Czech Literature Between Metamorphosis and Immortality

Course Description

Course Description & Objectives:

Modern history of the Central European region is remarkable for many political and cultural changes, and at the same time, efforts to preserve or revive traditional cultural values. Proven classic books introduced during lessons can help us gain deeper understanding of the historical context and provide new perspectives on forming Czech and central European identity.

The aim of the course is to help students interested in Czech literature to acquire the basic factual knowledge and skills necessary to understand, critically analyze and enjoy reading Czech modern literary texts. The main genres we will cover are short stories, novels, poetry and drama. We will read and discuss key Czech authors such as Franz Kafka, Milan Kundera and Václav Havel and pay special attention to contemporary women writers and dissident literature.

The course will include field trips to places in Prague connected with individual authors and works. We will also watch films and short movies based on the discussed literary works, most of which are shot by Czech filmmakers. In addition, we will engage in a writing workshop specifically focused on poetry.