This class was an extremely easy and interesting class. Professor Tolczyk is very knowledgable and funny - most classes are just lectures with occasional movie/poetry discussions. There was only a few short readings, one midterm, and one final. Professor Tolczyk does not have any online resources(slides/lecture notes), so attendance is essentially required for notes, BUT he gives the class a "study guide" with every term that might be on the exams, so even if you don't take notes/attend class you could still easily get an A by making a quizlet based on those terms. The selected readings are definitely worth doing and this class is very low stress despite being a 3000-level (easier than most of my first-year courses).

I loved this class!! Professor Tolczyk is so kind and extraordinarily knowledgable on every single topic of Polish history. He grew up in Poland so he experienced some of the history that we learned about later in the semester. You get to watch some really interesting movies and read a couple cool novels as well. Study for the quizzes, there's only two and a final quiz. Honestly my favorite class I have ever taken at UVA and favorite professor by far. HIGHLY recommend (even if you know nothing about Polish history/culture going in- I didn't)!!!

This is a great, easy class (coming from a non-history, non-humanities major). Tolczyk is SO knowledgeable and funny, and even thought lectures were somewhat dry at times, I learned so much. There is only a midterm (easy peasy) and a final paper, as well as participation points towards your grade. I recommend it if you're interested in European history at all, or just want a little (easy) diversity in your schedule.

Tolczyk was a fun, earnest guy who really wanted to teach about Poland. But the course felt totally aimless and the lectures could be dry.
The movies were fun and the books totally worth reading. Only a midterm and a final paper, both were walks in the park.
Worth taking as a filler class or to learn a little about Poland, but don't expect too much.