Czech Republic

Liberal democracy seems to be the obvious winner of the ideological struggle of the twentieth century. It is therefore hard to understand why the two main alternatives to liberal democracy – Nazism and Communism –exercised such a power over the lives and minds of people of Central Europe throughout the larger part of the twentieth century. This interdisciplinary course examines this conundrum through systematic study of totalitarian practices. Following a basic theoretical outline and criticism of the term “totalitarianism”, the course analyses the ideologies of the “Totalitarian Twins”, Communism and Nazism, which both grew from a perceived crisis of liberal democracy. The main focus of the course is on the methods the two regimes used to rule over their citizens, going beyond the obvious themes of fear and terror and looking at the role of economic policy, propaganda, leader’s cult, and media and art in securing the conformity of the citizens. By studying these methods, the course touches upon the challenges liberal democracy faces in the current political situation. The course also includes the often overlooked issue of environmental destruction especially under communism, and the consequent rise of the environmental consciousness and movements, which contributed significantly to the eventual fall of communism. The course presents a "Prague perspective," examining the experience of the Czechs in the twentieth century as an example of a nation dealing with the two dictatorships. Although the Nazi and Communist dictatorships are over, their residues remain in the collective memory, which influences everyday life. As mentality can only be explained against the historical backdrop, students undertake a journey into the minds of people who lived in these two destructive dictatorships and try to understand them.

This course focuses on the political and cultural impact that the long reign of the Habsburg dynasty had on Central Europe, with an emphasis on the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. After having analyzed the emergence of the Central European empire of the Habsburg, the course explores major political and cultural phenomenon, such as the Protestant Reformation, Enlightened absolutism, the “concert of Europe,” the birth of modern nationalism, the legal and societal place of the Jews, and the influence of these phenomenon on the nature of Habsburg power. The course then proposes an interdisciplinary analysis of the “fin-de-siècle” and of Habsburg decline. The last part is dedicated to the traces of Habsburg political and cultural influence on Central Europe in the twentieth century. This approach provides a global perspective on the history and culture of Central Europe.

Although a script poses infinite possibilities for realization, common situations frequently occur in film. This course will examine such basic occurrences (three or four person dialogue, movement shots, car scenes, landscapes, cityscapes) and how various directors have interpreted them in the short film form. Specific situations and the rudiments of directing them are analyzed. The analysis is deepened by an examination of master directors and how they developed creative solutions to common cinematic problems such as exposition, scene changes, and beginning and ending a film. The course is intended for students who plan to direct their own short films. Students will have exposure to a range of directing styles to better execute their vision. All students interested in learning the practical techniques of directing are welcome.

This course introduces the area of Czech fairytales as a genre within its broader historical, geographical, and cultural context. Furthermore, it describes and surveys the changes in the approach to fairytales within the development of scholarship about them. The course presents historical, psychoanalytical, and philosophical interpretations, as well as anthropological and religious types of theories, and biological and gender or feminist methods of their interpretation. The course respects the connection of the fairytale to other folklore narrative forms like legends, fables, and myths; however, it defines the fairytale as a specific genre. It includes topics such as ethical and moral principles in fairytales, gender and social roles, and historical and political influences on fairytale adaptations.

Acting Theories surveys approaches to the art of acting, beginning with Stanislavski’s tools for the creation of psychological character. Approaches stemming from Meyerhold’s emphasis on physical expressivity are also explored, and the course continues to look at approaches which fall within two major categories of acting techniques: techniques for the creation of a psychologically truthful character and techniques for immediate expressivity or training an actor to physically respond to images. As each approach is introduced, in-class exercises demonstrate some of the techniques used by that particular acting teacher.