Central European Studies Program (CESP)

About CESP

The Central European Studies Program (CESP) at Masaryk University is an interdisciplinary program designed for students at the upper Bachelor's degree and Master's degree levels who are seeking a challenging educational experience in the heart of Europe and wish to develop the global perspective they will need in the future. Courses include studies of the social, economic, political and cultural transformations that have shaped Central Europe and the Czech Republic in particular at the end of the 20th century, and the changes facing Europe in a broader perspective in the beginning of the 21st century. Courses, each of them semester-long, are in English; basic Czech language instruction is also included.

CESP is also offered as an ISEP Direct track. See ISEP at Masaryk University for more details. Further information are also available at Masaryk University profile on ISEP web pages.

General information

Enrolment

Enrolment is open to undergraduates in their third or fourth year. Magister/master's level students following a European model may apply for study during their third, fourth, or fifth year. For US students, the minimum grade point average (GPA) requirement is 2.75 overall.

Program cost

The cost is $6,700 per semester (15 weeks). This includes on-site orientation, tuition, room and board, and 4 excursions to places such as Vienna, Prague, Bratislava, Budapest and Krakow. Medical insurance and student visa must be arranged by the applicant prior to traveling to the Czech Republic. Undergraduate students in the US who wish to receive credit through a US university may contact the State University of New York at Oswego for application information.

Students coming to Masaryk University within the ERASMUS agreement or some form of partnership (bilateral agreement, membership in a university network), are eligible to attend courses within the Central European Studies Program free of charge, providing places are available. See the ERASMUS page for details.

ISEP students should contact ISEP office to enquire on CESP track costs.

Program dates

Fall semester 2010 for CESP:

Orientation September 2010
Official registration with OIS during the orientation week
Classes September 2010
Exams December (3rd week in December) 2010

Spring semester 2011 for CESP:

Orientation February 2011
Official registration with OIS during the orientation week
Classes February 2010
Exams February 2011

Application information

Application form for the academic year 2010/2011 is available only online,

Application deadlines

For spring semester 2011 October 1, 2010
For fall semester 2010 May 15, 2010

Other General Information

Masaryk University CESP Institution Sheet for 2009/2010 Academic Year (download), pdf

Housing and meals

Accommodation and meals are included in the program fee. Students live in modern university dormitories sharing double rooms (each with an ensuite bathroom and kitchenette) with Czech or other foreign students. Students will be receiving a stipend to cover their housing and meals costs. They have access to university computer centres, sports facilities, canteens and laundries.

Orientation

The orientation week program includes visits to university libraries and computer centers, an intensive "survival Czech" course, introductory talks on Czech culture and society, a tour of Brno and visit to the city museum, a reception bringing together international and Czech students as well as Masaryk University faculty, and excursions to the surroundings of Brno.

Excursions

The program fee also includes 4 weekend excursions to a number of cities in the region. In recent years these have included Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava, Prague and Krakow.

Courses offered within CESP in 2010/2011

CZS01: Remodeling Political Culture in Central Europe after 1989 (fall 2010/spring 2011)

Credits: 8 ECTS Senior course teacher: dr. Pavel Pšeja The course is intended to give the students a basic insight into the trends and events that have influenced recent political and social developments in the Central and (partly) Eastern Europe and significantly contributed to the present character of political institutions and political life in the region. The course also traces the developments within the region in connection with the efforts for further European integration and the strengthening of European security.

CZS04: Changing Political and Social Identities in Post-Cold War Central Europe (spring 2011)

Credits: 8 ECTS
Senior course teacher: dr. Csaba Stalo
The course encompasses a variety of themes concerning the reconstruction of social identities in Central Europe after the fall of communism. The particular interconnected topics to be addressed in this course are: the political reconstruction of memories and identities in the conditions of cultural revolutions, the establishment of post-socialist hegemony in relation to cultural practices of nationalism, and the challenge of re-emerging forms of ethnic conflict and solidarity in the form of mythic and utopian imaginary communities. The basic approach of the course is to demonstrate various cultural patterns of continuity and change by means of theoretically framed case studies that compare pre-communist, communist and post-communist phenomena.

CZS05: Cultural Anthropology of Post-Socialism (TBA)

Senior course teacher: Dr. Miklós Vörös, Ph.D.
Contact hours: 23
Credits: 8 ECTS
This course gives an overview of the major themes and paradigms in cultural anthropological research on late-state-socialist and post-socialist societies. Thus it focuses both on the palette of various fields that have been seen as specific to the region, as well as on the important shifts of attention from one topic to another over the course of the past two decades. The format of the course is a combination of introductory lectures and reading seminars; students will be encouraged to read both classic and innovative ethnographies as well as theoretical syntheses of the relevant literature, and be prepared to give concise presentations on them.

CZS13: Development of Ethnic Relation in the Czech Republic (fall 2010/spring 2011)

Credits: 8 ECTS
Course teacher: Irena Kašparová, M.A.
Covering the usual topics traditionally introduced in relation to debates about ethnicity, ethnic relations, nationalism and racism, this course brings them closer to the actual world of ethnic minorities (especially the Roma) in the Czech Republic by revealing the variety of influences - cultural, political and economic - that come into play in this situation.

CZS21: Economic Aspects of the Transition Process (fall 2010/spring 2011)

Credits: 12 ECTS
Senior course teachers: doc. Ivan Malý, dr. Libor Žídek
An introduction to recent economic developments in the Czech Republic and other Central European countries. One thematic block deals with such issues as privatization, monetary policy, inflation and international trade. A second discusses public sector transformation, presenting basic characteristics of the transformation of the public sector in the Czech Republic compared to those in developed countries as well as other post-Communist countries.

