During their visit to the Borderland, the students participated in various workshops and presentations, including:
A Day at Sejny
- Borderland Sounds – Piotr Szroeder and Mikołaj Pohl presenting the story of the Sejny Sound Map
- The History of the Jewish Community in Sejny – meeting with Michał Moniuszko in the White Synagogue
- Visit to the Sklepik Pogranicza – the Souvenir Shop of the Borderland with Bożena Szroeder
- the Chronicles of Sejny – meeting with Bożena Szroeder at the Borderland House in Sejny (translation by Juliet D. Golden)
- The Jazz Cooperative – meeting with Michał Moniuszko
A Day in Krasnogruda
- “Searching for a Homeland” exhibition at the Krasnogruda Manor – meeting with Małgorzata Sporek–Czyżewska
- Silva Rerum – meeting with Małgorzata Sporek–Czyżewska
- Dilemma Academy – International Dimensions of the Borderland Work with Weronika Czyżewska-Poncyljusz
- Small Centres of the World with Krzysztof Czyżewski
- Café Europa – Poets Face War
The DSW University of Lower Silesia programme, in cooperation with Syracuse University, is organised during the autumn semester and combines academic classes at DSW in Wrocław with an intensive journey across Central Europe. This combination allows participants not only to gain theoretical knowledge but also to directly experience the places where the region’s complex identity has been shaped.
The aim of the programme is to explore the multicultural past of Europe and to understand how global events – such as the formation of nation-states, the Second World War, the Cold War, and the building of the European Union – have impacted the lives of local communities. Participants analyse the 20th-century history of Central and Eastern Europe, focusing on phenomena such as nationalism, dictatorship, and civil society, while also exploring political and social history through the lens of art, literature, and film.
As part of the course, students visit cities such as Gdańsk, Warsaw, Kraków, and Wrocław, as well as neighbouring capitals like Prague and Berlin. One of the key stops on their route is Krasnogruda – a place of intercultural dialogue and reflection on historical memory. Students explore historic sites such as Biskupin and Malbork, take part in study visits, and visit museums and memorials at former Nazi concentration camps: Treblinka, Auschwitz-Birkenau, and Lety.
The Borderland has been cooperating with Syracuse University for 11 years – so far, more than 100 students from the United States have studied in Wrocław as part of the programme!
You can follow the students' journey and activities on the programme website