Thursday, May 14, 2015

PAHA Mid-Year Meeting and PIASA Meeting in Toronto, June 2015

The PAHA Council Midyear Meeting will take place at the Cazenovia College on June 9-10, 2015 in Cazenovia, New York 13035. There will be one public presentation, by Dr. Iwona Korga, Director of the Pilsudski Institute in New York. Those interested in hearing more about Polish and Polish-American topics, are invited to attend PIASA's Annual Meeting in Toronto, soon after, starting on June 11.

PAHA COUNCIL EVENTS:

Wednesday: June 9, 2015
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm:  PAHA Council Meeting Part I
       The Harden Room (Hubbard Hall, Cazenovia College)

Thursday: June 10, 2015
9:00 am – 1:00 pm: PAHA Council Meeting Part II
        The Harden Room (Hubbard Hall, Cazenovia College)

PUBLIC EVENTS

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2015

7:00 pm - 8:30 pm. DeWitt Community Library, DeWitt near Syracuse, NY
3649 Erie Blvd. East, DeWitt, NY 13214,  Tel.: (315) 446-3578 www.dewlib.org

     A Poetry Reading presented by the Palace Poetry Group
    "Slicing the Bread / Krojenie Chleba" by Dr. Maja Trochimczyk - 
     A Bilingual Poetry Reading


Dr. Maja Trochimczyk at Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural, Sylmar, February 2018.
Photo by Jessica Wilson

"Slicing the Bread" is a unique poetry collection revisits the dark days of World War II and the post-war occupation of Poland by the Soviet Union that “liberated” the country from one foreign oppression to replace it with another.  The point of view is that of children, raised by survivors, scarred by war, wary of politics. The poems, each inspired by a single object giving rise to memories like Proust’s madeleine (a spoon, a coat, the smell of incense), are divided into three sections, starting with snapshots of World War II in the Polish Borderlands (Kresy) and in central Poland. Reflections on the Germans’ brutal killings of Jews and Poles are followed by insights into the way the long shadow of THE war darkened a childhood spent behind the Iron Curtain. 


THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2015

3:30 pm – 5:00 pm: Le Moyne College: Noreen Reale Falcone Library: 
1419 Salt Springs Road,  Syracuse, NY 13214

        The Polish Art Collection Archives:
        1. the inventory of the Polish Exhibits created in 1938-39 by Baron de Ropp and his assistants;
        2. a September 1939 New York City arts newsletter dedicated to the art of the Polish Pavilion.

Dr. Iwona Korga, Executive Director of the Pilsudski Institute.

Born in Poland, came to New York in 1991 after graduating in MA in History from Pedagogical University of Krakow. From 1994 associated with the Pilsudski Institute of America, a research center for East-Central Europe, first as a volunteer, than from 1998 part time librarian, assistant to the President and since 2005 Executive Director. From 1996-2001 she served as a teacher and volunteer in  the Polish Saturday School in Maspeth, NY In 2004 she received her Ph.D. from Pedagogical University  of Krakow. Korga specializes in Polish-American relations during World War II, especially in propaganda and information policies. She takes part in international conferences, as well as gives lectures on Polish history for children, high school students and college students. In 2008 she graduated from Queens College (CUNY) with Masters of Library Science degree. She wrote many articles for Polish-American newspapers, periodicals in Poland and USA and is the author of the book: Poland fights! Propaganda activities of the Polish Government in Exile towards American society 1939-1945 ( 2011). Dr. Korga is the recipient of the scholarship from the Kosciuszko Foundation in NY and Polonia Aid Foundation Trust in London. She is active in professional organizations: Pilsudski Institute, Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences and Polish American Historical Association.

5:30 pm - 6:30 pm: The Polish Home in Syracuse 
915 Park Avenue, Syracuse, New York 13204, Phone: 315-471-9348

Presentation: "Poland at the 1939 World's Fair in New York City," 
       by Dr. Iwona Korga, Executive Director, The Pilsudski Institute, New York

      Reception

Dr. Grazyna Kozaczka, President of PAHA


LETTER FROM PAHA'S NEW PRESIDENT - DR. GRAZYNA KOZACZKA
Published in PAHA Newsletter, Spring 2015

Dear Friends,

 I feel deeply honored by your decision to entrust me with the leadership of the Polish American Historical Association, especially that I am following in the footsteps of such recent presidents and eminent scholars as Dr. Neal Pease and Dr. Thomas Napierkowski. I am also grateful to all PAHA members for electing an experienced and creative team of Officers, Dr. Anna Mazurkiewicz, Dr. John Radzilowski, Dr. Anna Jaroszyńska-Kirchmann, Dr. James Pula, Dr. Maja Trochimczyk, and Dr. Pien Versteegh, as well as twelve Council Members. I will do my best to continue the work of previous presidents to realize to realize our organization’s mission of promoting the study of Polish American history and culture.

