Study Abroad in Prague: Courses

Orientation

Czech 101/ECES 1 (3)
Intensive Czech for Beginners
Students are automatically enrolled in this Intensive Czech Language orientation course held for 4.5 hours per day, five days a week during the first two weeks of the semester. Acquisition of basic communication skills in the Czech language, both written and spoken. Introduction to Czech linguistics and cultural environment.

ECES courses

Students may choose from the ECES courses offered. A minimum enrollment of 10 is required for each course to be offered. The first course number is the American system; the second course number is the ECES code. Each course meets 45 hours per semester and is recommended for three credits. Courses are recorded on an official transcript from Charles University, which is sent directly to the students' home institutions. Instruction is in English.

Art 121 ECES/170 (3)
Introduction to Black and White Photography
The theoretical and historical aspects of photography, practical exercises, parallel study of the functions of cameras used in various situations, darkroom techniques, studio methods, the development of aesthetics.

Art History 301/ECES 800 (3)
Czech Art and Architecture
The course provides a survey of artistic and architectural period styles and trends with a focus on fine arts and architecture in Prague and Bohemia against the background of European influences. Visits to museums, art galleries and architectural sites with the professor.

Czech 102/ECES 102 (3)
Czech Language for Everyday Use
The course cultivates language skills acquired in the Czech intensive orientation course: the system of nouns, verbs, syntax of Czech. Students read, discuss and analyze simple texts and special interest articles. Geared to advanced students, although several levels are offered.

Economics 303/ECES 111 (3)
Recent Economic Developments
Brief historical outline of economic developments in the Czech Republic, focusing on the period of the centrally planned state economy and the transition to a free market economy. Current problems and reactions to economic challenges.

Economics 313/ECES 113 (3)
The Puzzles of Central and Eastern Europe Transformation and Integration
Introduction into the particular economic policy using the intuitive economic theory, which provides various possibilities of clarification. Different choice of countries will depend on the particular economic problems and will emphasize the selected topics. Suggested hypothesis given by the economic theory will be then confronted with real relevant figures and statistics.

Economics 319/ECES 110 (3)
Global Economy
Globalization and the forces contributing to it. Anti-globalization forces. Ethno policy, NGO, anti-Americanism, Liberalism, cross-cultural issues of globalization, corporate social responsibility. Environmental problems of the world.

Film 305/ECES 301 (3)
Czech Film: 100 Years of Czech Cinema
Main tendencies in development of the Czech national cinematography from origins till present. International influences and original innovations in style. Film art in volatile political settings.

Film 315/ECES 302 (3)
Film: Facets of National Identity in Contemporary Czech Cinema
Czech cinematography after the Velvet Revolution, film industry in search of new economic, aesthetic and thematic models, mode of cultural production relentlessly trying to define and re-define (and at the same time valorize and re-valorize) characteristic features of Czech national identity.

Film 325/ECES 303 (3)
Film: Concepts of Heroism and Anti-heroism in Czech Cinema
Spring semester only
Basic orientation in the history of Czech cinema and specifically in the traditional typology of characters/heroes in Czech film.

Film 335/ECES 304 (3)
Eastern European Cinema
Basic orientation in the history of Czech, Hungarian, Polish and Soviet/Russian cinematography.

History 307/ECES 402 (3)
20th Century Central European History
Students will gain an understanding of the demise of Central European empires, the rise of aggressive ideological politics and the road to totalitarianism. Not only should the student gain a factual knowledge of the times on which the course focuses, but through the dramatically conceived lectures, factual yet moving readings and confrontations with participants in the study of historic events, the course should open for the student "the way from the brain to the heart." One-day field trips to Lidice and Terezín.

History 308/ECES 401 (3)
Modern Czech History
History of Czech lands from the primeval era to the present, including the medieval Czech State, Habsburg Monarchy, Czechoslovakia, and the Czech Republic. History of the peoples on the Czech territory, including ancient cultures, Celts, Germanic tribes, Slavonic tribes, Czechs, Germans, Jews, Slovaks and minorities.

Literature 309/ECES 145 (3)
From Kafka to Kundera
The image of the city perceived as a metaphor of modern human existence, aspects of mimesis vs. diegesis dilemma, especially the paradigm shift from overwhelming representation of the actual world to recognized arbitrariness of a fictional world. The notion of writing as artifice, literariness, and textuality.

