Summer II (June 13th-July 28th)
Schedule:
June 13th- summer II students arrive
June 14th - orientation
June 15th - first day of summer II
June 15th-19th add/drop period
July 5th - 6th Czech Holidays
July 27th - end of summer semester II and III
July 28th - summer II and III students depart
Courses:
ART 131 Prague Art and Architecture 14:00-17:10 Tuesday & Thursday- This course examines the key developments in Czech visual arts and architecture from the early medieval to the contemporary period. Slide-based lectures are complimented with visits to monuments, art collections and galleries. This course will provide students with an overview of the history of art in Prague. In this respect, the course intends to have students acquire knowledge of the main characteristics of art styles while observing and analyzing paintings, sculpture, and architecture first-hand.
HIS 236 Jewish Experience in Central Europe 9:00-12:10 Tuesday & Thursday-This course will provide an inside look at Jewish history in the Czech lands. It will explore the subject from different aspects--legends, traditions, religion, art, philosophy and history. The emphasis on “experience” means that students will have the opportunity to experience (through field trips) all the various characteristics of Jewish life and presence in Central Europe–both in the past and at present. The course will consist of lectures from notable speakers and several field trips.
HIS 237 Central European History 18:00-21:10 Tuesday & Thursday-This course is an advanced survey of East Central Europe. It will trace political, social and cultural developments in this area from the early Middle Ages to the presence. Emphasis will be given to the comparative aspects of the various nationalities and regions of East Central Europe. The course will examine in greater detail the 20th century upheavals of the region with the climax of the events of 1989.
JRN 280 Intro to Broadcast News & Film Production 14:00-17:45 Tuesday & Thursday- Find out what it takes to transform your great idea into a compelling visual story for television and film. This course teaches students basic broadcast writing of news and features, camera work, editing techniques, and talent performance. Students will explore basic techniques and tools to transform their feature stories into short documentaries. By the end of the course, students will have their own finished scripts for a TV story, and will understand what it takes to transform it visually onto tape. This course is a perfect introduction for students thinking about making a career in the visual media or simply those who are curious about the world of TV and film.
LIT 232 One Thousand Years of Czech Literature- from Kosmas to Kundera 9:00-12:10 Monday & Wednesday- This course is a guided tour through the oldest of the Slavic literatures on its venerable 1,000 year old history of witnessing dramatic clashes as well as fruitful influences on its cultural borders. Students survey a range of Czech literature in translation and explore main directions in the history of Czech writing and poetics; the main focus, though, is on the 20th Century. Writers like Kafka, Hašek, Čapek, Hrabal, Škvorecký, Klíma, and Kundera are discussed together with contemporary, post-cold war authors like J. Topol. Visits to topic-related literary events as well as debates over film adaptations and rock lyrics are an essential part of the course.
POL 160 East Central Europe in Transition 14:00-17:10 Monday-Wednesday- This course will provide an inside look at the reality and the history behind the changes in progress in the Czech Republic and East Central Europe today. Lectures from notable figures in Czech and European politics and culture will focus on the theme of transformation in the speaker's area of expertise. Speakers are chosen for their experience in a particular area of political or civil society. Discussions are meant to expose students of various nationalities to the viewpoints and thoughts of their Central European counterparts.
POL 381/POL 553 Global Migration 18:00-21:10 Monday & Wednesday- It is essential to analyze the historical, economic, demographic, legal, and sociological aspects of migration in order to understand the circumstances and consequences of global movements of people. Therefore this course approaches migration from an interdisciplinary perspective, by discussing the major theories of migration and their limitations. While most theories of migration typically focus on one or another cause of migration, we will try to understand the variability of motives in order to explain different strategies adopted by immigrants to settle down in the host country. The most widespread causes - economic necessity and political sanctuary - will be discussed at length. The issue of human rights in the context of asylum seekers and war refugees will also be of special interest. We will look at immigration policies and laws in the United States, the European Union, and the Czech Republic, with a focus on the individual and social consequences of illegal immigration. In this context we will look at methodologies of monitoring illegal immigration and controversies about the legalization or amnesty for these individuals. This course is aimed to provide students with the solid general overview of trends and issues related to people’s mobility across national borders. It should also enhance students’ interest in themes like minority rights, multiculturalism, or globalization
SOC 353/583 SOCIOLOGY OF INTER CULTURAL COMMUNICATIONS- 18:00-21:15 Tuesday, Thursday, Friday - the study, from an interdisciplinary perspective, of interaction of people from different cultures with a focus on the interaction of two or more cultures and addresses the main question of what happens when two or more cultures interact (at the interpersonal level, group or international level). Socio-cultural institutions in selected societies are compared using the dominant theoretical orientations as a focus.
ART 223 CENTRAL & EAST EUROPEAN FILM SEMINAR - 17:30-21:15 Wednesday-this seminar will explore the aesthetic, ideological, psychological, and social concerns of Central and East European cinema from the 1920s to the present. Cinema from these troubled regions have been (and continue to be) haunted by the cataclysms of the 20th Century, and consequently tend to be generally darker in theme and mood than western European cinema. We will be viewing films of important directors from the region ,including Costa-Gavras, Fassbinder, Forman, Haneke, Kieslowski, Kusturica, Lang, Herzog, Polanski, Schlöndorff, Tarkovsky, Wajda, Wenders, and others.
POL 330 EAST-CENTRAL EUROPEAN POLITICS - 9:00-12:10Tuesday, Thursday, Friday - this course will address the issues facing East-Central Europe as a region, beginning with an historical overview of the region, followed by a discussion of the 1989 revolutions and the collapse of communism. Students will address issues such as the re-emergence of nationalism, the break-up of states, and the desire to join Western security institutions, and they will study how specific countries in the region are addressing the current political and economic challenges of transition. |
