-D 327 The Habsburg Empire, 1780-1918: Nation-Building and Imperial Decline
- HIST-D 329 Eastern Europe 1900--1943
- HIST-D 330 Eastern Europe 1944--Present
- REEI-R 201 Current Issues in Eastern Europe
- SLAV-T 366 Central European Cinema
- With departmental approval:
- ANTH-E 387 The Ethnography of Europe
- CMLT-C 377 Topics in Yiddish Literature
- CMLT-C 378 Topics in Yiddish Culture
- FOLK-F 312 European Folklore/Folklife/Folk Music
- GEOG-G 428 Geography of Europe
- HIST-B 303 Issues in Modern European History
- HIST-B 315 European Anti-Semitism from the Enlightenment to the Holocaust
- HIST-B 321 European Jews in the Age of Discovery
- HIST-B 322 Jews in the Modern World
- HIST-B 361 Europe in the Twentieth Century I
- HIST-B 362 Europe in the Twentieth Century II
- INTL-I 203 Global Development
- INTL-I 300 Topics in International Studies
- POLS-Y 345 Comparative Revolutions
- POLS-Y 348 The Politics of Genocide
- POLS-Y 350 Politics of the European Union
- POLS-Y 352 The Holocaust and Politics
- REEI-R 202 Magic in the Russian Empire
- REEI-R 300 Russian and East European Issues
- REEI-R 301 Russian and East European Area Topics
- REEI-X 490 Readings in Russian and East European Studies
- Additional courses with Polish-related content
ANTH-E 412 Anthropology of Russia and Eastern Europe
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Explores the contradictory effects of socialism's "fall" through a study of new ethnographies of postsocialist societies. Regional inquiries will be related to broader intellectual issues such as globalization, social suffering, commodification and cultural identity, ethnicity and nation building, armed conflict, and gender inequalities.
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HIST-B 323 History of the Holocaust
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Anti-Semitism in imperial and Weimar Germany; the Nazi rise to power; the destruction of European Jewry; Jewish behavior in crisis and extremity; the attitude of the Allied nations; mass murder in comparative historical perspective; theological, moral, and political implications.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of HIST-B 323 or JSTU-J 323.
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- Summer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
HIST-D 200 Issues in Russian/East European History
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Study and analysis of selected historical issues and problems of general import. Topics vary from semester to semester but usually are broad subjects that cut across fields, regions, and periods.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 6 credit hours.
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HIST-D 300 Issues in Russian/East European History
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Study and analysis of selected historical issues and problems of limited scope. Topics vary but usually cut across fields, regions, and periods.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
- Summer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
HIST-D 304 Jews of Eastern Europe
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Study of the history of Jewish life in Eastern Europe. Topics to be discussed will include Hasidism, Kabbalah, shtetl life, Haskalah (the Jewish Enlightenment), Socialism, Yiddish literary traditions, and the Holocaust.
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HIST-D 327 The Habsburg Empire, 1780-1918: Nation-Building and Imperial Decline
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Enlightened despotism; Metternichian system; struggle for German unification; Habsburg culture and civilization. German-Austrian, Hungarian, Czechoslovak, South Slavic, Rumanian, and Polish nationalism. Industrialization; Christian socialism and Austro-Marxism; murder at Sarajevo; destruction of the empire; its legacy to Europe.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of HIST-D 327 or HIST-D 427.
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- Summer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
HIST-D 329 Eastern Europe 1900--1943
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Begins around 1900 with twilight of great empires (Russian, Prussian, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian), exploring origins of modern eastern Europe, the \"rebirth\" of Eastern Europe after WWI; wild 1920s; polarizing ideological spectrum of the 1930s; and dynamics of communism and fascism. Given the spectre of WWII, this course will pose the question of whether and how we can read the interwar years in a way other than as a prelude to an inevitable catastrophe to come.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of HIST-D 328, HIST-D 329, or HIST-D 428.
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HIST-D 330 Eastern Europe 1944--Present
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Examines origins of communism in Eastern Europe, brutal takeover and Stalinization, attempts to reform communism, the fall of communism and ensuing battles for privatization, democratization, and the Wars in Yugoslavia. Looks at political institutions that shaped communist and post-communist Eastern Europe and important social and cultural developments.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of HIST-D 328, HIST-D 330, or HIST-D 428.
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- Summer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
REEI-R 201 Current Issues in Eastern Europe
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Interdisciplinary introduction to social, political, economic, demographic, and cultural issues currently facing the countries of Eastern Europe. Primarily addresses recent developments, while also considering historical roots of Eastern Europe, from 19th-century empires to 20th-century Marxist-Leninist regimes to post-1989 governance after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
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SLAV-T 366 Central European Cinema
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Broad cultural overview of Central European cinema, highlighting major developments of cinema in Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and the former Republics of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia in the post-Stalin era. Special attention will be given to the individual style and aesthetics of several major film directors.
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- Summer 2025CASE GCCcourseSpring 2025CASE GCCcourseFall 2024CASE GCCcourse
ANTH-E 387 The Ethnography of Europe
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Europe is viewed as an idea, an identity, and an historical consciousness. Students explore the meaning of this idea in the contemporary development of social and cultural anthropology, and in such social areas as regionalism and nationalism, ethnic identity, gender and kinship, religion, the city versus the village, and political life.
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CMLT-C 377 Topics in Yiddish Literature
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- R: CMLT-C 205 or 3 credit hours of literature
- Description
- Selected topics focusing on Yiddish fiction and drama (1810-1914) or twentieth-century Yiddish fiction, drama, and poetry. Taught in English. No prior knowledge of Yiddish required. Topics vary.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 6 credit hours for any combination of CMLT-C 377 and GER-E 351.
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CMLT-C 378 Topics in Yiddish Culture
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- R: CMLT-C 205 or 3 credit hours of literature
- Description
- Selected topics on history of Ashkenazic Jews; Old Yiddish and premodern Yiddish folklore and popular culture; history and sociology of Yiddish; modern Yiddish culture; and centers of modern Yiddish culture. Taught in English. No prior knowledge of Yiddish required. Topics vary.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 6 credit hours for any combination of CMLT-C 378 and GER-E 352.
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FOLK-F 312 European Folklore/Folklife/Folk Music
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Expressions of regional cultures and emerging nations of Europe. Social functions of folklore and folk music in rural and urban communities.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 6 credit hours.
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GEOG-G 428 Geography of Europe
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Emphasizes common themes across the countries of Europe and the distinctive cultures that make up the region. Begins with a discussion of the physical landscape of Europe, then explores the cultural and economic landscape of the region.
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HIST-B 303 Issues in Modern European History
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Study and analysis of selected historical issues and problems in modern European history (1750-present). Topics will vary.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
- Summer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
HIST-B 315 European Anti-Semitism from the Enlightenment to the Holocaust
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Examines the origins, character, and development of anti-Semitism from the Enlightenment to the post-Holocaust period. Asks whether anti-Semitism is a single phenomenon with a clear tradition and cause, or whether it has varied markedly over time and from country to country.
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HIST-B 321 European Jews in the Age of Discovery
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Jewish history from 1492 to 1789. Topics include the expulsion from Spain; the Inquisition and the marranos; the society and culture of Italian, Turkish, and Polish Jewry; Court Jews in central Europe; Hasidism in eastern Europe; the Enlightenment; Jews and the French Revolution.
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HIST-B 322 Jews in the Modern World
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Topics include Emancipation, the Jewish Enlightenment, modern Judaism, Eastern European Jewry, Jewish politics, women in Jewish society, American Jewry, the Holocaust, Israel.
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HIST-B 361 Europe in the Twentieth Century I
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Economic, social, political, and military-diplomatic developments, 1900 to present. I: 1900-1930: origins, impact, and consequences of World War I; peacemaking; postwar problems; international communism and fascism; the Great Depression. II: 1930-present: Depression politics; crisis of democracy; German national socialism; World War II; Cold War; postwar reconstruction and recovery.
