Presented in partnership with the Polish American Historical Association and the Polish Museum of America, join us for an exciting symposium delving into Chicago’s Polish history!

Free; RSVP required.

Schedule

10:00–10:15 a.m. – Welcome

• Peter T. Alter, PhD, Gary T. Johnson Chief Historian and Director of the Studs Terkel Center for Oral History, Chicago History Museum
• Paweł Zyzak, PhD, Republic of Poland Consul General in Chicago

10:15–11:00 a.m. – Exhibition Discussion | Back Home: Polish Chicago

• Peter T. Alter
• Rebekah Coffman, Curator of Religion and Community History, Chicago History Museum
• Dominic A. Pacyga, PhD, Emeritus Professor of History, Columbia College Chicago, and Affiliated Faculty Member, History Department, University of Illinois Chicago

11:00–11:30 a.m. – Book Discussion | Footprints of Polonia

• Ewa E. Barczyk, Emerita Associate Provost and Director of Libraries, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and author of Footprints of Polonia: Polish Historical Sites Across North America

11:30 a.m. – Wycinanki (Polish paper cutting) Workshop

• Grace Bazylewski, teacher and practitioner

11:30 a.m. – Gallery Viewing | Back Home: Polish Chicago

• Joanna Bak, Educational Assistant, Chicago History Museum
• Rebekah Coffman
• Andrea Jablonski, Artist

12:30–1:30 p.m. – Performance | Lajkonik Song & Dance Ensemble

1st floor, Robert R. McCormick Theater

1:30–2:30 p.m. – Panel Talk | Midwest Urban Polonia 

• Chair: James S. Pula, PhD, Emeritus Professor of History, Purdue University Northwest
• Chicago: Mary Erdmans, PhD, Professor of Sociology, Director, Undergraduate Studies in Sociology, Case Western Reserve University
• Milwaukee: Susan Gibson Mikoś, author of Poles in Wisconsin
• Detroit: Dr. Karen Majewski, First Vice President and incoming President of the Polish American Historical Association

2:45–4:00 p.m. – Panel Talk | Growing up Polish in Chicago

• Chair: Dominic A. Pacyga
• Mark S. Dobrzycki, announcer and organizer of Chicago’s Polish May 3rd Constitution Day Parade (19 years, 1992–2010)
• Emily Helfeld-Grutz, co-owner of Helfeld’s Delicatessen
• Marlene Magon
• Daniel Pogorzelski, coauthor of Avondale and Chicago’s Polish Village
• Kamila Russ
• Monika Sołtys