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AIFS Study Abroad in Prague, Czech Republic
Summer 2012
Course Descriptions |
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Course descriptionsThe University recommends students take one or two courses (3
credits each) for a maximum of 6 credits. Instruction is in English.
A minimum enrollment of 5 students is required for each course
offered. Classes are held Monday through Thursday for four
weeks. Each class meets for two academic hours (45 minutes per
academic hour) per day. Instruction, excursions and written work
total 45 academic hours for each course, equivalent to 3 semester
credits per course. | Czech Language Course | | | Course Code and Credits: | Czech 102 | | Course Title: | Czech Language for Everyday Use Level I | | Course Description: | | The course is designed to teach students the basics of Czech
language and, at the same time, to extend their knowledge of
Czech culture and everyday life. The communicative approach
and everyday vocabulary are emphasized, students are supposed
to communicate in various situations of everyday life (introducing
oneself, asking about direction, shopping, restaurant, daily
routine, likes and dislikes). Various linguistic skills should be
developed in balance: knowledge of grammar, comprehension,
speaking, and writing. | |
| Courses taught in English | | | Course Code and Credits: | Art 301 (3) | | Course Title: | Czech Art and Architecture | | Course Description: | | A general overview of the Fine Arts development in Europe
with a special focus on Central Europe and the monuments
of Prague. Particular pieces of art that represent an époque or
style are presented and students analyze the details, historical
context, iconography and formal qualities that represent the
individual style. Through detailed information on a particular piece
the student gets a good insight to the History of Fine Arts as an
academic discipline. The first half of the lecture is usually held in
the classroom, and the second half continues on a field trip, or in
one of the many museums of Fine Art in Prague. | | | Course Code and Credits: | Film 360 (3) - NEW! | | Course Title: | Hollywood and Europe | | Course Description: | | This course offers insight into the ways in which Hollywood
has functioned as a global institution, with emphasis placed on
its historical relationships to Europe. Respecting Hollywood’s
multifaceted character as a transnational economic, political,
social, cultural, and aesthetic institution, the course encourages
students to position the analysis of popular mainstream film
texts within the range of contexts they have operated. Students
will examine the roles Hollywood has played in, and towards,
Europe at different historical junctures at the levels of production,
distribution, exhibition, reception, and consumption. Key debates
relating to conglomeration, Americanization, globalization, the
national, cultural imperialism, and appropriation will be engaged
by way of topics such as genre, stars, and marketing; documents
such as State Department memos, movie trailers, and popular
press coverage. | | | Course Code and Credits: | Literature 312 (3) - NEW! | | Course Title: | American and Czech Literature from European Perspectives | | Course Description: | | The term “identity” is essential for any exploration of society,
the self, and its various roles in literature and culture. However,
it is difficult to pin down exactly what is meant by “identity.” The
course examines various conceptions of “identity” in connection
with selected literary examples. Students will examine the
way in which identity is construed in the 20th and 21st century
through the works of American and Czech authors from Melville
to Kundera. A European obsession with construction, existence
and structuring will be contrasted with an American focus on
transformation, movement and change. Specific topics include
formations of identity, power, confidence, racial and gender
stereotypes, “minority” vs. “mainstream” literature in Czech and
American societies. | | | Course Code and Credits: | History 305 (3) - NEW! | | Course Title: | Modern Central European and German History | | Course Description: | | The course will focus on the history of the entity known as “Mitteleuropa”,
the different definitions and ideological uses of this
concept and the analysis of its moving boundaries, sometimes
including Germany, sometimes not. The aim of the course is to
achieve an understanding of the history of the different national
entities that now constitute Germany, Poland, Hungary, the
Czech Republic and Slovakia and of their complex interaction. | | | Course Code and Credits: | Politics 312 (3) - NEW! | | Course Title: | Czech Politics in the Central European Context | | Course Description: | | This course is for students with different academic backgrounds
but with strong interest in Czech and Central European developments
during and after the democratic revolutions of 1989. To
understand Central European developments after 1989 it is necessary
to get acquainted with the main turning points of modern
political and social history of respective countries of the Central
European geopolitical region on one hand and to undertake some
comparative research into similarities and differences of such developments
on the other hand. Topics include the foundation of
Czechoslovakia in 1918, the Munich crisis in 1938, the occupation
of Czechoslovakia, the Slovak state, the activities of the Czechoslovak
government in exile in 1939-1945, post-war reconstruction
in 1945-1948, the years of the communist regime in 1948-1989,
the democratic revolution in November 1989, as well as the
transformation and the transition years after 1989. Democracy in
transition will be taught, including the political and legal problems
of the restitution process and privatization methods. | |
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