As of the start of the 2021/22 academic year, undergraduates will be able to earn a minor in Polish Studies in online courses for college credit. They will cover an introduction to Polish culture, the 20th-century history of Poland, and the Polish language. Additional courses on Polish art, film, literature and politics are to be added.
The new programme complements the recently introduced St. John Paul II studies programme, which is devoted to the life and thought of the late Polish-born pope in the context of Polish history and culture.
The town of Houston is home to some 80,000 Americans of Polish descent. Two years ago a Polish consulate opened there.
On its website, St. Thomas University quotes Dr. John Hittinger, director of the John Paul II Institute, as saying: “With the presence of so many people of Polish ancestry in Houston and all over the state of Texas, combined with the rising importance of Poland as an economic and strategic ally of the United States, the time seems right to launch this programme in Polish Studies.”
(mk/pk)