PAHA’s achievements are many and they become especially visible during our annual meetings. This year’s Annual Meeting in New York City, held on January 2-4, 2015, in conjunction with the American Historical Association, attracted an impressive number of both American and international scholars. We were able to organize eight sessions, which were all very well attended. Our program would not have been this successful if it were not for the help I received from Dr. Thomas Napierkowski and Dr. Pien Verseegh. The Awards Banquet hosted by the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland gathered both awardees and guests thanks to the efforts of Dr. Anna Mazurkiewicz and Dr. Iwona Korga. 

Conference presentations, the business meeting, as well as formal and informal discussions that followed, suggested themes and posed questions, which will certainly find their way onto the agenda for the PAHA’s midyear meeting to be held at Cazenovia College in Cazenovia, New York, on June 9-10, 2015. In addition, the next year’s annual meeting is already being planned under the direction of First Vice President Dr. Anna Mazurkiewicz with the help of Executive Director Dr. Pien Versteegh. The meeting will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, January 7-10, 2016.  The theme of the upcoming conference is “Global Migrations, Empires, Nations and Neighbors.” I would like to encourage all PAHA members to share their research. 

PAHA, as any organization wishing to remain relevant to the changing times, has to consider periodically if it realizes its goals, if it creates a space for scholarly achievement, if it addresses the needs of its members, if it attracts new members, and if it communicates effectively utilizing all the new means of communication. I believe that we have entered a new era in the history of Polonia and the Polish Diaspora. It is hard not to notice the slow disappearance of old Polish American communities and parishes, the “graying” of Polonian organizations, the change in the social networking of young people, the growing scholarly interest in comparative studies rather than the focus on a single ethnic group, the explosion of interest in migration studies among scholars in Poland, as well as the drastic change in Polish migration patterns after the 2004 accession of Poland to the European Union. All these pose a great challenge but also create an exciting opportunity for PAHA to participate in this twenty-first century evolution of Polonia and the Polish Diaspora.

The leadership of a president is only as effective as is the teamwork of the organization’s officers and council as well as the support its membership. Let us all continue to work together for PAHA’s continued success.

 Grażyna J. Kozaczka
Cazenovia College
President of the Polish American Historical Association
     

_______________________________________


PIASA'S ANNUAL MEETING IN TORONTO, CANADA, JUNE 11-13, 2015
http://www.piasa.org/events/congress2015-overview.html

PIASA has organized annual conferences since 1942. Their main purpose is to convene experts from the Polish-American community working in various disciplines of the humanities, arts, and sciences and to highlight their latest research and accomplishments. The conference offers multiple presentations and panels in both plenary and thematic sessions as well as a banquet and cultural and networking events. The conference also recognizes the highest achievements in the humanities, arts, and sciences with the presentation of the PIASA awards. The most recent PIASA conferences were in Warsaw (2014),Washington, DC (2013) and Boston, MA (2012).

REGISTRATION: http://www.piasa.org/annual-meetings.html

PROGRAM: 

Thursday - June 11
6:00 PM - Opening Reception at the Polish Consulate

Friday - June 12
9:00 - 10:30 - Plenary Session
10:45 - 12:15 - Concurrent Sessions
12:15 - 1:30 - Lunch
1:30 - 3:00 - Concurrent Sessions
3:15 - 4:45 - Concurrent Sessions

Saturday - June 13
9:00 - 10:30 - Concurrent Sessions
10:45 - 12:15 - Concurrent Sessions
12:15 - 1:30 - Lunch
1:30 - 3:00 - Concurrent Sessions
3:15 - 4:45 - Concurrent Sessions
7:00 - Reception
7:45 – Banquet (to reserve a ticket for the reception and banquet visit:
http://www.piasa.org/annual-meetings.html)

Full Program in PDF Format: http://www.piasa.org/pdf/Toronto%20Program%20Information.pdf