Technology advances thanks to Polish visionaries

This is a great article about Polish advances in augmented reality. With famous names in the sciences such as Nicholas Copernicus (Mikolaj Kopernik) and Madame Curie (Marie Sklodowska Curie), Poles have always had a visionary approach to the sciences.

Read the article and imagine the future.

http://en.polska.pl/Polish,Screen,Displayed,in,the,Air,Events,7072x4415.html 

Best things about Poland

Haxel, an events management firm in Poland, ( @Haxel_Events_PL )recently curated twenty five cool things to know about Poland.

Here is the link to their compilation: http://www.scoop.it/t/poland-becomes-trendy-these-days

Summer Reading for the JTerm course: The Zookeeper's Wife

Students will gain some valuable insights into the lives of Polish people by reading The Zookeeper's Wife this summer.  The book, written by Diane Ackerman, writes of the Polish couple who mercifully helped about 300 Jews by hiding them from the nazis.

The college students we will meet in Poland (and meet virtually before the trip) have grandparents who lived in those times.  Certainly, their parents and grandparents are forever imprinted by the tragic incidents occurring in their country during World War II.

We are hosting Book Club-type discussions about the book, Aug 24 and Sep 14.  These will be open to any member of the Drake community and the Des Moines community.  Here is the New York Times review of the book: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/09/books/review/Max-t.html?_r=0

New video about Poland

This serene look at Poland shows you some of the natural beauty of the nation.  Beyond the charm of Krakow and the energy of Warsaw, the capital, you can find lovely scenery, centuries-old architecture, and a wonderful landscape.  From the seaport of Gdansk, Poland sweeps upward as we head south to the Carpathian mountains and the majestic peaks.

click here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qbu_FRg8vuU#t=12

Spring arrives in Poland

Have you mastered the mental shift from Fahrenheit to Celsius? Can you interpret that 2 in Celsius is about 35Fahrenheit in Des Moines?

Although we tell people the weather is just slightly warmer in Poland than Des Moines, sometimes it is hard to imagine.  

If you look at this photo taken today, it may help.  Here are crocuses in plentiful bloom in Poland today, the first day of Spring.  I daresay we see no crocuses in bloom today in Des Moines. 

Poland in Social Media

This is not an exhaustive list by any means.  Here are a few accounts I "like" or "follow" about Poland.  You may want to take a look.

The Best of Poland - beautiful color photography, with English captions
https://www.facebook.com/TheBestOfPoland 

The U.S. Ambassador to Poland - may use English or Polish in his tweets.
@SteveMullUSA

The U.S. Embassy - all in English
@PolishEmbassyUS

The official portal of Poland - mostly in English
@PolandGOV.pl

General news and photographs - in English
@AllAboutPoland

Daily photo from Poland
@LinkToPoland

The Polish Tourism Bureau
http://www.poland.travel/en-us/

Travel Seminar Itinerary

Here is a tentative itinerary we've created for the travel seminar in Poland.

Day of Trip	Day of the Week	Date	Location	Program
1	Su	4-Jan	USA	depart from O'Hare to Krakow via Munich
2	Mo	5-Jan	Krakow	orientation tour by bus after airport pick-up, and hotel check-in
3	Tu	6-Jan	Krakow	holy day - all businesses closed.  We will attend parade and festival, evening meeting w/ faculty
4	We	7-Jan	Krakow	half day walking tour, followed by debriefing/prepping for next day by faculty
5	Th	8-Jan	Krakow	full day in Zakopane via private motorcoach
6	Fr	9-Jan	Krakow	morning lecture, afternoon immersion
7	Sa	10-Jan	Krakow	full day in Auschwitz and Birkenau via private motorcoach, evening debriefing
8	Su	11-Jan	Krakow	morning lecture, afternoon immersion, evening meeting
9	Mo	12-Jan	Warsaw	departure by private motorcoach, orientation city tour, and hotel check-in, evening meeting
10	Tu	13-Jan	Warsaw	morning lecture, afternoon immersion, evening meeting
11	We	14-Jan	Warsaw	morning tour and workshop, afternoon immersion, evening meeting
12	Th	15-Jan	Warsaw	morning tour, afternoon immersion, evening meeting
13	Fr	16-Jan	Warsaw	morning lecture, afternoon immersion, evening meeting
14	Sa	17-Jan	Gdansk	departure by railway, hotel check-in, evening meeting
15	Su	18-Jan	Gdansk	morning tour, afternoon lecture
16	Mo	19-Jan	Gdansk	morning tour, afternoon lecture, evening immersion
17	Tu	20-Jan	Gdansk	morning final presentations by student groups, evening farewell dinner
18	We	21-Jan	USA	departure from Gdansk to O'Hare via Munich

Videos about J-Term 2013 in Poland

Thanks to Chris Snider (see http://chrissniderdesign.com/blog/about/teaching/) and his Mobile Gadget Lab students for making these videos! I think they are very well done.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbSc0e1DPHA

Listen to Sami talk about her reasons for selecting this J-Term experience in 2013, and what she got out of the travel seminar.


