Halszka Leleń, PhD Department of English Studies, University of Warmia and Mazury ul. Kurta Obitza 1 10-725 Olsztyn, Poland   e-mail: halszka.lelen@uwm.edu.pl room 209, tel: +48 89 524 63 27

CURRENT ACADEMIC POSITION

Assistant professor (since March 2012)

QUALIFICATIONS

Ph.D. (Hons) in Literary Studies

University of Gdansk, Poland, 2012

MEMBERSHIP

• International Committee of the Association for Scottish Literary Studies(ASLS)
• Word Ethics Group, part of Polish Language Council, Polish Academy of Sciences (Zespół Etyki Słowa przy Radzie Języka Polskiego PAN)
• Faculty of Humanities Group for PR and Promotion (UWM)
• Faculty of Humanities Board (UWM)

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Scottish and English regional literature: George Mackay Brown, literature of Orkney, Thomas Hardy, John Berger; Scottish prose and poetry; self-referentiality in fiction; theory of short story, theory of the fantastic and H. G. Wells; English avant-garde, Franciszka and Stefan Themerson, Bertrand Russell; inter-media storytelling and short-reel films, Roman Polanski; shared paradigms of storytelling in Northern European communities traditionally engaged in fishing; application of oral storytelling for children, student and pensioner development; literary aspects of storytelling in narrative texts and culture, transmission of oral genres into literary texts; theory of values in literary studies; Alasdair MacIntyre and the philosophy of the narrative self; storytelling in media, culture and business.

SUPERVISING STUDENT INTEREST GROUP

Jan 2014 - onwards Anglo COOLtura Juniors, student's interest and initiative group focused on promoting the literature and culture of the English-speaking world.

ACADEMIC COURSES TAUGHT:

• Introduction to Literary Studies,
• English as a Foreign Language: Speaking and Lexis, Reading and Listening, Writing
• Pro-seminar (Introduction to Writing Academic Paper)
• BA Seminar (Fictional World Patterns in Short Story)
• History of English Literature
• History of English Literature for Tempus students

PUBLICATIONS (19)

BOOKS

1. H. G. Wells: The Literary Traveller in His Fantastic Short Story Machine. Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main, Jan 2016.

CHAPTERS IN MONOGRAPHS

1.  "Semiotics of Archipelago in George Mackay Brown's Narratives" Boundless Scotland. Space in Contemporary Scottish Fiction. Gdansk: Wydawnictwo UG, 2015.  137-54.
2.  "Apocalyptic Visions of the End of the World in the Fiction of H. G. Wells" Imaginationen des Endes, red, Aneta Jachimowicz, Alina Kuzborska, Dirk Steinhoff, Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 2015, 113-131.
3.  "Character sketch and its fantastic transformations: H. G. Wells's 'The Crystal Egg'" Characters in Literary Fictions. red. Jadwiga Węgrodzka. Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 2015. 153-162.
4.  "Avant-garde Conventions Developed by the Themersons in Mr. Rouse Builds His House." Muses, Mistresses and Mates: Creative Collaborations in Literature, Art and Life. Eds. Izabella Penier, Anna Suwalska-Kołecka. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015. 13-25.
5. "'Do You Read Fables? Modern Ones?' Fable and Fairy-Tale Strategies in Early Scientific Romances of H. G. Wells." Bajkowe fascynacje humanistów 4. Eds. Magdalena Zaorska and Adam Grabowski. Katedra UNESCO UWM w Olsztynie i Centrum Badań Społecznych UWM: Olsztyn, 2014. 175-191. Print.
6. "The Fantastic as a Technique of Redynamizing Mimetic Fiction." Basic Categories of Fantastic Literature Revisited. Eds. Andrzej Wicher, Piotr Spyra and Joanna Matyjaszczyk. Cambridge Scholars Publishing: Newcastle upon Tyne, 2014. 8-24. Print.
7. "Post-Dickensian Style of Literary Portraiture in the Mimetic Fiction of 'a Nawther' H. G. Wells." Reflections on / of Dickens. Eds. Ewa Kujawska-Lis and Anna Krawczyk-Łaskarzewska. Cambridge Scholars Publishing: Newcastle upon Tyne, 2014. 182-194. Print.
8.  "Tekst jako sieć. O Literackiej metaforyczności w opowiadaniach fantastycznych H. G. Wellsa." [Text as Web. Reflections on Literary Metaphor in the Fantastic Short Stories of H. G. Wells]. Nowe zjawiska w języku, tekście i komunikacji IV: Metafory i amalgamaty pojęciowe [New Phenomena in Language, Text and Communication IV]. Eds. Monika Cichmińska and Iza Matusiak-Kempa.  Instytut Filologii Polskiej UWM: Olsztyn, 2012. 105-116. Print.
9. "The Birth of a Genre?: 'The Valley of Spiders' by H. G. Wells." Conventions and Texts. Ed. Andrzej Zgorzelski. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego: Gdańsk, 2003. 242-261. Print.
10. "Niespełnienie horyzontu oczekiwań w opowiadaniu Herbert'a George'a Wells'a 'The Apple'." [Failure to Comply with the Horizon of Expectations in the Short Story of Herbert George Wells "The Apple"]. Paradoksy humanistyki. Księga pamiątkowa ku czci Profesora Andrzeja Zgorzelskiego. [Paradoxes of the Humanities. Book in Honour of Prof. Andrzej Zgorzelski]. Eds. Ola Kubińska and David Malcolm. WydawnictwoUniwersytetuGdańskiego. Gdańsk, 2001. 231-241. Print.
11. with Przemysław Chudy and Anna Strzelecka.  "Teaching Practical English and Literature to Tempus Students at WSP in Olsztyn." Two Subject Teacher Training: Principles and Practice. Eds. M. Misztal and J. Pawłowska. WydawnictwoNaukowe AP: Kraków, 1999. 67-77. Print.

ARTICLES IN SCHOLARLY JOURNALS

1. Article in Scholarly Journal: "Dog as Storyteller and Dialogic Fantastic in King (1999) by John Berger." A/R/T Journal - Analyses/Rereadings/Theories: A Journal Devoted to Literature, Film and Theatre. Web.
2. "Quasi-Documentary Aspects of the Fictional Space in The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy." Beyond Philology: An International Journal of Linguistics, Literary Studies and English Language Teaching 1 (1999): 101-122. Print.
3. "Structuring Uncertainty: An Attempt at Reading H.G. Wells 'The Apple'." Acta Neophilologica 3 (2001): 209-220. Print.

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

1. "Medieval Tradition and Eschatological Perspective in 'Under the Knife' by H. G. Wells." Conference Proceedings of Vienna Short Story Conference (2014) Unbraiding the Short Story. 2015. 93-103.
2. "The subversion of citizenship and education in Bertrand Russell's Alphabet." Innovative Practice and Research Trends in Identity, Citizenship and Education. Eds. P. Cunningham & N. Fretwell. Proceedings form Children's Identity and Citizenship in Europe (CiCe) Sixteenth Annual Conference. CiCe: London 2014. Web. https://metranet.londonmet.ac.uk/fms/MRSite/Research/cice/pubs/2014/2014_032.pdf
3. "Fictionality of Space Motifs in Three Wessex Novels." PASE Papers in Literature and Culture. Eds. Joanna Burzyńska and Danuta Stanulewicz. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego: Gdańsk, 2003. 229-235.
4. "The Fictional Space and Visual Arts in Three Wessex Novels." Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference of the Polish Association for the Study of English. PASE Papers in Culture and Literature. Eds. Władysław Witalisz and Petera Leese. Instytut FA: UniwersytetJagieloński, Kraków 2002. 195-200.

