Meet Assistant Professor of Instruction Michal J. Wilczewski of the Department of Slavic Languages and Literature

Weinberg College welcomes Assistant Professor of Instruction Michal J. Wilczewski of the Department of Slavic Languages and Literature!

Wilczewski recently gave some insight into his background and why he chose to teach at Northwestern.

Where are you from? Where did you study?
I am originally from Queens, New York, and have been living in Chicago for 11 years now. I got my BA in sociology from La Salle University in Philadelphia, then went to Michigan State University for my MA in history. Afterwards, I attended the University of Illinois at Chicago where I earned my PhD in history.

What inspired you to pursue your area of study?
I had a remarkable professor when I was in college who encouraged me to get my PhD in history. She saw a historian in me before I ever saw one in myself, and for that I am enormously grateful. I love history because it can be so subversive. It can take all of these “truths” we think we know, and flip them upside down and change our world.

Please describe your research.
I like to think of myself as a historian of everyday life who is interested in telling the stories of ordinary people and marginalized populations in their quest to gain recognition and access to state power. I love the type of history that tells me what a typical person was doing on a regular Tuesday afternoon and trying to figure out what the ordinary can tell us about the extraordinary.

What are you working on right now that excites you the most?
My current book project looks at the everyday lives of Polish farmers in the 1920s and 1930s and explains how they helped rebuild the countryside and shape the nascent Polish state following World War I. This is a very personal project to me because I spent my summers as a teenager visiting my family’s farm in Poland, and I was drawn to understanding the dynamism of rural life in the past. I’ve also started a second research project on the history of sexuality and morality during the interwar period in Poland. This research project has really influenced my teaching lately, and I’ve been using it to inform my classes on sexuality in East-Central Europe. Additionally, I’m working on a few Polish language teaching projects including an interactive map on Polish-American spaces in Chicago and a database of recordings of native Polish speakers.

How do you enjoy spending your free time?
I love cooking and baking and have lately gotten into making fruit preserves. When I am not in the kitchen, you can find me at the theater or opera.

What is most fulfilling to you about teaching?
Getting to interact with students and see them grow in my classes, but also over their time in college, is the best part of being a professor. It’s a real honor to be a part of students’ lives in such a transformative way.

Why did you decide to come to Northwestern?

Northwestern boasts a remarkable Slavic Department. I was excited to have the opportunity to grow and expand the already incredible Polish Studies program here. This position also gives me the opportunity to push myself out of my comfort zone as a teacher since I teach interdisciplinary courses in language, literature, film, culture, and history.