Czech Republic

This is an internship opportunity through the Central European Studies Program that responds to a clear necessity among multicultural societies to educate young people abroad in a professional working environment. Apart from onsite work experience, the Internship Program has a strong and challenging academic component exposing students to the world of non-governmental organizations, education, and the social services sector in the Czech Republic and EU as well as developing personal, interpersonal, and intercultural competencies. Qualified students choose from several pre-screened internship positions with local, mostly non-governmental organizations, which may be involved in education, film, organization of international political conferences, local and global human rights issues, and library and administrative work in the field of economics.  International professional experiences are broadened through a series of guided discussions, a reflective journal, and presentations. Students explore major relevant topics, such as organization theory, and develop their intercultural skills through interactive workshops and reflection of their work experience in the host culture.

To introduce the history of, and testimony about, the greatest genocide in human history - the Holocaust (aka Shoa) - this course centers on the narrative fiction, non-fiction, and films by an eminent Holocaust survivor, the Nobel Prize-nominated author and screenwriter, Professor Arnošt Lustig. It introduces the Holocaust and some of its most relevant sites in Central Europe to provide a historical, philosophical, and anthropological introduction to the catastrophe. Throughout, the course examines some of the key portions of Arnošt Lustig's Holocaust testimony encapsulated in his twenty one novels and collections of stories. By combining classroom instruction, commented film screenings, and visits to some of the most relevant Holocaust sites in Central Europe, this experiential course places the Holocaust within a larger historical, philosophical, and cultural context, and provides a deeper insight into the catastrophe known as Holocaust/Shoa.

This course takes the most influential ethical theories and insights of the last 250 years (and particularly the last 50 years) and applies them to the current challenges that face contemporary societies in Europe and America. It explores three broader topics: an individual as a moral subject; justification of a government and an individual as a moral actor in a state; and the concept of justice as a regulatory and an inspirational goal. In each topic, the course examines the groundwork of modern ethical inquiries (such as Kant, Hobbes and Marx) and proceeds through the philosophical tradition, exploring its challenges. Accounts of a rational subject are contrasted with the problems of irrationality, the question of good with the reality of evil, ideas of justice with problems of everyday injustice. Thinkers discussed include Nietzsche and Freud as well as more contemporary ones such as Arendt, Havel, Fromm, Berlin and Rawls. The course applies theoretical concepts to the most urgent ethical issues of our day in Europe, the United States and beyond. The topical themes explored include those emerging from the tension between liberalism and socialism (tax policies, health care, public/private education and media, etc.), those emerging from the tension between religious and secular society (abortion, animal rights, gender issues, environmentalism and climate change, etc.), and those posed by the recently ascendant movements of nationalism and authoritarianism (including racism, xenophobia, delegitimization of journalism and parliamentary debate, etc.). Ultimately, the course considers anew the core pillars of the Western philosophical and democratic tradition and new ways to strengthen them.

The course focuses on the construction of Czech national identity during the 19th and 20th century. Although the Czech national awakening started first with the beginning of the 19th century, it used the symbols and references through all the historical eras of Czech lands starting with the early medieval times. The course follows the roots of Czech national consciousness from the first ruling dynasty, through the gothic, renaissance, baroque times until the foundation of Czechoslovakia and its history in the 20th century. Special attention is dedicated to the symbols and symbolical places, which were used during the creation of Czech national revival as patterns of Czech national identity (e.g. Slavín cemetery, National Museum, National Theatre, Municipal house, the monument of Battle of White Mountain, National Memorial on the Vítkov Hill). By visiting these symbolical places the students are able to see, what kind of national symbols were used and in which way. The course is divided into two parts: the first part is theoretical, in the in order to outline the topic and background of the lecture. The second part includes field trips to one of the museums/memorials, where the different problematics are discussed more precisely.

Franz Kafka (1883–1924) has become recognized as one of the leading figures in world literature. Perhaps more than any other major author, Kafka is associated with one geographical location: the city of Prague. Kafka's works themselves are not explicitly about Prague, nor are they set in Prague. But we cannot say that Prague is irrelevant to Kafka's works, for Kafka spent almost all of his life in the city. Therefore, we cannot “read” Prague through or into Kafka's works, but comparing the two is surely fruitful. The most obvious connection between Kafka's works and the city of Prague is Franz Kafka the historical person. While one always wants to be cautious about biographizing creative work, this course will take into consideration Kafka's life and times in reading and analyzing his fiction. Such an adventure is best undertaken in the city of Prague itself. Kafka's fiction that will be read in the course are organized in a chronological manner, along with relevant critical material for each work. However, less time-bound thematic issues will also be addressed in a less linear fashion, such as the cultural and historical interaction with the fiction, Kafka's development as a writer, the impact of Kafka's biographical story on his stories, Kafka's use of animal characters, and the narrative innovations that Kafka implemented. The course will focus on a selection from Kafka's many well-known short stories and one of his three novels. Kafka's works will be studied in English translation; they were originally written in German.