Greeting from Warsaw, SWLFPack! During the winter and spring terms of 2022, I've been serving as Fulbright Distinguished Chair at the American Studies Center of the University of Warsaw.
My primary responsibilities here involve teaching two classes--an undergraduate introduction to what cultural critics call "posthumanism" and a public, open seminar on COVID-19 and literature. When my family and I arrived in Poland on January 1st, we could not have imagined the history that we are all living through at the moment. Since late February, my family and I have adapted our plans to accommodate the ongoing geopolitical crisis in Ukraine. Shortly before the war began, I had been helping journalists for the only free Belarussian television station (Belsat) with their English through weekly meetings. Since then, my wife and I have been working with local and international relief efforts and have begun to tutor displaced Ukrainian high school students. As a member of the American Studies Center, I was honored to receive an official invitation by the US Embassy to President Biden's address to Poland. Above all, I have been humbled by the tremendous outpouring of support for displaced refugees by everyday Warszawians, who have opened their homes and volunteered their time to support the 300,000 new Ukrainians who have settled in the city over the last few months. If you are interested in helping to support, please consider visiting the following site: