Invitation to the online course by Prof. Marina Dossena for the academic discipline of Linguistics – STER NAWA Project

The Doctoral School of Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce – Section of Humanities invites you to an online course in English delivered by Professor Marina Dossena from the University of Bergamo as part of the NAWA STER Project “Internationalization of the Doctoral School of Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce.”

Course title:
“Glimpses into Scottish Studies Today: Language, Letters and the Socio-Historical Dimension”

Course dates:
09.03.2026; 12.03.2026; 16.03.2026; 19.03.2026

Platform: ZOOM

Access to the meetings:

09.03.2026, 10:00–12:30
Topic: NAWA STER Zoom Meeting – Prof. Marina Dossena I
https://zoom.us/j/91080710736
Meeting ID: 910 8071 0736

12.03.2026, 10:00–12:30
Topic: NAWA STER Zoom Meeting – Prof. Marina Dossena II
https://zoom.us/j/94034987064
Meeting ID: 940 3498 7064

16.03.2026, 10:00–12:30
Topic: NAWA STER Zoom Meeting – Prof. Marina Dossena III
https://zoom.us/j/96194552326
Meeting ID: 961 9455 2326

19.03.2026, 10:00–12:30
Topic: NAWA STER Zoom Meeting – Prof. Marina Dossena IV
https://zoom.us/j/95537937354
Meeting ID: 955 3793 7354

Below you will find the course schedule:

• 9^th March, 10-12.30:

Scotland’s multilingualism today and yesterday

In this introductory session we will look at the linguistic landscape of Scotland today; starting from census data, the discussion will highlight the historical specificity of that landscape and will present what tools are available for the study of unique phenomena. Such tools comprise dictionaries, corpora and other online resources meant for both general audiences of all ages (including school children) and for specialists at various levels of expertise.

• 12^th March, 10-12.30:

History, politics, and language codification

The aim of this class is to present some significant turning points in the history of Scotland which have had a tremendous impact on its language history. The Reformation, the Union of the Crowns, the Act of Union and the Jacobite uprisings will be in special focus, not least for the role they have played in language users’ perceptions and in the rise of prescriptivism.

• 16^th March, 10-12.30:

Focus on literature: Pride, nostalgia and reinvention from Reulis and Cautelis to the Outlander saga

In this session participants will get an opportunity to see how literary discourse has actually profited from the dramatic history of Scotland’s languages, in order to create texts in which the coexistence of different registers, varieties and text types contribute to the uniqueness of the readers’ experience. Sample texts will include works by Robert Fergusson, Robert Louis Stevenson and Hamish Henderson, in addition to other well-known authors.

• 19^th March, 10-12.30:

The language of ordinary people: Emigrants’ letters and social networking at home and abroad

This series of talks will conclude with a special session on the study of manuscript sources and what they tell us about usage, the maintenance of links with the home country and the creation of new identities abroad. Methodological issues will also be addressed, not least from the point of view of source identification and the potential comparisons that may be made with other similar materials.

We cordially invite you to participate and look forward to your attendance!