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Curriculum / Spring 2010
Czech Culture and Civilization The course traces the essential events and periods of Czech history and culture. However, its goal and method are not descriptive. The emphasis is laid upon issues that underlie today’s way of thinking of Czech people, their views and stances. One of the central issues dealt with in the course is the issue of personal/individual identity. While the 19th century prefers the idea of an individual fitting in and belonging to a national (religious, local, professional) collective, the modernity turmoil challenges this idea and unveils a personal/individual identity crisis. An attempt to substitute the national collectivity with a notion of a functional civic society in 1920s and 1930s is followed by ideological/political collective constructs of 1950s and 1960s. These phenomena reflect and are tackled in the course through interplay of polarities of heterogeneous vs. homogeneous, private vs. public, past vs. present vs. future, local vs. universal, narrow (i.e. Czech) vs. large (European) context. The course provides students with a deeper insight into the Czech mentality and character by dealing with issues which have determined modern Czech identity, as well as with current political and cultural events and issues. Moreover, students become familiarized with the city of Prague. Through both these aspects, the course will help students to integrate into and experience the Czech society from within. The course is co-taught by four faculty members, nevertheless it represents a coherency: the contributions of individual faculty members complement each other and represent a plurality of interpretative angles. Course requirements: active class participation, reading, essay and a test. The course is obligatory for each program participant and establishes the core of the first two-week core course session.
An intensive conversational course of Czech language designed to develop, at a very basic level, proficiencies in comprehension and speaking, and to introduce students to everyday culture of Czech life. Students will achieve elementary conversational skills in everyday situations including conversational keywords and phrases such as warnings, signs, personal contact words and phrases (identification, greetings, etc.), handling numbers (prices, money, Czech currency; basic weights and measures), time, making appointments, shopping (asking for things; shopping in the neighborhood stores; labels, notices), communication in restaurants, physical environment (asking the way, city transport), and travelling. The course consists of in-class lectures; excursions out of the classroom are organized where relevant.
CEE Economies and the EU Enlargement In 2004 Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia became part of the enlarged EU. Bulgaria and Romania joined EU in 2007. This had an economic impact on both the new entrants and the EU itself. The first part of this course deals with issues related to the economic transition from centrally planned economic system into the market economy. The second part tackles topics related to the EU enlargement and to current EU issues. The course is focused on economic realities of the CEE region. Local experts are regular guest speakers in the course on issues as car industry, capital market, beer industry, EU structural funds etc. Course requirements are class participation, oral presentation, midterm and final exam and a paper.
Gender and Culture: Selected Current Topics The course analyzes contemporary phenomena shaping our everyday existence in this world as men and women. Starting with the debate of the “communist gender experiment” students move into political and sociological arenas to debate registered partnership, transgender issues, reproduction rights (including sterilization of Roma women), sex trafficking, pornography, and representation of sexes in public life. Youth subcultures will be presented from a gender viewpoint. Other major cultural myths upholding tradition-al concepts of masculinity and femininity – film, media and advertising will be studied and compared to the new virtual possibilities of cyberspace, “reformed” spirituality and post-feminist readings of popular culture and cartoons. The course is heavily supported with visual documentation, field-trips, and stars exciting Czech guest-speakers from the field of arts, politics and religion. Instructor:
Jews in East Central Europe: Life of a Minority The course describes the life of the Jewish community in Europe since the formation of Jewish settlements around the 10th century until the present time. The historical aspect is enriched by detailed insights into both Jewish spirituality and social life. In-class lectures are combined with the field trips to Prague Jewish monuments. The course has three foci: (1) The situation of the Czech Jewry is the natural departure point. However, the course provides meaningful comparisons with related regions, above all, a comparison with the very specific development of Polish Jewry are necessary for understanding of Jews of Central Europe from 16th century onwards. (2) Emphasis is placed on constantly recurring interference of the Jewish minority and the surrounding society. Development of the minority is thus not viewed in isolation but in its very particular interconnection with the majority society. (3) The character of the daily life of the Jewish people in the period under scope is studied through an analysis of rites of passage, festivals and customs as well as of social structures and the different social roles of classical Rabbinic Judaism (child, woman, layman, rabbi etc.) are described. Students will become acquainted with the internal and external problems which the Jewish community has faced on its journey throughout its history. The values central to the Jewish society of the past and present will be defined and their origin indicated. Are these values particular to the Jews? How does a minority present itself to the outside world? How does it reflect its own position in the society? What is the attitude of the Jewish minority towards the processes of its integration, acculturation or even assimilation? These questions will be asked with regard to specific socio-political and cultural environment. The goal of the course is not only to understand the Jewish history as such; it might become helpful for anyone aspiring to get oriented in today’s globalized and still fragmented society. The following sites will be visited on the field-trips: the Old-New Synagogue, the Maisel Synagogue, the Pinkas Synagogue, the Klausen Synagogue, the Ceremonial Hall of the Burial Society, the Old Jewish Cemetery, the Spanish Synagogue, and the New Jewish Cemetery. Course requirements: regular active participation; students are expected to read assigned texts prior to each session where they will be discussed; two short quizzes – midterm and final; a paper or project based on students’ own research (min. 3,000 words; the project topic can relate to both the lectures or field trips); a presentation of the project. Instructor:
The course gives a comprehensive overview of European art history from Ancient Greek and Roman inspirations to the present times. Stress is placed on the way European art development is reflected in the art and architecture of Central Europe and on the art and architectural resources of Central Europe and Prague. Most of the course lectures take place outside of classroom at various historical sites, in museums, and galleries. During 21 excursions, Prague artistic history is presented as a succession of crossroads of influences coming from/to different parts of Europe. The course takes advantage of Prague as a unique city where development in art and architecture from the Middle Ages until modern times is discernible. In metropolis like Paris, Vienna or London the tumultuous growth in the last two centuries practically erased their Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance or Baroque past. In Prague these epochs can be observed not only on solitary monuments but also on the entire layout of streets and gardens. Prague is also notorious for its 19th century architecture inspired by the Czech National Revival. Last but not least, there are 20th century experiments like Cubist Prague (the original Czech contribution to the history of architecture) or the famous Dancing House of 1996. An integral part of the course are excursions to historical towns in the Czech Republic (Kutná Hora, Český Krumlov, and Karlovy Vary). In descriptions of architectural monuments, parks, sculptures, paintings and decorative arts, the emphasis is placed upon the way European art evolved and how innovations were transmitted from one cultural center to another. Prague was the spearhead of Church reformation creating Protestantism which was later thoroughly recatholicised and therefore religious influences on art and architecture are always analyzed together with political, economic, national and social aspects. The course meets for three hours per week and is not exclusively intended for art history students. Course requirements: active class participation, reading (100 pages per week), home works based on reading, midterm and final essays (1500 and 3000 words respectively) and midterm and final tests (consisting in identification of painting and/or architectural monument and its analysis, explanation of basic art concepts, questions based on reading, lectures and excursions). Instructor:
Emblematic Reductions: Icons of American and Czech Popular Culture Familiar with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and other Disney Company products? Have you, however, interpreted them in comparison to the Little Mole, the animated robber Rumcajs or Ferda the Ant? Know a lot about Superman, Batman and other DC Comics superheroes? Compare them to Vinnetou, a Central European image of a Native American gentleman, accompanied by his white brother Old Shatterhand, of German origin. Tired of James Bond? Watch and interpret his Czech Communist cover version from 1970s. This course focuses on the semiotic interpretation of emblems (icons and stereotypes) of pop culture, e.g. entities produced by the intentional reduction of meaning. It will cover discursive practices that produce semantic reductions, be it mass media, the pop-culture industry, or mediating exchange chains between distinct cultures and nations (U.S. and Czech at the center of the course attention). The materials covered and interpreted will also include stereotypes of national mentalities, the most influential people who never lived, ideological propaganda stereotypes, emblems constructing the images of politicians, emblems of cities, distinct commercial strategies in different cultural contexts, and pop music, of course. The course is based on a cultural studies perspective and stresses semiotic methodological approaches. A comparative approach towards similarities and differences of U.S. and Czech pop culture material frames the whole course. Course requirements: regular class attendance, active participation in discussions, reading: 100 - 150 pages per week; 3 workshop presentations; final paper (3000 words). Instructor:
Modern Czech Film: History on Screen This interdisciplinary course provides a deeper insight into the issues of modern Czechoslovak history and socio-cultural developments as documented by both major feature films and documentaries. Viewed against the general backdrop of key historical events, the participants will gain more intimate knowledge and understanding of the unique Czech New Wave in Cinema (Miracle of the Czech New Wave) which was an intriguing response to the political and cultural thaw of the Sixties and thoroughly investigate the works of art in the aftermath of the 1989 Velvet Revolution. Screenings will include films of renowned artists and Academy Award winners such as Miloš Forman and Jiří Menzel as well as other prominent representatives of the Czech New Wave: Věra Chytilová, Jan Němec, Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos. Historically the screenings include films covering WWII (The Shop on Main Street), the Stalinist fifties (The Joke, Larks on a String), politically friendlier sixties and the typical new wave style (Miloš Forman’s Loves of a Blond and Firemen’s Ball). Attention is paid to the most significant works of the post-1968 Soviet invasion, the so-called normalization period and to cinematography in the course of building up democracy after 1989. Course requirements: students are required to attend screenings, read respective articles and reviews from a course pack (20 pages a week) and actively participate in the discussion sessions; 3-page responses to the screened films are required, they serve as guidance for discussions. There is a mid-term exam (3-4 pages in-class essay) and a comprehensive final exam in the form of an out-class written essay (10-12 pages).
The elementary Czech course is focused on the development of the four basic proficiency skills (speaking, writing, listening comprehension, and reading), with emphasis on speaking and listening comprehension in everyday situations. Basic concepts in Czech grammar will be introduced and compared to English. The course covers the following topics: conversational basics; shopping, asking for things, making orders and reservations; making appointments; asking the way, travelling; likes and dislikes; jobs, professions, nationalities; daily and other routines; plans; past events; speaking about one’s origin, home, family and friends; age, health, condition and feelings. Grammar of the year-long elementary course is covered. Course requirements: active class participation (including homework and ability to communicate orally). Evaluation: quizzes, midterm and final tests. The course meets three times a week for five total of hours and is taught in groups of ten or fewer students. Instructors:
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