CIEE, Prague

This course develops knowledge of Czech at the intermediate level. It provides linguistic tools to enable successful communication in many situations and to facilitate better understanding of the Czech cultural and social context. By completing this course, students acquire the following knowledge and language skills: listening: students can follow basic news, general conversation, and understand announcements; reading: students can read and understand texts on familiar topics and simple news items; speaking: students can hold conversation on known topics, can answer questions about themselves, and can ask for information; writing: students can write emails and short texts on familiar topics, including PowerPoint presentations; and vocabulary: students acquire broader and more specialized vocabulary related to specific situations and topics. This course is designed for students who meet the following requirements: 1) are able to read and comprehend a simple newspaper or magazine article; 2) are able to communicate about everyday topics; 3) are able to write one page essay on familiar topics (where they live, why they want to study the Czech language, etc.); and 4) have acquired basic vocabulary and understand fundamental principles of Czech grammar (conjugation, declension, syntax, etc.).

This combined seminar and lecture course discusses aspects of Central European visual culture from the modern era onwards. The course examines major art styles and personalities in Czech modern art from Art Nouveau's Alphonse Mucha and the pioneer of abstraction František Kupka, to contemporary provocations of David Cerný. Deep changes that occurred in architecture, from Art Nouveau decoration through Functionalist utopia, to deconstruction of Postmodernism is reviewed. All artworks are examined within their broader cultural and historical context. Students participate in excursions to Prague galleries and museums to encounter and study the originals in detail.

This course explores the contemporary host culture through the lenses of intercultural studies. It covers current cultural, societal, and political themes in the host city, compares ethnic and racial identities in the host country and the United States., and explores the experiences of diverse populations within the host country. The course examines the complexity of host culture values, beliefs, and practices and how to identify the cultural differences and similarities between the host culture and U.S. American cultures. It also discusses key intercultural communication theories, frameworks, and leadership practices in order to deepen cultural self-awareness, acquire new perspectives, and effectively communicate and interact with culturally diverse populations.

This is a beginning-level course that provides students with the basic skills needed to communicate on a daily basis, including grammar, conversation, listening, writing, and reading comprehension. The course is designed to develop practical knowledge of the Czech language, allowing for function in everyday situations and facilitating a degree of integration into Czech culture and society. The course focuses on correct pronunciation and the acquisition of pertinent vocabulary and phraseology. Grammatical topics are introduced and employed as tools allowing for the use of Czech in simple conversational situations. The course also includes topics related to the Czech culture as a basic introduction to Czech society and customs. This course is intended for students who do not intend to continue their study of Czech and desire an introduction to the fundamentals of Czech grammar, syntax, and vocabulary.

This course examines the role of ethnic and religious identity in group prejudice in a Central European context, along with its geopolitical, cultural, ideological, and ethical implications. The course explores the function of communication in large groups and in mass movements, and the opportunities it provides for social research. A comparison of the Anglo-American and Continental European traditions of social research provide insight into complementarities of the two approaches and potential richness for new methodological approaches in the field of communication research. Students explore the historical circumstances in which particular social research scholarship was developed in order to provide a more realistic understanding of the scientific process. The course also discusses the mutual influence of society and social research and the benefits and dangers of this dynamic for democracy. Students identify research problems and build adequate research methodologies. The course reviews topics including the role of ethnicity and religious affiliation in a Central European context, how stereotypes may lead to group prejudice, prejudiced group attitudes as they appear in media and other forms of public discourse, the importance of social research for policy planning, interpreting publicly disseminated messages, and comparing and analyzing approaches to social research from an historical perspective.

This course discusses the most important trends and movements in the history of Czech cinema, to put the films within their historical, political, and cultural contexts, and to explore how Czech films capture the life of the Czech society during various epochs (1960s - 2010s). It explores how to analyze the film form and style and how to employ various approaches to film criticism. As the course focuses on practical application of concepts and theories on film material, it involves watching selected feature films in their entirety (with English subtitles) as well as short extracts illustrating the topic outside of class.

This social psychology course introduces theory, research methods and empirical findings of how people think, feel, and behave in social situations. It builds a contemporary understanding of the field and study of social psychology. Throughout the course, emphasis is placed on developing critical and integrative ways of thinking about theory and research in social psychology. Topics covered include: research methods, the social self, cognition, perception, persuasion, conformity, prejudice, aggression, intimate relationships, and group dynamics. Students cultivate skills to analyze social situations and events encountered every day. In addition, students explore how social psychology informs our understanding of culture and society, with special attention to comparative cultural influences.