{"id":14078,"date":"2025-06-17T15:11:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T19:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/?p=14078"},"modified":"2025-06-23T11:35:28","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T15:35:28","slug":"professor-joins-the-slavic-connexion-podcast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/professor-joins-the-slavic-connexion-podcast\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Lisa Wi\u015bniewski Shares Eastern European Immigrant Stories on The Slavic Connexion"},"content":{"rendered":"

East Hartford, Connecticut and Austin, Texas, may be hundreds of miles apart, but in higher education, scholars stay closely connected through the critical conversations that shape their fields. On April 19, 2025, Dr. Lisa Wi\u015bniewski<\/a>, Goodwin University faculty senate president and professor of sociology, joined Cullan Bendig, MA, MGPS, host and associate producer of The Slavic Connexion<\/a>, for a thought-provoking episode of the University of Texas at Austin<\/a>\u2013based podcast.<\/p>\n

Launched in 2019, The Slavic Connexion explores Slavic, Eurasian, and Eastern European studies through a global lens. In the episode, \u201cRemembering the Forgotten: Eastern Europe\u2019s Migrant Experience\u201d<\/a> Dr. Lisa Wi\u015bniewski discusses her recent book, Navigating Education as a Forgotten Immigrant: Perspectives of the Eastern European Community.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Published by Lexington Books in February 2025<\/a>, the text draws on more than a decade of research, featuring deeply personal interviews with first- and second-generation immigrants from Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Hungary, and Romania. Through these powerful narratives, Dr. Wi\u015bniewski sheds light on educational barriers, evolving identities, and the emotional toll of assimilation<\/a>, particularly among immigrant communities too often left out of mainstream conversations.<\/p>\n

In the episode, Dr. Wi\u015bniewski unpacks the meaning behind the word forgotten in her book\u2019s title, underscoring the lack of visibility for Eastern European narratives in American media, education, and public discourse. A proud Polish American from New Britain, Connecticut \u2014 regionally known as \u201cLittle Poland\u201d \u2014 Wi\u015bniewski draws on her lived experience as the daughter of immigrants to shape her research and academic perspective. \u201cThis book is a beginning,\u201d Dr. Wi\u015bniewski shares. \u201cIt\u2019s about making our communities visible and starting deeper conversations \u2014 across generations and across cultures.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Listeners of the podcast will also learn more about the methodology behind her research, the emotional impact of sharing these immigrant stories, and how historical contexts ranging from the Iron Curtain to the modern war in Ukraine affect Eastern European identity in the U.S. today.<\/p>\n

Goodwin University proudly celebrates Dr. Wi\u015bniewski\u2019s ongoing efforts to elevate underrepresented voices, foster cultural understanding, and lead meaningful conversations that bridge education, community, and global awareness.<\/p>\n