ORGANISED CONFERENCES AND ACADEMIC PROJECTS

1.  4-7 Oct 1998   co-organising Befrienders International Conference: Befriending for the Future, the Next Generation, organized by Olsztyn Anonymous Friend Telephone. Stare Jabłonki, Poland.
2. 2-3 Dec 2013 organising Fairy-Tale Fish Event, educational project for children and university students. The project consisted in devising, organising and directing muli-target educational programme University-Knowledge-Experience for children aged 5-7, UWM students of English, and UWM students Media Studies. It involved part (1) student's fairy-tale storytelling and drama and English workshop, and part (2) storytelling about real fish at Fisheries Faculty of University in Warmia and Mazury. Participation 238 children, 102 university students.
3. 10 Apr 2014    organising Scottish Day at University of Warmia and Mazury. The project consisted in organising Cultural and Scholarly Session: Scottish Day at University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, for the students of UWM, high schools and broad public (over 500 guests). The event comprised 30 papers, not counting presentations and workshops on Scottish culture, literature, film, dance, history and philosophy. Aim: to celebrate Scotland before the Referendum.
4. 2015 co-organising Celebrations the 20th Anniversary of English Department at UWM
5. 2-3 Jun 2014   co-organising conference Old Media in New Media Era. About Adjustment Strategies of Traditional Media to New Media Reality. University of Warmia and Mazury
6. 12-14 Jun 2014 co-organising International Conference: Innovative Practice and Research Trends in Identity, Citizenship and Education.  Children's Identity and Citizenship in Europe (CiCe) Sixteenth Annual Conference. University of Warmia and Mazury.
7. Jun 2015-onwards  devising and organising programme of storytelling for pre-schools "Tell a Tale" in which the student interest group Anglo Cooltura Juniors visit educational institutions in Warmia region to tell stories in English.

PAPERS PRESENTED AT CONFERENCES (23)

INTERNATIONAL (13)

1. 23 Sep 2006 " As if the Real Was a Mere Veil to the Fantastic': The Subversive Dynamics of the Fantastic in H. G. Wells's Short Stories." "H. G. Wells: New Directions" Annual H. G. Wells Society Conference. Conway Hall, London.
2. 11-13 Apr 2013 "Post-Dickensian Style of Literary Portraiture in Mimetic Fiction of H. G. Wells." International Conference "Reflections on/of Dickens" organised by Chair of English, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn.
3. 13-19 May 2013  "Berger Between the Lines: What is Refuted in 'Boris is Buying Horses'?" International Conference and Art Festival „between.pomiędzy" in Sopot, Poland organised by Foundation Between [Fundacja Between Pomiędzy].
4. 7 Jun 2013 "'Do You Read Fables? Modern Ones?' Fable and Fairy-Tale Strategies in Early Scientific Romance of H. G. Wells." III International Conference organised by Faculty of Humanities of University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn and Warmian-Mazurian Fairy-Tale Association in Olsztyn. Title of the Conference: "Fairy-Tale in the Scholarly and Educational Perspective: Fairy-Tales of the World.
5. 19-20 Oct 2013 "Mr Rouse Builds His House as Amalgamate of Avant-Garde Conventions Developed by The Themersons." International Conference: Muses, Mistresses and Mates: Great Women behind Great Men. Organised by Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences of The State School of Higher Professional Education in Płock, Poland.
6. 08-09 May 2014 "The End of the World as a Literary Game in the Short Stories of H. G. Wells." Internationale Literaturwissenschaftliche Konferenz Imaginationen des Endes [International Literary Studies Conference "Imaginations of the End"]. University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn.
7. 12-14 Jun 2014 "Subversion of Citizenship and Education in Bertrand Russell's Alphabet." International Conference: Innovative Practice and Research Trends in Identity, Citizenship and Education.  Children's Identity and Citizenship in Europe (CiCe) Sixteenth Annual Conference. University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn.
8. 16-19 Jul 2014 "Grand-Scale Perspective in the Fantastic Short Stories of H. G. Wells." Unbraiding the Short Story. 13th International Conference on the Short Story in English. Juridicum, University of Vienna, Austria.
9. 15-17 Oct 2014 "The Topos of the Writer in Crisis in George Mackay Brown's Selected Fiction." Scotland in Europe Conference II. Kazimierz Dolny, Poland.
10. 8-10 May 2015 "Semiotics of Space in George Mackay Brown's Literary Texts." International Conference Place and Space in Scottish Literature and Culture. Between Foundation, Sopot, Poland.
11. 12-13 Jun 2015 "Figurative Storytelling: Magical Guardians, Family Matters and Poetics of Space in Keepers of the House by George Mackay Brown, illustrated by Guillian Martin" IV International Interdisciplinary Conference Fairy-Tale, Fable, Legend, Myth: The Magical Component of the Text. University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland
12. 17-18 Sep 2015 "'Go, Good my Songs, be as Gay as you Can': Melancholic Muse and Nostalgic Narrative in the Selected Poems of George Mackay Brown." IV International Interdisciplinary Conference Memory Melancholy, Nostalgia, University of Gdansk, Poland.
13. 3 Oct 2015 "Fan I wis last in Aleppo:" Scottish and European Tradition of Storytelling in David Malcolm's "The Wizard Laird of Skene" (2013) International Conference "Pictures from an Institution: Academy Across Time and Media." University of Gdansk, Poland.