-  -  -  -  -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nVf1pXltq4

Here is a video of me talking about being in Poland and reflecting on the 2013 trip.

See Krakow via webcam

Old Town Square
This is a webcam showing the Old Town Square in Krakow.  You can see Sukiennice, the old cloth hall built in the 13th Century, and Kosciol Mariacki, the church of St Mary (built in the 14th Century) with the famous gold altar created by Wit Stwosz during the 15th Century.

http://www.krakow.pl/multimedialny_krakow/3222,artykul,widok_z_ul__brackiej_na_rynek_glowny_.html

By the way, the temperature is shown in Celsius in the lower right corner.  If you see it is 7 in Krakow that equates to 45 Farenheit.

- - - - - - -
Wawel
This is a webcam showing the Wisla River with Wawel Hill in the background.  The Hill contains the old fortification including a castle and cathedral. The Wawel Hill was first the site dedicated as the property of the capital of Poland in the 12th Century, and the first castle was constructed in the 13th Century.

http://www.krakow.pl/multimedialny_krakow/1849,artykul,wawel_i_zakole_wisly_.html

JTerm Fair

If you are interested in this course, or if you want to ask questions or find out more information, please see Professors Pisarski and Crowe at the JTerm Fair, scheduled for March 11, 4-6pm in Parents Hall.
Registration for this travel seminar occurs during normal Spring registration periods.

Students, Groupings, and Blogs

During the JTerm 2015 Ethnographic Exploration of Poland (JMC133) students will study and work in small groups.  Each group will have a consumer product category to focus on.  You will explore how it is advertised and sold in the USA first, and then follow the trail in Poland.  Each group will learn about this process during pre-trip required meetings.

Student groups will also blog daily, each student taking a turn during the travel seminar.  Blogs help the conversation that takes place about brands (and about our travel seminar), and you will learn about blogging during pre-trip required meetings, also.  Daily blogging is one of the reasons we reserve accommodations with free wifi during our travels.

Students who are not part of the SJMC or have never blogged will be supported by the course instructors and by group members and classmates. We'll encourage good photography, good writing, and good communication in general.

Samples of Historical Sites Students will Visit

The Royal Castle in Krakow
Wawel Castle

Krakow Old Town Market Square
Rynek

Auschwitz and Birkenau Memorial and Museum
Auschwitz

The Museum of the History of Polish Jews
jewishmuseum.org

Royal Lazienki Palace
Lazienki

Solidarity Gdansk Museum
Solidarity

Course Overview

This course is designed as an immersive experience to bring culture and advertising to life within the context of a global marketplace.

September 1, 2014 marks the 75th anniversary of the start of World War II. The first point of attack was Westerplatte, a Baltic coast location by Gdansk, Poland.  You can visit that spot during this travel seminar.

January 27, 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.  This travel seminar will visit Auschwitz on January 10, 2015.

May 7, 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the signing of Germany's surrender signaling the end of World War II.  You can visit many places in Poland that were destroyed during the war while you are on this travel seminar.

All these dates in history are important so you can understand the Polish consumer of today. This travel seminar will take an ethnographic approach to learning about Poland; without that, global commerce, marketing and advertising in particular would be very difficult.

Here is our TENTATIVE plan for travel and study:

	1/4 - departure from USA
	1/5 - arrive in Krakow, and spend a week in this enchanting city.  Site visits include Jagiellonian University, Wawel Castle, Sukiennice marketplace, Auschwitz concentration camp and Birkenau death camp, and other areas of special interest.  Students will enjoy a special day trip to the mountain resort city of Zakopane as an extra adventure.
	1/11 - travel from Krakow to Warsaw, the capital of Poland. Spend five full days exploring Lazarski University, Lazienki Palace, the brand new Museum of the History of Polish Jews, and much more.
	1/17 - travel from Warsaw to Gdansk, and explore the city that was the heart of the Solidarity movement.
	1/21 - departure from Gdansk to return to the USA Throughout the course your faculty will direct your ethnographic immersion, advertising studies and consumer explorations. Professor Dorothy Pisarski is the advertising professor and native Polish speaker.  Professor Carlyn Crowe is the public relations professor.  Both have traveled to Poland previously. You will partner with university students in Poland and study alongside them (in English). You will have many opportunities to see the consumer world from the perspective of the Polish citizen. You will see why Poland's economy is growing faster than any country in the European Union and understand why they have become such an economic strength since the new free era emerged in 1989.

Wawel Castle, photo taken from my hotel room during JTerm 2013.

Our travel plan pricing includes airfare, double rooms in hotels with free wifi, one or two meals per day, all entrance fees for scheduled tours, and three credits for those considered full time Drake University students.

Interested?  Questions?  Email Professor Dorothy Pisarski.