The course explores how and what ideologies have informed visual aspects of art and architecture produced before and after the Velvet Revolution (1989) in what is now the Czech Republic. We look at individual pieces of art, architecture and material culture, propaganda posters and excerpts from movies, and search for ways in which they are in/formed by different ideologies. To achieve this, you are first introduced to a set of epistemological building blocks, i.e., themes and modes of thinking that have influenced the form of arts and visual culture, such as modernity, modernism, and the concept of ideology as such. 

This course introduces students through field study to the most beautiful artistic and architectural monuments of Prague and teaches them to interpret their characteristics in the context of art history and culture in Central Europe. Special attention is paid to the question of how the development of spiritual and societal values throughout history has influenced architectural and artistic trends. Through presentations followed by guided tours of the most representative sites, students learn not only to recognize the main artistic styles, but also to read and interpret the values they represent.

This course offers an applied approach to macroeconomics, focused on helping students understand how the economy works in practice. We explore how individuals, firms, and governments make decisions in response to key macroeconomic forces, including inflation, interest rates, debt, economic growth, trade, and fiscal and monetary policy. While the logic of economic models provides a vital framework, we focus equally on the complexities, constraints, and behaviors that emerge in real-world settings. Each week connects theoretical tools to practical analysis, using case studies, current policy debates, and media coverage to show how expectations, risk, incentives, and institutions shape economic outcomes. Students will examine why people and institutions don’t always behave the way the models expect, and what that means for interpreting events in the real economy.

Many problems in economics and the social sciences are prediction problems: identifying individuals at risk of unemployment, forecasting election outcomes, or predicting policy take-up. Methods from machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) have revolutionized how prediction algorithms are designed and implemented.

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This course introduces students to modern ML/AI methods with a strong emphasis on intuition, practical use, and critical evaluation, rather than mathematical derivations. Students will learn how to frame prediction problems, choose appropriate models, evaluate predictive performance, and interpret results. Advanced methods such as deep learning are introduced conceptually, focusing on when and why they are used rather than on technical implementation.

Why are some countries poor and other countries rich? What are the factors of growth? What is the role of political and economic institutions in the development process? How can aid foster growth and development? These questions are of central interest not only for academics, but also for policy makers and international organizations shaping policies for sustained growth and development. Providing the answers is particularly relevant for any country undergoing a strong transition and development process, such as the former Soviet Union countries. It is however also important for the European Union, whose member countries vary significantly in their original economic environments. This course aims to address these questions in view of the theory and empirics of economic growth

Comprehending the Holocaust (Shoah) goes beyond understanding the historical fact that six million Jews and other innocent victims were brutally murdered in Nazi-occupied Europe. The Holocaust is a lesson in what happened in our modern rational technological society and in what can happen again in spite of all trusted safety measures. What does it mean to comprehend the Holocaust – is it possible at all? We will concentrate more on the nature of modern genocides, their underlying ideological patterns and their modern features. The Holocaust as a significant and unique event in history continues to have universal implications. This mass murder has specific features that make it different from all other genocides. It is not only a historical event but rather a turning-point of our history.

This course examines the tumultuous Czech history of the past millennium through individual and collective narratives and field study of relevant sites. Following key historical periods from the 13th to the 21st century, we will see how collective memory formed national identity as seen today. We will investigate how men and women—rulers, politicians, writers, and artists—influenced the past and constituted the present. We will follow the complex social, political, and cultural forces that shaped this region by visiting sites and memorials in public spaces, studying primary sources, and analyzing historical echoes.

This course will consider the new phenomenon of digital currencies from a monetary and financial stability angle. We will first look at the technological foundations of cryptocurrencies, and then we will discuss challenges related to the issuance of central bank digital currencies and stablecoins. We will study central bank digital currencies that are in advanced stages and we will learn about their potential impact. We will discuss private efforts to issue stablecoins (e.g. LIBRA) and discuss why they raise concerns of regulators.

This course explores feminist theory and gender politics with a special focus on Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). We examine how different historical periods - from pre-socialist suffrage struggles, through state socialism, to postsocialist transformation - shaped gender norms, women’s rights, labour, family policies, and social reproduction. We then turn to contemporary issues: migration, LGBTQ+ rights, anti-gender politics, EU gender governance, labour and care, and intersectional inequalities. Throughout, theoretical perspectives (intersectionality, postcolonial/decolonial feminism, feminist political theory) guide our inquiry, while empirical cases ground our discussions. Students will learn to connect historical developments with ongoing gender struggles, applying feminist theory to real-world issues and understanding how the CEE region both shapes and is shaped by global gender politics. Discussions with civil society professionals and academics, as well as site visits, excursions, and film screenings, will be vital components of the course.