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HIST-B 362 Europe in the Twentieth Century II
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Economic, social, political, and military-diplomatic developments, 1900 to present. I: 1900-1930: origins, impact, and consequences of World War I; peacemaking; postwar problems; international communism and fascism; the Great Depression. II: 1930-present: Depression politics; crisis of democracy; German national socialism; World War II; Cold War; postwar reconstruction and recovery.
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INTL-I 203 Global Development
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Focuses on the interaction between social, political, and economic forces and human development at global, national, and subnational scales; introduces theoretical perspectives on economic development and the function of markets.
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INTL-I 300 Topics in International Studies
- Credits
- 1–3 credit hours
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- This course focuses on the intensive study and analysis of selected international problems and issues within an interdisciplinary format. Topics will vary but will cut across fields, regions, and periods.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 12 credit hours.
POLS-Y 345 Comparative Revolutions
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Analysis of major modern revolutions. Focus on the social, economic, and political causes of revolutions; the rise of revolutionary movements; and the strategies for gaining and consolidating power.
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POLS-Y 348 The Politics of Genocide
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Comparative study of major twentieth-century genocides. Examines the political conditions, ideologies, and movements leading up to mass murder, and the ethnic and global context of genocide. Focuses on the question of responsibility and accountability from the viewpoints of perpetrators, victims, and bystanders in the national and international communities.
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POLS-Y 350 Politics of the European Union
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Study of the politics of the European Union (EU). Assesses past and present dynamics of economic and political integration in Europe, the structure and work of European Union institutions, and EU public policies such as the Single Market, the common currency, common foreign and security policy, and trade.
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POLS-Y 352 The Holocaust and Politics
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Examination of the socioeconomic conditions and political ideologies leading up to the Holocaust, and the political, administrative, and social context for the genocide from the vantage of perpetrators, victims, and bystanders. Focus on the individual, national, and international responses to and responsibilities for the Holocaust. Consideration of the Holocaust's legacies for the postwar world.
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REEI-R 202 Magic in the Russian Empire
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Introduction to the history of magic in the Russian Empire. Explores magical murder, herbal medicine, witchcraft trials, and political sorcery through original documents. Considers the importance of gender, class, and religion in the history of magic in this region.
REEI-R 300 Russian and East European Issues
- Credits
- 1–4 credit hours
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Brief examination of selected topics related to Russia and East Europe. Variable topics.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with different topics for a total of 6 credit hours.
REEI-R 301 Russian and East European Area Topics
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Selected topics related to politics, culture, economics, and society in the Russian and East European area.
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- Summer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
REEI-X 490 Readings in Russian and East European Studies
- Credits
- 1–3 credit hours
- Prerequisites
- Consent of instructor and the director of the Russian and East European Institute
- Description
- None
- Repeatability
- May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit hours in REEI-R 495 and REEI-X 490.
- Departmental Requirement. Courses taken to fulfill minor requirements must be from at least three (3) different departments.
- Minor GPA, Hours, and Minimum Grade Requirements.
- Minor GPA. A GPA of at least 2.000 for all courses taken in the minor—including those where a grade lower than C- is earned—is required.
- Minor Minimum Grade. Except for the GPA requirement, a grade of C- or higher is required for a course to count toward a requirement in the minor.
- Minor Upper Division Credit Hours. At least 9 credit hours in the minor must be completed at the 300–499 level.
- Minor Residency. At least 9 credit hours in the minor must be completed in courses taken through the Indiana University Bloomington campus or an IU-administered or IU co-sponsored Overseas Study program.
Minor Area Courses
-
Unless otherwise noted below, the following courses are considered in the academic program and will count toward academic program requirements as appropriate:
- Any course contained on the course lists for the academic program requirements at the time the course is taken—as well as any other courses that are deemed functionally equivalent—except for those listed only under Addenda Requirements
- Any course directed to a non-Addenda requirement through an approved exception
This program of study cannot be combined with the following:
- Certificate in Russian and East European Studies (RUEESTACRT)
- Minor in Russian and East European Studies (REESTMIN)
- Minor in Russian and East European Studies with Language Certification (REELNGMIN)
Exceptions to and substitutions for minor requirements may be made with the approval of the unit's Director of Undergraduate Studies, subject to final approval by the College of Arts and Sciences.