Prague – the “Golden City”, the “Magical City”, the multi-ethnic city, the city of Franz Kafka and Milan Kundera, the city of towers, bridges and statues, the center of Bohemian and Czech cultural history, a place of oppression, of the “Velvet Revolution” and a writer-president, the metropolis and tourist attraction that has inspired countless residents and visitors to write about her: all these faces of Prague as reflected in literature and film will be the focus of the course. Legends and stories about the origin and development of Prague will immerse students in literary works from the 20th century: texts by Czech authors such as Franz Kafka, Jaroslav Hašek, Karel Čapek, Bohumil Hrabal, Milan Kundera, Václav Havel, and by other European authors who have written on Prague, such as Sylvie Germain and John Banville, as well as films on the Golem legend, Kafka, and literary adaptations such as The Trial. Excursions throughout the city will acquaint the students with places that have inspired writers and film directors and how they are transformed when they are shaped into literatury texts and the visual representations of film.

Faculty & Instructors:

Dr. Pavla Jonssonova