Czech language and culture study in the heart of Europe
Faculty: Veronika Tuckerova
The Harvard Summer Program in Prague, Czech Republic, is an eight-week intensive program in Czech language and culture. Based in a country that is rich in tradition and yet rapidly changing since the fall of communism in 1989, the program appeals to students who would like to learn more about central European culture, broaden their perspectives on global politics and history, learn a Slavic language, and spend a summer getting to know one of Europe’s most beautiful cities.
In addition to intensive language study, students examine the complex cultural, religious, and political forces that have shaped Czech society. Language and cultural study will be supplemented with walking tours of Prague and visits to magnificently preserved cathedrals, castles, churches, synagogues, museums, and monasteries.
We explore the gardens of the Vyšehrad Castle, the Royal Palace, and the St. Vitus Cathedral of the remarkable castle complex Hradčany, and visit art collections housed in the thirteenth-century St. Agnes cloister, St. George’s Basilica, the Valdštejn, and the Schwarzenberg Palaces.
Course of study
While this program is organized around a language course for beginners, those who have already completed a year of Czech language may also participate. Please contact the program director for information on alternative tracks of study.
CZEC S-Aab Study Abroad in Prague, Czech Republic: Czech Language and Culture (32306)
This course provides students with an integrated introduction to Czech language, literature, history, and culture. Intensive language study (equivalent to one year of university Czech) in the mornings is combined with walking tours of Prague's monuments and museums, as well as visits to theaters, concerts, and cafes. Our readings and lectures in Czech culture trace some of the major themes of Czech history and literature, paying special attention to the interaction between politics, aesthetics, and national identity—whether at the medieval court of Charles IV, amidst the religious turmoil of the fifteenth-century Hussite wars, during the nineteenth-century "National Awakening," or under Nazi occupation and communist rule in the twentieth century. Readings (all in English) include works by Kundera, Havel, Hrabal, and Kafka.
Further information
See the main page for the Harvard Summer Program in Prague.