CZS32: Czech Cinema (fall 2010), CZS32II: Czech CinemaII (spring 2011)

Credits: 6 ECTS
Course teacher: dr. Jaromír Blažejovský
This course, based on video screenings of selected Czech films in the full version and with English subtitles, examines key periods in the history of Czech cinema and the typical styles and genres that have won such acclaim for Czech films internationally.

CZS33: Music in the Czech Lands (fall 2010)

Credits: 6 ECTS
Course teacher: Mgr. Jan Špaček
Music has played a uniquely important role in the history of the Czech lands, and this course is designed to explain why this is so by following the development of music here from the Middle Ages down to the end of the twentieth century.

CZS34: Modern Czech Theatre (fall 2010/spring 2011)

Credits: 6 ECTS
Course teacher: David Drozd, PhD.
The history of Czech theatre provides numerous examples of complex relations between art and society, stage and audience, which form a vital though often submerged as a part of the special reality of the living theatre. This course deals not only with the theatre of dynamic ensembles and outstanding figures (playwrights, actors, directors, designers) but also with phenomena that reflected both social and cultural aspects of Czech history.

CZS35: Fiction, Facts and Reality in Modern Czech Literature (spring 2011)

Credits: 6 ECTS
Senior course teacher: doc. Jiří Kudrnáč
Few small nations have such a distinguished literature as the Czechs. This course looks at the main trends that have shaped Czech literature in the twentieth century, as well as the texts of many of the authors that have made it famous worldwide.

Czech Language (fall 2010/spring 2011)

Credits: 8 ECTS
Instructors: Faculty of Department of the Czech for Foreigners
The aim of this course is to provide participants with basic communicative competency through classes focused on grammar and conversation. Students are placed according to language ability. Offered to all levels of knowledge.

Faculty profiles

Program supervisor

Mgr. Martin VAŠEK
e-mail: cesp@czs.muni.cz

Teaching staff

PhDr. Jaromír Blažejovský
Studied Czech and philosophy at Masaryk University. Worked in journalism and active in the Czech Film Society; since 1992 teaching at the Department of Film Studies and Audio-Visual Culture of the Faculty of Arts. Main interests: the cinema of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America, spirituality in film.
Irena Kašparová, M.A.
Assistant at the School of Social Studies. Received her MA in Social Anthropology with Development at the University of Edinburgh. Teaching interests: social anthoropology, anthrophology and gender, ethnic minorities.
doc. PhDr. Jiří Kudrnáč, CSc.
Head of the Department of Czech Literature at the Faculty of Arts. A graduate of Masaryk University; spent two years at the University of London as a lecturer in Czech language and literature. Specializes in late 19th and 20th century Czech literature.
doc. JUDr. Ivan Malý, CSc.
Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Administration, Masaryk University. Received his doctorate at Prague School of Economics. In 1993 a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley. Current research focused on health care reforms and resource allocation in health care.
PhDr. Pavel Pšeja, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor at the Department of International Relations and European Studies, School of Social Studies, Masaryk University. Received his PhD at Masaryk University. Current research interests fall within the area of political developments in Central Europe.
PhDr. Csaba Szaló, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Sociology at the School of Social Studies, Masaryk University. Received his Master's degree at the University of Manchester and completed his PhD at Masaryk University. Current research interest is in the cultural impact of globalization with particular focus on various forms of cultural identity in Central Europe.

Students' perspectives

Giorgi Mikeladze, Tbilisi State University
Being the participant of CESP was outstanding and absolutely unique experience. It was quite a surprise finding myself a part of extremely diverse and interesting society of international students, along with culturally rich spirit of Central Europe. I and all my programmates definitely enjoyed and were pleased with both organizational and educational system of CESP. Moreover, excellent staff members of International Office at Masaryk University was crucial reason for students easily adjusting to new environment and establishing communicating language with hosts. All of us surely acquired useful knowledge and pleasantly unforgetable memories.
Bjoern Jindra, University of Wolverhampton
CESP offers the appropriate study opportunity for students with almost every academic background at Bachelor or Masters level interested in the Central and Eastern European region. The program has a wide range of modules covering economics, social science and languages as well as the Arts. Students can flexibly combine modules of their choice offered by other faculties with the CESP. I focused on economic and social aspects and enjoyed being taught by outstanding Czech academics. Teaching methods and material as well as university facilities are modern and up to western standards. I had an excellent semester and enjoyed living in such a driving central-european metropole as Brno.
Peter Jobsen, Utrecht University
The Central European Studies program is a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn about the history, economy and culture of the Czech Republic. The added value that comes from learning the language and living in Brno at the same time as taking the courses helps to get to know all aspects of Czech life in a very short time. My semester in Brno is without any doubt the most special and intense time I had all the way through my studies. Brno itself is a lively city, yet small enough to get to know your way around and to feel at home.

Our address

Applications and any questions can be sent to the following:

Masaryk University
Central European Studies Program
Office for International Studies
Komenskeho nam. 2
602 00 Brno
Czech Republic
Tel: + 420 549 49 7785
Fax: + 420 549 49 1113
e-mail: cesp@czs.muni.cz
web: http://ois.muni.cz

Office of International Education

State University of New York
122A Swetman Hall
Oswego N4 13126
USA
Tel: ++1 (315)312-2118
Fax: ++1 (315)312-2477
e-mail: intled@oswego.edu
web: www.oswego.edu/intled

Last updated: 09/03/2010

 
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