POLISH CONFERENCES (10):

1. Apr 1999 "Teaching Practical English and Literature to Tempus Students at WSP in Olsztyn." Co-presenting with: Przemysław Chudy, Anna Strzelecka. Conference: Duet TEMPUS Two Subject Teacher Training: Principles and Practice. Higher Pedagogic School in Kraków, Poland.
2. Apr 2000 "Fictionality of Space Motifs in Three Wessex Novels." Ninth Annual Conference of the Polish Association for the Study of English, Gdańsk, Poland.
3. Apr 2001"The Fictional Space and Visual Arts in Three Wessex Novels." Polish Association for the Study of English Tenth Annual Conference. Jagielonian University, Kraków, Poland.
4.  Sep 2001 "The Birth of a Genre?: 'The Valley of Spiders' by H. G. Wells." Symposium Conventions and Texts. University of Gdańsk, Poland.
5. 12-14 Apr 2012 „Fantastyczne transformacje konwencji szkicu charakterologicznego w opowiadaniu Herberta George'a Wells'a 'Kryształowe jajko'." [Fantastic Transformations of Character Sketch Conventions  in 'The Crystal Egg' by H. G. Wells] Literary Studies Symposium on Structuring Literary Characters. University of Gdańsk and Dworek Sierakowskich, Sopot, Poland.
6. 11-12 May 2012 "'A Sheet Gathered by the Corners': Poziomy literackiej metaforyczności w wybranych opowiadaniach H. G. Wellsa" ['A Sheet Gathered by the Corners': Levels of Literary Metaphor in Selected Short Stories of H. G. Wells]. Conference: Nowe zjawiska w języku, tekście i komunikacji IV: Metafory i amalgamaty pojęciowe [New Phenomena in Language, Text and Communication IV: Metaphors and Conceptual Blending] University of Warmia and Mazury, Poland.
7. 13 May 2012 "Aesthetic Dimensions of Time Travel in H. G. Wells's Short Stories." Literature in English Symposium (LIES 8): "Of What is Past, or Passing, or to Come": Travelling in Time and Space in Literature in English. Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland.
8. 14-16 May 2014 "'The Word Transfigures All:' Storytelling Through Space and Time in The Masked Fisherman and Other Stories by George Mackay Brown." Conference: New Beginnings in Scottish Literature. Foundation Between [Fundacja Between Pomiędzy]. DworekSierakowskich. Sopot.
9. 02-03 Jun 2014 "The Avant-Garde Sources of Roman Polański's Two Men and a Wardrobe."Conference: Old Media in New Media Era. About Adjustment Strategies of Traditional Media to New Media Reality. University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn.
10. 4 Oct 2015  "Dia-Logos i antynomia w Aktach niestrzelistych (2014) Andrzeja Zgorzelskiego" Polish-International Parallel Conferences "Literaturoznawca Literatem - Artystyczne kreacje profesorów humanistyki" and "Pictures from an Institution: Academy Across Time and Media." University of Gdansk.

