CIEE, Prague

This course introduces the concept of strategic management through case analyses, and considers the basic direction and goals of an organization, the environment (social, political, technological, economic, and global factors), industry and market structure, and organizational strengths and weaknesses. The course focuses on the strategic management of the company in a dynamic global context. Strategic Management combines the knowledge and skills of the highest levels of management and corporate management in the long term and is considered the key to success. The study of the external environment and internal resources and capabilities of the company, in order to guide strategic decisions, is addressed. The course is based on readings and case studies of companies around the world, with special attention to regional and national contexts.

This course provides an overview of the dynamics of the global financial and international monetary systems. It develops knowledge of the fundamental concepts needed to understand foreign direct investment, financial flows, international trade, and investment deals. As political risk and economic exposure to global events have become more immediate, special attention is given to the 2007-2012 world banking crisis, the role of central banks in the stabilization of national economies, national debts, and the specific economic challenges to which individual countries have been exposed in varying ways. Alternative views and policy measures to help struggling economies overcome the economic and financial crisis like contracting (or expanding) government spending are assessed and critically analyzed.

Tracing the history of beer from China in 7000 BCE, through to the impact of U.S. federal law and European Union regulations, this course explores the determinants and drivers of the economics of beer. This course includes an examination of the labor market and brewing, technology and innovation, national beer market trends, media and marketing of beer, new and emerging beer markets, cultural and political factors impacting the beer market, and the decline and rise of local, import, and craft beers.

Through the use of a wide range of clips and relevant texts, this course looks at two kinds of propaganda in films, the overt and the covert, and the different categories within each type. The course makes a distinction between a the propaganda film that does not disguise its intentions to influence and even to convert audiences; and those films that have an ideology embedded in them, be it a western, thriller, comedy, or melodrama. The course is mainly structured chronologically and takes a contextual and intertextual approach to the subject while seeking out the specificity of cinema. It is supplemented and illustrated by the use of clips from films and one or two complete feature films, to which historical and critical analyses are applied to view films from different perspectives. In other words, the course explores how to "read" films.

Gain insight into a variety of approaches to ensuring that children grow up healthy and with opportunities to become contributing members of society. The historical roots, current issues, and future challenges related to children’s well-being are addressed in this course by covering a broad spectrum of related topics, including family life, the influence of the turbulent 20th century on youth and education, regional and national differences in educational systems, preventive youth health care, public policy on social services and divorce support, parental leave, and daycare provision. Students also learn about alternative educational approaches, such as those developed by Maria Montessori, Rudolf Steiner, Célestin Freinet, and A. S. Neill. The course includes guest speakers and incorporates guest talks and site visits to relevant museums/exhibitions.

This course examines the tremendous impact of social media on many walks of life, with a special emphasis on how social media have been transforming the profession of journalist and how the public now consumes news and information. It also offers a look beyond the field of journalism to consider how social media and online communities are profoundly affecting the ways in which young people form their identities and then how those identities develop later in life. Special sessions tackle the influence of social media on the construction of identity, and on the relationship and community building. Many of these issues are discussed in the context of Central and Eastern Europe and the Western experience of social media is compared to the situation in the post-communist world. The course addresses many questions related to social media, including the definition of social media; the role of social media in the formation of community; the role of social media as a uniting or dividing factor; the differences in the consumption of social media in Central and Eastern Europe; the role of social media technologies in constructions of youth, gender, race, ethnicity, and sexuality; the effect of social media improving on the state of journalism; changes in the role of the journalist with the advance of social media; and others.

This course examines the influence of psychoanalysis and art on each other. It primarily focuses on dream psychology, psychology of the creative process, and aesthetic experience. It explores basic conceptions of psychoanalytic psychology, including the unconscious, the formation of dreams, and conditionality of love. The psychoanalytic theory is evidenced with examples from visual art, literature, and film, some of which are explored through field trips to current exhibitions of Czech and international art, offering a first-hand experience. In addition to theoretical study of psychoanalysis and its application on art and artistic process, including the psychoanalysis of the creative process, the aesthetic experience, and psychoanalytic aesthetics and criticism (including film theory), students also employ the theories and techniques related to the creative process
to critically reflect on a work of art or to produce one of their own, accompanied by a reflection on their own creative process. The areas of art covered during the course include dreams and art, jokes and humor, surrealism, and the uncanny.