This course will introduce the participants to the crucial phenomena of Central European history and culture. While the turmoils of the twentieth century are covered by several AEP courses, this class concentrates on tracing the foundations of contemporary identities and the roots of modern complexity. It covers Central European history from its origins to WWI, dealing with a wide range of topics such as chivalry and courtly culture, the Reformation and confessional conflicts, or nationalism and revolutions. All these subjects witness the evolution of social order, the search for ideal political systems, transformation of intellectual paradigms, and changes in artistic sensibilities. Every topic is studied through both key texts and emblematic images which facilitate the explanation of typical features of the given period.

This course targets students that are staying in the Czech Republic for a limited period of time and need to cover the basics of the language in order to communicate in everyday situations. The ultimate aim is to provide the students with basic skills, grammar, and vocabulary for handling everyday life in the Czech Republic, and to give them an idea of the Czech language system as well as Czech culture. The instruction uses a communicative method of teaching: the material is based on situations the students face, not on a grammatical overview of the language, with an emphasis on both receptive and productive language skills.

This independent study course offers students an opportunity to engage in immersive teaching practice at an elementary or high school level in Prague. The teaching practice course adheres to the standardized procedures mandated for pre-service teacher education within the Czech Republic's educational framework, as stipulated by governmental guidelines for Czech universities.

The aim of this course is to introduce students to some basic economic principles and theories explaining environmental issues and problems today and to explore existing policies at the national, international, and global level. Students will learn about concepts such as externalities, the tragedy of the commons, enforcement as a public good, interventionist solutions to the externality problem such as taxes and marketable pollution permits, as well as non-interventionist solutions to the externality problem such as the Coasian solution and self-regulation.

Traditional fairytales are a significant part of cultural heritage, drawing the attention of scholars from various disciplines. Through their variety, diversity, and vivid imagery, fairytales reflect the richness of the world, while their unique features and peculiarities highlight the distinctiveness of individual countries, peoples, and cultures. This course introduces the genre of European fairytales within a broader historical, geographical, and cultural framework. It situates fairytales in relation to other European folk genres, such as myths and legends, with a particular focus on Czech fairytales and their specific characteristics. The primary aim of the course is to explore fairytales as symbolic narratives that offer insights not only into the world around us but also into human nature. Numerous theories examine the hidden symbolic meanings of European fairytales and the significance they convey. While folklorists have worked to organize and classify these tales, psychologists, literary critics, and scholars from other fields have sought to interpret them—uncovering the values, beliefs, social rules, and customs embedded within, as well as the human desires, dreams, and fears they reflect. 

This course explores the history and the current state of political, economic and cultural relations between the United States and Europe. Ever since the end of World War II, the cooperative relationship between these two parts of the world, often described as "the West“, has been a bedrock of international stability, security and prosperity. After the end of the Cold War, this relationship has undergone changes, along with the whole system of international relations. Recently, on both sides of the Atlantic, the talk has been about a crisis of the Euro-American relationship. We will examine the validity of these claims, the causes of the current problems and possible ways of overcoming them.

This course explores key topics in development economics through the lens of rigorous empirical research, and with a particular focus on field experiments. We will examine issues such as education, health, gender, prosocial behavior, and discrimination. The course is discussion-based, centered around academic papers, and aims to expose students to the research frontier in applied microeconomic development. 

This lively and original course is open to students who have an interest in studying the social and political transition in Central Europe through an understanding of its cinema. This is not a traditional film course: We will focus on the films’ social, political and historical contexts. 

This course explores the intersection of finance, economics, and climate change science to introduce students to the current thinking of financial economists on the most pressing climate change and sustainability issues. Theoretical concepts and empirical applications will present students with a broad perspective on the rich and rapidly evolving field of climate and sustainability finance. Many of the problems are open-ended, reflecting the complexity and deep uncertainty intrinsic to the real-world situations faced by today's decision-makers. The case studies, discussions, and real-world examples will provide additional insights into the implications of climate change for financial markets and the promising strategies for sustainable finance.

Sport has become an important subject within the humanities, with numerous sociological, economic, anthropological, and psychological studies collectively forming the field of sport studies. This course introduces key topics within this field, including the commercialization and globalization of elite sport, the role of sports mega-events, sport in relation to social and gender inequalities, the intersections between sport and politics, and differences between sports cultures in the United States and Europe. These themes will be examined through a series of case studies—such as the Olympic Games, the Super Bowl, and sportswashing in European football. The seminar will focus primarily on professional sport. A central aim of the course is to show that sport is not “just” a game, but a lens through which to understand significant and often urgent social issues. Emphasis will be placed on the interdisciplinary nature of sport studies, demonstrating how insights from sociology, philosophy, economy, cultural studies, and related fields complement and enrich one another.

