The Polish philology in Lille. Reflections referred to the international conference organized as a part of the 80th anniversary of the Polish philology at the Charles-de-Gaulle Lille III University

Abstract

The article presents briefly the history of the Section of Polish Philology at the Charles-de-Gaulle Lille III University, celebrating its 80th anniversary in 2007. The first Section of Polish Language was established in 1927 at the then State University in that city, initiated by French professors, but influenced also by the development of the Polish diaspora in north France, joined by more than 140 thousand of economic emigrants in the mid-war period. Almost half a million of inhabitants of Polish origin lived in that region before World War II. Next, the author discussed the anniversary conference "Leaving, emigrating, escaping..." organized in Lille where reminiscent, research, education, and analytical papers were presented, concerning language, history and sociology of emigration in the 20th century, successes and failures of the Polish diaspora education in France. The conference proceedings can be important for the analysis of development trends, the situation of Polish cultural institutions, as well as Polish philology outside Poland.