Literature 310/ECES 500 (3)
Czech Literature Literary Criticism
A variety of semester-long courses on Czech Literature and Literary Criticism in English for Undergraduate / Graduate International Students. For details of course selections and descriptions, please see http://cl.ff.cuni.cz/

Literature 312/ECES 130 (3)
American Literature - European Perspective
Works of major figures who left America for Europe from the turn of the 20th century to its end.

Literature 314/ECES 141 (3)
Reading Prague: Literature - Architecture - Cultural History
The course is proposed as a series of indoor lectures and out-door excursions to well-known but mostly hidden authentic places such as prehistoric settlements, gothic and baroque sanctuaries, neo-classicist suburbs and proletarian dens of 19th and 20th centuries.

Music 314/ECES 900 (3)
Czech Music
The course provides a survey of Czech music and its traditions from the Middle-Ages through the present-day trends. Students will listen to parts of compositions in class, watch filmed footage, and projections, and interpret the most important pieces of Czech composers.

Political Science 311/ECES 120 (3)
Contemporary Czech Politics
Czech and Central European developments during and after the democratic revolutions in 1989. To understand both the Czech and Central European developments since 1989, it is necessary to get acquainted with the main turning points of Czechoslovak and Czech political history on one hand and to undertake comparative research into similarities and differences of such developments across Central Europe on the other.

Psychology 327/ECES 701 (3)
Main topic of Psychology and Selected Applications in Central Europe
Psychology of Relationships, Management and Organizational Psychology, History of Psychology.

Psychology 325/ ECES 702(3)
Interpersonal Psychology: Psychology of Partnership in Time of Transition
Deeper insight into interpersonal interaction based on activation and inhibition systems, approach and avoidance behavior. Understanding manipulative and instrumental approaches to (significant) others as a source of chronic discomfort and malaise. Different and changing attitudes towards dating, partnership, marriage, and foster care in Central Europe during and after the Communist era.

Psychology 329 ECES/703 (3)
Psychology of Nutrition – Nutrition and Behavior
Insight into the role of nutrition in personal life, physical and mental health, basic knowledge on the bearing of nutrition on the social and cultural life of the society. Interactions among nutrition, behavior of an individual and society.

Religious Studies 313/ECES 600 (3)
Contemporary Jewish Religious Thought
Aspects of post-Holocaust theology and modern Jewish thought after the birth of Israel, the relationship between Judaism and Christianity after the Holocaust and aspects of Jewish Prague and Central European Jewelry.

Sociology 331/ECES 151 (3)
Sociology: Globalization
Introduction into sociology in general and globalization with the commitment to respect the diversity, complexity and multicultural relationships. Important features and problems of contemporary globalization in a critical, sociological perspective.

Sociology 333/ECES 152 (3)
Sociology: Behavior in Organizations
In-depth look at the people side of organizations, explanation how employees impact the effectiveness of their organization and how organizations and their managers impact the attitudes and behaviors of their employees. Frameworks for understanding critical issues related to organizational behavior and understanding of how to apply those frameworks.

Sociology 342/ECES 142 (3)
Alternative Literature, Music, and Lifestyles
Semiotic battle within Czech culture and society, roots (and rhizomes) of trends and traditions in literature, music, theatre, film and art as well as pub and café subcultures, etc. their transformations in time and place. Introduction and proliferation to the postmodern topics of ecology, multiculturalism, gender and queer studies.

Sociology 343/ECES 143 (3)
Gender and Post socialist Transformation in Central Europe
Understanding the development of the transition to democracy from a gender viewpoint. Researching a topic of interest.

Sociology 344/ECES 144 (3)
European Culture- Armchair Traveling through the Czech Republic
Overview of 19th and 20th century prose and poetry via verses about the Czech Republic outside of Prague in English translation. Fellow travelers will gain an understanding of literature and culture across the nation’s geographical regions by reading texts from Czech authors, as well as other Central European, Eastern European and American writers.

Sociology 360/ECES 160 (3)
Social Anthropology
Introduction to the field of Social and Cultural Anthropology. The course will expose the students to the lives of different people around the world and to some of the ways anthropologists have come to understand them. In particular, we will examine key terms, concepts and approaches used in anthropological writings and theorizing and focus on their application in various ethnographies.

Theater Studies 317/ECES 200 (3)
Czech Theater
An overview of 20th century modern Czech Theatre and its old tradition within the context of Central European history, and the importance of the theatre for political and historical events in the region. Demonstrates many the levels that theatre utilizes - commentary, history, dialog as well as entertainment. Site visits to productions of many kinds of Czech contemporary theatre, discussion, evaluation.