Małgorzata Juda-Mieloch, until recently a Polish language teacher at Municipal Gymnasium No. 2 in Bolesławiec, defended her doctoral dissertation five years ago. This year, the text is to be published by the renowned Universitas publishing house. “It often happens that dissertations remain in typescript and lie in libraries,” the Polish teacher told IstotneInformacje.pl. “The desire to publish is probably a natural impulse,” she added.
The teacher’s doctoral dissertation is titled “The Figure of Authority in Contemporary Literary Studies Texts.” One of its chapters has already been published in “Pamiętnik Literacki.” The planned book version of the entire text will be titled “On the Shoulders of Giants.” “The main thesis of this work is that literary scholars base their arguments very strongly on authority,” the author explains. She developed this thesis using the works of such authorities in the field of literary history as Henryk Markiewicz, Janusz Sławiński, Ryszard Nycz, Jerzy Ziomek and Grażyna Borkowska.
The unpublished work, Małgorzata Juda-Mieloch herself stresses, is unlikely to become a bestseller. “A book like this will be read by one hundred people in the country,” the Polish teacher says. – “It is very specialized and hermetic.” That does not change the fact that the text has a good chance of generating a lively response in the academic community. The reviews are downright enthusiastic. “That is a good signal for me. If the work interested three professors, it means that it has some cognitive value,” the author emphasizes. Specialists from the Committee for Scientific Research share this opinion and have decided to provide financial support for the publication. What is more, the reviewers were captivated by the fact that, although the text meets all the criteria of a scholarly work, it is written in beautiful language.
Not Her First Book, and Not Her Last
“On the Shoulders of Giants” will not be Małgorzata Juda-Mieloch’s first published work. The Polish teacher is the author of a textbook for middle-school students, “Keep Fit,” devoted to various forms of expression. She was also part of the editorial team that prepared a series of highly regarded catechisms for middle-school students, “Revealing the Face of Christ.” The series was published by the Catholic WAM publishing house. “For three years, I took an accelerated course in theology,” the teacher says. “This adventure is not over,” she adds. The publisher plans to prepare a series of textbooks for secondary-school students.
A Novel for Students and About Students
A few days ago, the teacher said goodbye to her middle-school students. She is moving to Ostrów Wielkopolski, where she plans to finish a novel for young people. “I will write it for my students,” she emphasizes. “It will be about important things, because these are people on the threshold of adulthood.” That does not mean the book will lack humor. What is more, the novel’s action is to take place at a school, and some of the characters will have real-life prototypes. “My students will certainly recognize themselves, but they will not be identifiable,” Małgorzata Juda-Mieloch assures us.
(GA report)