PANNEL DISCUSSIONS AND OTHERS

1. 18 May 2013  Co-running panel discussion with Timothy Neat on short story 'Boris' (1983) by John Berger. International Conference and Art Festival „between.pomiędzy" in Sopot, Poland, organised by Foundation Between.
2. 10 Apr 2014 Chairing Event: Meet a Scottish author and Professor David Malcolm (originally from Aberdeen, currently University of Gdańsk). Reading and discussion of his Scottish short story "The Wizard Laird of Skene" (300 students). Discussion on the international influences of Scottish literature.
3. 10 Apr 2014 Organising a screening of a film "Play Me Something" (1989) dir. Timothy Neat, and running the discussion after the film with guests from Between Foundation and University of Gdańsk; as well as film study specialists.
4. Directing film "Students' Voice" for CiCe with 12 students of Unversity of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, High School no 2 in Olsztyn, Academic Junior High School in Olsztyn, shown at International Conference: Innovative Practice and Research Trends in Identity, Citizenship and Education.  Children's Identity and Citizenship in Europe (CiCe) Sixteenth Annual Conference. University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn(screened 13 Jun 2014).
5. 13 Jun 2014  Chairing panel session „Students' Voice" with 12 students from Olsztyn educational institutions and 10 international specialists on Education and Citizenship. Audience 50 students from Olsztyn and 100 international delegates for International Conference: Innovative Practice and Research Trends in Identity, Citizenship and Education.  Children's Identity and Citizenship in Europe (CiCe) Sixteenth Annual Conference. University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn.

LECTURES AND PRESENTATIONS POPULARISING LITERATURE AND CULTURE

1. 27 Feb 2014 Lecture in the Cultural Library UWM in Olsztyn: „Poszukiwania i transgresje w sztuce (nietylko) wizualnej Franciszkii Stefana Themersonów" [Search for Expressive Media and Transgressive Art of Franciszka and Stefan Themersons]. Central Library University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn.
2. 18 Mar 2014 Lecture for Third Age Academy: "Herbert George Wells - podróżnik literacki" [Herbert George Wells. The Literary Traveller]. Kamienica Naujacka MOK w Olsztynie.
3. 13 May 2014 Presentation "Fairy-Tale Fish or How to Connect Univeristy and Pre-School. Multitask Project of Education through Play. The Humanities Day at University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn.
4. 10 Apr 2014 Lecture "Scottish Literature Through the Ages George Mackay Brown and his Orkney Stories" Scottish Day at University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland.
5. 14 May 2014 Lecture: "Franciszka and Stefan Themerson: Walking Backwards and Avant-Garde Intermedia Art." The Humanities Day at University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn.
6.  26 Sep 2014 Lecture: "Franciszka and Stefan Themerson: Giants of the Avant-Garde on the Artistic Crossroads". XII Olsztyn Days of Science and Arts, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn.
7. 23 May 2015 Lecture "H. G. Wells i fantastyka naukowa, czyli jak Podróżnik w Czasie wyjaśniał nam pewien niezwykły problem" [H. G. Wells and Science Fiction, or How The Literary Traveller Explained One Important Problem"] Olsztyn Days of the Fantastic.  (60 min)
8. 30 Oct 2015 Lecture ˶Dawno, dawno temu, za górami, za lasami...̋, czyli o sztuce opowiadania bajek i baśni. Lecture "A Long Time Ago ..." Or Some Reflections On the Art of Telling Stories, Giżycko University of Third Age.

STUDY VISITS ABROAD

• 17 Jan 2016-28 Feb 2016        Bednarowski Fellowship in Scotland: University of Aberdeen, University of Highlands and Islands - Nordic Studies Centre in Kirkwall, University of Glasgow
• 8-14 Sep 2013 British Library, London
• 2006    a week at the British Library, London
• 2004    two weeks at the British Library, London, and Bromley Local Studies Library
• 1998    three-weeks fellowship at University of Exeter, Dual-subject teacher-training programme Tempus-Duet

OTHER

• 1996 Proficiency in English, result A
• 1995 Dele Basico, level B1 International Exam of Spanish

HOBBIES

• Scotland and Orkney
• storytelling for children
• walking, cycling and cross-country skiing, canoeing
• Camino de Santiago (done in 1995, 1997 and 2000)
• Spanish
• gardening and cooking