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Students' Association for American Studies - Instytut Amerykanistyki i Studiów Polonijnych

Students' Association for American Studies

Students' Association for American Studies

Students' Association for American Studies

was officially formed in 2004. After nearly a year's break, it was reactivated and began its active and thriving operation in November 2006. The Students' Association for American Studies gathers in majority of BA and MA students who study at the Institute of American Studies and Polish Diaspora, Jagiellonian University.

The main objectives and tasks of the Association include developing the academic interest of American studies students, conducting research related to the United States of America, integrating and activating the student community, engaging students in academic work and research, and promoting knowledge of the U.S. (also outside the Circle's structures). Students' Association for American Studies achieves its objectives through meetings with experts and researchers, the organization of conferences and seminars, as well as cooperation and exchange of experience with other academic circles and student organizations.

Board of Directors of Students' Association for American Studies:

  • President of the Association — Karol Kozłowski
  • Vice President of the Association / Board Member for Finance — Maja Garbacik
  • Board Member for Organizational Affairs — Julia Żółtowska
  • Board Member for Promotion and Publications — Julia Tymczyszyn
  • Supervisor — dr Maciej Smółka

Cyclically organized events:

  • academic conferences such as Days of American Culture (2008-now), Festival of Canadian Culture (2012-now), and Comic Con (2014-2016),
  • team building events such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, and St. Patrick's Day,
  • meetings with experts in the Fireside Chats series, numerous slide shows, meetings with guests from abroad (including Goodshield Aguilar) or experts from the country (including Marcin Wrona), quizzes, and film screenings, Election Nights (in 2012, 2016, and 2024).

Topics of conferences:

  • Days of American Culture: Presidential Elections and the Role of the U.S. President (2008), Americanization of Culture as a Popular Phenomenon (2009), New York In My Mind (2010), I Left My Heart in San Francisco (2012), Kennedy (2013), The American South. Role, Specificity, and Significance in American History and Culture (2014), War in American. Politics, Culture, Society (2015), Hollywood - Creating the USA. Films in U.S. history, culture, society (2016), Chicago — the heart of the U.S. (2017), American (2018), Black pages in U.S. history (2019), Election Night (2020), Democrats vs. Republicans (2020), Smoking guns: topics dividing America (2023), Two decades of American diplomacy (2023), America’s View on the Middle East (2025).
  • Festival of Canadian Cultures: About Western Canada (2012), The Arctic (2013), Indigenous Peoples (2014), Canada and the World (2015), Icons and Symbols of Canada (2016), With Canada Through the Ages. Canada's 150th anniversary (2017), Canada in the new millennium (2019), Shades of the Canadian Mosaic (2022), Canada: a model example of gender equality? (2023), Buy Canadian/By Canada: Canadian National Identity and the Export of Canadian Values (2025).
  • Comic Con: Comics as a Symbol of American Popular Culture (2014), Comics as an Inherent Part of Pop Culture (2015), Representations of Minorities in Comics (2016).

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