Czech Culture and History

Garant předmětu:

Molly Stayskal

Přednášející:

Molly Stayskal

Cvičící:

Molly Stayskal

Předmět zajišťuje:

institut jazykových studií

Anotace:

Learning outcomes and competences:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will:

●Students will learn to make themselves understood and participate at the linguistic level in everyday situations, such as using the public transportation, ordering food and shopping.

●Given the differences between the American and Czech cultural heritage and evolution, the student will learn to appreciate a different culture and find the diverse aspects of it enriching.

●Students will understand the rich history of the Czech Republic and our position in Central Europe and Europe as a whole.

●Students will be capable of moving around the city in a competant and professional manner.

Požadavky:

GRADING:

¼ in class attendance and mandatory event attendance

¼ travel sheets MUST be completed each travel week and weekend

¼ exam

¼ travel journal

Osnova přednášek:

Course content:

Week 1: February 27

Prague castle visit

Week 2: March 6

●Powerpoint 1- Welcome to the Czech Republic

●Powerpoint 2 Language basics. Greetings, thank you, politeness, alphabet, introduction to phonetics. Dobrý den, prosím, prosím?, pardon, s dovolením

●Czech books: choose a topic and complete simple research activity

●Travel plans/suggestions

●Traveling: Trams, Where and how to buy a train ticket, ČD info

Week 3: Break

Week 4: March 20

●Powerpoint 5 Where to Go in Prague, Bohemian and Moravian Cuisine

●Shops, restaurants and cafés recommendations (including vegetarian, Italian, French, Mexican, etc.

●How to order, orientation in a Czech menu, problems in a restaurant

●Tipping and Prices

●Review phonetics, greetings, pronunciation

●Language: Tady, tam, Pošta, metro, banka, náměstí, ulice…

●reading: further reading from The Czechs in a Nutshell: A User's Manual for Foreigners

●Activity: based on what you’ve learned from this lecture, write up a recommendation for Prague

Week 5: March 27

●Quiz

●Powerpoint 3- history of Czechoslovakia, Bohemia

●In class readings and discussion from The Czechs in a Nutshell: A User's Manual for Foreigners

○ Bohemia

○Moravia

○Jan Hus

●Language- gender of nouns, ordering, food vocab slides 7-22

○Ja si dam, dam si

○numbers 1-100

○Elementary plural, Elementary acusativ

Week 6: April 3

●Powerpoint 4 Czechoslovakia, communism, Velvet Revolution, Charter 77, Vaclav Havel

●Velvet Divorce

●Readings and class discussion from The Czechs in a Nutshell: A User's Manual for Foreigners,

○Charter 77

○Communism

○Jan Palach

○Vaclav Havel

○Russians

○Velvet Revolution

●Mini research project about one aspect of communism. 30 ish min research and presentation in groups

●Language: Basic adjectives, colours, Verb to be : „jsem“

Week 7: April 10

History of Anthropoid mission

Anthropoid film

Week 8: Break

Week 9: April 24

Anthropoid church visit and Vyšehrad visit

Week 10: May 1 no class, state holiday

Week 11: May 8 no class, state holiday

Week 12 : May 15 final exam

Mandatory Events:

February 23: Communist museum

February 27: trip to Prague Castle

March 28-30: Prague weekend

March 28: RFE visit - bring your PASSPORTS - Holmes

March 29: All day trip to Terezin concentration camp (10.30), Krusovice brewery 15.00)

March 30: trip to Karlsteijn castle. Meet at main train station at 10.00 am

If any student misses a MANDATORY EVENT: Radio Free Europe, Terezin Concentration Camp, Karlstejn Castle or Prague Castle, 15% will be deducted from your final grade. Mandatory events are 1/4 of grade

Osnova cvičení:

Cíle studia:

This course covers your entire experience, in and outside of class while in Europe. Specific requirements include several weeks of Czech language classes, orientation trips and lectures, written travel reports, an electronic journal, etc. There are two main aims of this course. The first is to gain a very basic working understanding of Czech language. Students will get acquainted with the basics of Czech grammar, learn vocabulary phrases in connection with everyday situations and travel. In order to successfully progress in class there will be homework: learning and memorizing phrases, words assigned every day. Each student has to participate in class activities, keep a written journal and complete all homework assignments.

The second aspect of this course is to gain a deeper understanding of Czech history and culture. The cultural traditions and habits are incorporated into the conversational phrases. In the instruction book we use there are besides the grammar explanations also conversational blocks. Each block refers to a specific cultural aspect in the Czech Republic. We’ll look at the history of the country including the Cold War years and the Velvet Revolution to realize why some things are different and how they work.

Attendance in all class sessions and all excursions is mandatory. Students must be present for all lectures, guest speakers, exams and excursions. If a student misses 2 full days of class or a mandatory excursion for any reason, they will be asked to complete a makeup assignment according to the Professors standards. Any student who misses more than 2.5 days of class will automatically fail unless a valid doctor’s note is provided. Students may not miss class or mandatory events for extended travel or job interviews. All job interviews must be scheduled outside of class time under all circumstances. Students who miss class or a mandatory event will be penalized 5% for each 2.5 hour block up to a total of 20% of the overall grade for the course. This penalty will place you at risk of failing the course. Students must sign the attendance sheets each day as provided.

Studijní materiály:

Readings:

Terje B. Englund, The Czechs in a Nutshell: A User's Manual for Foreigners, Praha, 2004.

Hugh Agnew, The Czechs and the Lands of the Bohemian Crown. This book is available in a printed version and you can also consult it on-line: http://www.hoover.org/publications/books/2994881.html

Jaroslav Pánek, Oldřich Tůma, A History of the Czech Lands, Prague, 2009.

General Historical Overview of Prague, https://sites.google.com/a/aauni.edu/art143-prusova-13-12-2013/home/materials

Timothy Garton Ash, „Does Central Europe Exist?“, http://www.visegradgroup.eu/the-visegrad-book/ash-timothy-garton-does

Václav Havel, The Power of Powerless, 1978. https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/wp-content/uploads/1979/01/the-power-of-the-powerless.pdf

Peter A. Toma, „Why Was the First Democracy in East-Central Europe Established in Czechoslovakia? Lessons for Today“, Kosmas, Vol.22, N°1, Fall 2008, p.120-131.

Poznámka:

Virginia Tech

Rozvrh na zimní semestr 2024/2025:

Rozvrh není připraven

Rozvrh na letní semestr 2024/2025:

Rozvrh není připraven

Předmět je součástí následujících studijních plánů: