It is with great sadness that we have learned of the death of Dr. Franciszek Lyra, a longtime lecturer of the American Studies Center of the University of Warsaw. He passed away on March 26, 2021 at a hospital in  Sokołów Podlaski.

Born in 1932, Dr. Franciszek Lyra specialized in the history of American literature. A graduate of the English Institute of the University of Warsaw, he completed his PhD in linguistics at Indiana University Bloomington.

He was the first Polish Fulbright grantee, in 1959. After he completed his PhD, he returned to Poland and, starting from 1962, helped establish the English Institute at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin where he taught until 1969. He subsequently taught at the University of Warsaw, Institute of English Studies and the American Studies Center.

His research was focused on the history of American literature, the reception of American literature in Poland, and on literary connections between both countries. Dr. Lyra was an author of two books William Faulkner published by Wiedza Powszechna in 1966 and Edgar Allan Poe by the same press (1973) as well as a dozen articles published in Polish and American journals. In 2011 he was awarded the Distinguished International Service Award (2011) from Indiana University.

He founded the Polish chapter of the Indiana University Alumni and Friends Association at the University of Warsaw.

We wish to express our sincere condolences to Franciszek’s family and friends. We will sorely miss him.

Z głębokim smutkiem zawiadamiamy o śmierci dra. Franciszka Lyry, wieloletniego wykładowcy Ośrodka Studiów Amerykańskich UW, który zmarł 26 marca 2021 r. w Sokołowie Podlaskim.

Urodzony w 1932, dr Franciszek Lyra był amerykanistą literaturoznawcą. Ukończył studia w Instytucie Anglistyki Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego. Doktorat w dziedzinie językoznawstwa na temat dwujęzyczności obronił w Indiana University w Bloomington. Był pierwszym w historii polskim stypendystą programu stypendialnego Komisji Fulbrighta. Wyjechał do Stanów Zjednoczonych na stypendium w roku 1959. Po ukończeniu doktoratu wrócił do Polski i od 1962 roku pomagał w tworzeniu Instytutu Anglistyki na Uniwersytecie Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej w Lublinie, gdzie wykładał do roku 1969. Następnie przez wiele lat wykładał w Instytucie Anglistyki UW oraz w Ośrodku Studiów Amerykańskich UW.

Prowadził badania nad historią literatury amerykańskiej, polską recepcją literatury amerykańskiej oraz polsko-amerykańskimi stosunkami literackimi. Dr. Lyra jest autorem dwóch książek o literaturze amerykańskiej–William Faulkner (Wiedza Powszechna, 1966) oraz Edgar Allan Poe (Wiedza Powszechna, 1973), a także kilkunastu artykułów opublikowanych w Polsce oraz w Stanach Zjednoczonych. W 2011 roku został nagrodzony Distinguished International Service Award (2011) Indiana University.

Stworzył polski oddział Stowarzyszenia Absolwentów i Przyjaciół Indiana University na Uniwersytecie Warszawskim.

Składamy serdeczne wyrazy współczucia Rodzinie Franciszka i Jego bliskim. Będzie nam Go bardzo brakowało. Był dobrym duchem Osy!

News

Competition for Student Research Grants

March 27, 2025

The American Studies Center is pleased to announce a competition for student research grants. The grants will support students’ work on their MA theses and BA papers. As the research must be related to a BA paper or an MA thesis, 3rd year BA students and MA students of all years will have a priority.

News

Dean’s Day on April 30

March 24, 2025

We kindly inform you that, in accordance with Order No. 1 issued by the Head of the Teaching Unit on March 19, 2025, April 30, 2025, has been declared as a dean’s day (a day off from teaching).

News

Meeting with the Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and Quality of Teaching and Learning

March 21, 2025

On March 26 at 6:30 PM, we invite you to an open online meeting with the Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and Quality of Teaching and Learning, Prof. Maciej Raś. During the meeting, we will discuss topics important to students and those interested in studying at the University of Warsaw.

News

ZIP 2.0 Integrated Teaching Development Program for the ASC Undergraduate Program

March 20, 2025

We would like to inform you that as of January 1, 2025, the University of Warsaw is implementing the “Integrated Teaching Development Program – ZIP 2.0,” co-financed by the European Social Fund under the European Funds for Social Development 2021–2027 (FERS) program. Its goal is to adapt the educational offer to the needs of the economy and labor market, as well as to support green and digital transformation.

American Studies Colloquium Series

April 3: Gatekeeping, Paranoid Professionalism, and Redefining Literacy: How US Librarians Fought, Found, and Loved Comic Books

March 20, 2025

We are pleased to invite you to the third lecture of the American Studies Colloquium Series in the 2025 Spring semester! In this talk, we will look at how US librarians fought against comic books as though libraries were the last line of defense in a vital war. We will examine the existential threat that librarians perceived comics to pose in the mid-century and the gradual, nervous thawing of that opposition in the 1970s and 1980s.