14th April 2022

In the final episode of season two, Conor Brennan speaks to Dr Kasia Szymanska and Dr Karolina Watroba about the connections between Eastern and Western Europe. They discuss the Polish response to the invasion of Ukraine, and the concept of ‘Central Europe’ as a way of pushing back against the homogenisation of former Eastern Bloc countries. This includes the idea of a Central European literature, championed by prominent writers such as Milan Kundera and, more recently, Olga Tokarczuk. They consider what is distinctively Central European about these and other writers, and whether such concepts help or hinder mutual understanding from one edge of Europe to the other. We also discuss the various types of writing that encouraged an exoticised and homogenised view of the countries east of the Iron Curtain during the Cold War.

They talk about the differences in multilingualism between Poland and Ireland or the UK, from the privileging of some second languages over others to the westward flow of migration that has made the Anglosphere arguably more multilingual and multi-ethnic than the formerly diverse and vibrant territory of Poland. Finally, they consider whether the war in Ukraine might lead to a renewed engagement with and deeper understanding of the region.

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