Iwona Filipczak works in the Institute of Modern Languages at the University of Zielona Góra, Poland, where she teaches courses on literature, in particular American literature, and diploma seminars. Her research interests are focused on the questions of globalization, diasporic experience, identity, cross-cultural encounters, illness in South Asian American fiction, particularly Indian-American. She is a member of Polish Association for American Studies and European Association for American Studies. Iwona received a master's degree in English language and teaching and a PhD in literature from the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland.