Czech Studies

Czech is the language of a dynamic country in the heart of Europe where the history of the East meets the contemporary West. Its literature, film, history, and sport make Czech a rewarding language to learn and the Czech Republic an outstanding destination for study and work.

Rozmberk Castle

Here at 91Ö±²¥ we have a strong record of excellent teaching and student satisfaction. We are a close-knit department and form a real relationship with our students, which means that you will learn quickly but that your classes are also genuinely enjoyable. You will start the study of Czech from scratch - either at Level 1 or 2 - and by the end of your course you can achieve the fluency needed to use the language in your professional life. You will also have explored the history and culture of the Czech lands and its language. If you already have some knowledge of Czech, please contact us and ask.

The local Czech and Slovak community has a full programme of speakers and cultural activities that students often attend. Every year, students have the opportunity to attend fully-paid summer schools in the Czech Republic.

Find out more about the Czech community at 91Ö±²¥


Undergraduate degree combinations

To see how our degrees can be structured and combined, please visit the following:

BA Modern Languages & Cultures (BAMLC) - this course allows you to choose between one and three languages to study.

Dual degrees with a non-language - these options allow you to take a language (or two, in some cases) alongside a non-language subject.


Why study Czech at 91Ö±²¥?

We asked some of our students why they chose to study Czech at 91Ö±²¥:


Modules

What if I already have some Czech?

We can in certain circumstances offer alternative pathways or modules if you know Czech from home or have learned it independently. Please ask us directly for advice.

You will study 40 credits in language and culture at beginner level.

In your first year, you'll get a thorough introduction to Czech grammar, and learn essential speaking skills with a native Czech speaker. You'll also use our interactive online exercises to consolidate your learning.

By the end of the year, you'll have a solid grounding in the language skills (at a level equivalent to A2 on the Common European Framework of Reference - CEFR) needed to communicate with Czech people and get around in the Czech Republic.

Our first-year culture course explores the history of the Czechs and Russians, introducing you to the events and cultural works that have shaped the Czech nation and its people.

Beginner's Czech

Title

Credits

Core/Optional

Czech Language Beginners

You will gain the skills to speak Czech in everyday situations. We take an integrated approach to language learning, so you will develop all four language skills - speaking, listening, reading, writing - in your work in class and at home. Our emphasis is on communication and you are encouraged to use the language from day one.

20 Core

Russian and Czech Cultures in the Age of Empire and Beyond

This module gives an overview of Russian and Czech cultures with a focus on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It will critically examine the concepts of statehood, empire, nationalism, totalitarianism and democracy by studying the two nations' different experiences through visual sources, literature and language usage. It thus introduces students to topics dealt with in greater depth in optional modules at Levels 2 and 3, and helps them to learn how to analyse cultural artefacts and sources of different kinds.

20 Core (if you are studying Russian and/or Czech)
Optional (if you are studying Czech with two other languages not including Russian)

Schoolwide Modules

Title Credits Core/Optional

Intersections: Text, Image, Thought in the French-speaking world

This module will focus on two important French texts per semester (with 'text' taken in its largest sense of book, film, art work, piece of music, cultural product, etc.). Each text will form the basis for a close reading, followed by analyses using French cultural, historical, literary and critical theory approaches as well as adaptations into other media (such as film, art and music) where appropriate. The module will be taught and assessed in English, but the materials will be made available in both French and English, with French students required to use and cite the French materials. The aim of the module is to introduce students to significant French texts and to illustrate and explore a range of possible critical approaches to them, including cross-media or intermedial reinterpretations.

20 Optional

An Introduction to the Social and Political History of Iberia & Latin America 

This module examines the historical trajectory of Spain, its emergence as a state in the Iberian Peninsula, its imperial expansion overseas into Latin America, the eventual independence of the colonies and their development and consolidation into the various modern-day states we know today. The module will explore the social, political, linguistic and cultural characteristics of these states and its peoples and highlight the importance of understanding their complex history in the formation of their identities, their languages and their cultural and political values. The module has a particular emphasis on the importance of myths and how, regardless of their historical veracity, they can condition behaviours, mould identities and shape future history.

20 Optional

Resist! The Art of Protest in Berlin and Amsterdam

Berlin and Amsterdam: two capitals at the forefront of protest and alternative lifestyles from the early 20th century right up to the present. Where did their radical traditions spring from? What do these protests say about how the cities and nations see themselves? How does creative resistance fuel gentrification and urban tourism? 

This module explores the culture of resistance and protest from the first women's march for the vote and posters and activism against war and fascism, to the creative resistance of the Amsterdam PROVO movement in the 1960s to Black Lives Matter/Kick out Zwarte Piet. 

We will cover concepts such as populism, activism, colonial resistance, feminism, BLM, climate activism. How do these movement use art and image to press their causes?  

20 Optional

Comparative Visual Cultures

Visual literacy is a key skill and visual culture remains one of the most accessible and important modes through which we represent, understand and critique our world. This module provides an introduction to some of the major trends within visual cultures in European languages, and the development of visual media. Students will work on a selection of visual texts across national frameworks and historical periods to examine their conditions of production, distribution and reception and to explore how meaning is constructed and critiqued in visual culture. In seminars we will engage with detailed analysis of core texts and with critical materials. Students will be encouraged to consider country-specific, transnational and comparative trends through a critical lens. 

20 Optional

The Soviet Union 1917-1991

Overview of the formation, development and collapse of the USSR, beginning from c.1900. Covers historiographic problems in analysing primary materials, ideological problems in dealing with the revolutionary movement and subsequent developments, debates over the nature and trajectory of the USSR and its place in the wider world.

  Optional (Autumn Semester only)

The content of our courses is reviewed annually to make sure it is up-to-date and relevant. Individual modules are occasionally updated or withdrawn. This is in response to discoveries through our world-leading research, funding changes, professional accreditation requirements, student or employer feedback, outcomes of reviews, and variations in staff or student numbers. In the event of any change we'll consult and inform students in good time and take reasonable steps to minimise disruption.

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