People tend to unite at times of crisis. We just have to look at the high voter turnout for the last American elections and Barack Obama’s landslide victory for proof. Poles are no exception to this paradigm of uniting during times of crisis, and our history is telling of that.
The idea for the cosmopolitan review came at a time of questioning whether the Poland in the Rockies program would continue existing. Organizers and certain alumni alike wondered whether such immense organizational efforts could be sustained without deeper alumni involvement. Spending 11 days in the Canadian Rockies learning about Polish history, culture and politics is great, but what next? How could we keep the spirit of Poland in the Rockies alive between installments of the program?
As I brainstormed ideas with Irene Tomaszewski, program director of Poland in the Rockies, and Judith Browne, a 2008 alumna, we realized that PitR alumni are actually doing a lot. But since we are spread out all over North America and Europe, it can be challenging to keep up with all of this motion. The idea of a newsletter, which then evolved into a review, was thus born.
From Chicago, Montreal, to Toronto, Edmonton and Halifax, PitR alumni are keeping busy organizing movie screening tours, plays, conferences, as well as radio and television interviews related to things Polish. the cosmopolitan review will not only keep you up-to-date on these events, it will also feature book reviews, news analysis, interviews with academics and commentary from a Polish-American and Polish-Canadian perspective.
What made PitR so special was not only the high caliber of speakers, but also the quality and diversity of students and young professionals attending the program. They are leaders in their respective professional and academic fields of activities, and some of them are introduced in this first issue of the cosmopolitan review: emerging musician Nina Jankowicz from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania; Halifax-based filmmaker Eric Bednarski; Dominic Roszak from Ottawa, an actor in Canadian politics; South African writer Judith Browne; Jodi Greig, a polonophile studying in Krakow; Justine Jabłońska, editor-in-chief & project manager of som.com, Marek Broniewski, an Albertan currently studying at the London School of Economics; Agnieszka Macoch, a history graduate from Chicago; Patrycja Romanowska, a columnist from Edmonton; and Vincent Chesney, a Philadelphia-based psychologist. Let’s not forget about Antoni and Jan Kowalczewski from Edmonton: without them, CR wouldn’t be online.
These individuals are part of a valuable and growing network of dynamic individuals. Such a network is not an option in a globalized world, but a necessity.
In this first edition, we also have the pleasure of featuring an account by historian Norman Davies, a comment by former foreign correspondent and editor for Newsweek and current director of public policy of the EastWest Institute Andrew Nagorski, and a portion of an interview with Polish-English translator Bill Johnston, all three Poland in the Rockies speakers; as well as an interview with Timothy Snyder, an American professor of history at Yale specializing in Central and Eastern Europe, whom we’d love to have at the program in the future.
As Snyder told me during an interview after a lecture at the College of Europe in Natolin, Warsaw, there is currently a great opportunity for Poland to turn Polish historical scholarship and historical consciousness into European historical consciousness and scholarship. Poland would win a great victory if Polish history could be integrated in European history. I will add: to North American history as well.
So, how are you going to integrate your roots and your history into your mainstream North American and European lives?
The PitR alumni network is yours. So is the cosmopolitan review. Take advantage of it. Expand it beyond the borders of PitR: contributions won’t be limited to its participants.
I believe in education and I believe in the value of programs like Poland in the Rockies. CR is a reflection of that. It was born in times of double crisis: one of identity, one of economics. In face of these crises, let’s unite. Let’s cultivate our network, and take advantage of it…
In my estimation this effort goes far beyond ‘identity politics’ to identity. In a world of competing influences, competing intellectual, political, and religious allegiances, we need programs, journals, and intellectual exploration such as that presented in The Cosmopolitan Review. These efforts ground us. They are a touchstone in a sea of confusion, a touchstone that Bishop Hodur would easily recognize. We are one people as a diamond is one. We are multifaceted as is the diamond. Those facets bring out the brilliance that is within. Those facets are the cultures of the world and particularly those that espouse humanity – the humanity we all long for.