Czech Republic

This course examines various elements of Czech non-mainstream culture, such as graffiti and street-art, political art collectives, the underground, new social movements, psychedelia, D.I.Y. music scenes, LGBTA, and social theatre. The instructor, an anthropologist with hands-on experience in local subcultures, assists in the application of critical theory to discuss the practices of “alternative” urban lives in postindustrial society and certain trends of artistic production. The course focuses on the political interpretation of youth subversion and disclosures of power mechanisms. Visuals and field trips to graffiti and other subcultural sites are a part of this course.

This interdisciplinary course discusses the identities of nations in European space that have served as a crossroad of ideas and ideologies, as well as wars and totalitarian regimes. The course covers masterpieces of Russian, Hungarian, German, French, Georgian, Polish, and Czech cinematography, focusing on several crucial periods of history, in particular WWII, its aftermath, and the Stalinist years. Students are exposed to often controversial works of film art focusing on the moral dilemmas of individuals under the stressful times of history. Students map the European space through the means of film, analyzing the individual’s approach to historical events, and gain a general picture of Europe in its crucial periods of history. Students participate in open discussion sessions following each screening.

Cultural psychology examines how our psychology (perception, emotion, judgment, attitudes, personality, etc.) and our culture (the distribution of values, practices, beliefs, institutions, and human-made physical environments within which each of us uniquely develops) make one another up. Some of the topics explored in this course include: how language influences how we think or what we can think about; the extent to which are our emotions shared across the species and the extent to which they depend on culture; mental disorders such as PTSD, depression, ADHD, or schizophrenia, which are more highly diagnosed in the U.S. than in other countries around the world; the role culture might play in mental health and in its diagnosis, and in the conception of mental disorders themselves. A common tension throughout this class is the extent to which we can—or should— generalize about psychology across the human species. Arguably, unlike any other species in earth's history, humans come into the world ill-prepared to survive in any particular physical environment; yet, thanks in large part to social and cultural systems, we are able to adapt across an extreme range of habitats. The basic question to examine here is: To what extent do people in all cultures share the same psychology and to what extent does our psychology differ along with our distinct cultures?

Cinema dance is an intensive workshop to make a short film. The practicum is offered over four intensive days under the supervision of FAMU faculty. Entering the practicum with an explored given theme, students (in teams of five) proceed through all stages to the production of a 5-minute narrative film. Stages include preparation of screenplay under mentorship supervisor, creating shot list, rehearsing actors, receiving instruction on technical equipment, shooting on location, and the post-production processes of editing and creating a soundtrack. Every phase of their work is carried out under the supervision of faculty mentors, and the support of FAMU production staff.