Scholar Interviews
Questions
- Vladimir Tismaneanu: What source do you use in your classroom to help students understand the events of 1989?
- Vladimir Tismaneanu: How do you teach the letters found in Adam Michnik's book?
- Vladimir Tismaneanu: How do you teach Adam Michnik's book in the classroom?
- Vladimir Tismaneanu: How do you help your students interpret the passage you read about an independent, self-governing union?
- Bradley Abrams: How do you help students make sense of 1989?
- Bradley Abrams: What sources do you use to teach 1989?
- Bradley Abrams: What else is significant about the Declaration of the Creation of Charter 77?
- Bradley Abrams: How did the regime respond to Charter 77?
- Bradley Abrams: Why is the 28th of January remarkable?
- Bradley Abrams: How do you put the anti-Charter into context for students?
- Padraic Kenney: What is remarkable about the poem and the leaflet together?
- Padraic Kenney: How should students interpret the poem?
- Padraic Kenney: What is significant about the poem?
- Padraic Kenney: Does this poem help explain the strike?
- Padraic Kenney: How do you analyze the leaflet?
- Padraic Kenney: What is significant about the leaflet?
- Padraic Kenney: What sources help us understand the strikes?
- Maria Bucur: Is there a particular source that is important to study?
- Maria Bucur: How do students study 1989 in your classroom?
- Maria Bucur: What is difficult to understand about the "Common European Home" speech?
- Maria Bucur: What is important about Ceausescu's last speech?
- Maria Bucur: How do you help students understand Ceausescu's last speech?
- Maria Bucur: What is unique about viewing Ceausescu's last speech?
- Bradley Abrams: How do you use the Charter Declaration and the anti-Charter together with students?
Padraic Kenney: How should students interpret the poem?
Transcription
Well, I can imagine that if I were to show this to students, that their first response would be “why I am reading bad poetry?” But I’d have to ask them to imagine who would be writing this and what kind of a person that would be.
Semi-educated miner in the south of Poland who is there at an important juncture in Polish history and in East European history is also someone we need to try to understand. We need to try to imagine what kind of a person he might be and look at the imagery and think about what things are important to him and understand him in that way.
When I use that poetry, it’s in direct contrast to the poetry from Gdansk. I also give them one song that I have translated from the Gdansk strike, a song that’s rather more confrontational but also quite funny. And so they do see the contrast between the two. That here they’re having a great time in Gdansk and here it’s really gloomy in the very optimistic story of 1989, you know, as it should be, and this is one of the few moments that runs counter to that, kind of a more gloomy thing. That’s something else that one can pick on.