The course aims to provide students with an introduction to the key concepts, methods and understanding of the application of economics to health and health care. Students will gain knowledge of the core theories underpinning health economics, and by looking at the epmirical evidence they will learn to evaluate whether they give correct predictions for real health care market. The difference between US and European approach toward health care financing and provision will be discussed to stimulate students' critical thinking about the major challenges health care systems face and how health economics can play a role in understanding and mitigating those challenges.

The course aims to provide an interdisciplinary understanding of the international human rights framework in Central and Eastern Europe where human rights system mirrors historical developments of the countries within the globalizing world. The course invites students from all disciplines to explore and make sense of current human rights issues, cases and problems in the region, contextualized in the broader challenges of human rights at the beginning of 21st century. We will discuss how current political crises (refugees and migration, housing issues, digital rights, LGBTQ* rights and alike) shape the debate about human rights in the CEE region and beyond.

The post-communist countries of Central Europe - the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia - are struggling hard to overcome the legacy of the totalitarian regime and to establish liberal democracy and free market economy. The objective of this course is to help students better understand the history of Central Europe and the ideal resources that might enable it to succeed in the transformation from communism. The students will learn recent Czech and Central European political history and get familiar with the various ways in which the predicament of these countries was reflected upon in the thought of the most prominent political theorists from the region concentrating, in particular, on the idea of civil society. 

This course provides an applied introduction to labour economics with a focus on both theoretical models and contemporary policy challenges. Topics include wage setting, human capital, migration, gender, minimum wages, and the impact of technology on labour markets. Students will engage with economic models, empirical evidence, and policy debates.

The course provides an interdisciplinary insight into current findings across the diverse research areas covering language, culture, and mind to explain individuals’ behavior in a larger cultural and psychological context. The course content stretches across a range of psycholinguistics, anthropological, ethnographic, and social-cognitive topics dealing with social behavior, allowing students to naturally compare the manifestations of these across at least their primary socialization milieu and the study-abroad context.

Who are the Europeans and how did they create the European Union, a unique partnership of 27 states and an ever more important international actor? This course covers the main political, social and economic developments in Europe since the middle of the 20^th century until the present day. We will study promises and achievements of European integration, including peace, democracy, economic prosperity and protection of human rights. Gender, migration and environment will be important cross-cutting themes. 

Music is recognized as a central part of culture. What deserves greater attention, however, is how closely music is tied to politics, history, economy and cultural identity. This interdisciplinary course will use the example of music to discuss more general issues in culture studies, aesthetics, sociology and other disciplines.

The classes will consist of interpreting short excerpts from various texts on music, discussion, listening to musical samples, and field trips. Students will be introduced to major Czech and Central European classical composers as well as popular and alternative/underground music groups. No prior musical education is required. Guest lecturers will also be invited to the course, such as contemporary composers Miloš Orson Štědroň and Lukáš Sommer. The subject of music provides a unique insight into Central European society, culture and history from the 18th century to the present day.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping nearly every aspect of contemporary life—from how we work and communicate to how we understand creativity, responsibility, and even intelligence itself. This course introduces students from all disciplines to the ethical, social, and conceptual challenges posed by AI and modern technology. It combines perspectives from philosophy, media studies, and contemporary journalism to help students think critically about how these technologies influence both society and human self-understanding.

This course explores mass persuasion and propaganda in a developmental context with an emphasis on understanding approaches and techniques. It traces the emergence of strategic persuasive communication and propaganda from its origins to the present day. The basic principles, philosophy, and techniques of mass persuasion in different periods are considered, with an emphasis on contemporary contexts. Students will learn to identify different propaganda techniques and will gain the tools to evaluate and debunk propaganda campaigns. A developmental approach is used in order to allow the opportunity to see aspects of continuity and change in approaches. 

This course provides an analytical introduction to public economics with a focus on the institutional and policy landscape of Europe. It examines why governments intervene in the economy and how these interventions differ across countries, with particular attention to taxation, public spending, inequality, market failures, and the structure of the modern welfare state.

This course offers a broad introduction to the various manifestations of surveillance culture in our past and present society, along with how they impact our understanding of contemporary public and private spheres. The class dialogue will be focused on the analysis of historical rhetoric about surveillance and the wide range of tools used to gain social control and that of its individual members. We will focus on the comparative analysis of different methods of surveillance employed by select former communist states (mainly Czechoslovakia, Poland, and East Germany) during communism and after its fall. As the communist state surveillance organs, namely the StB in Czechoslovakia, the Stasi in East Germany, and the SB in Poland, ceased to exist with the fall of the totalitarian system, new mechanisms of social control began to emerge, but this time with no visible borders from which one could easily escape. The case of post-communist surveillance will be discussed from a more inclusive perspective, touching upon the global resonance of 9/11, when surveillance has been legitimatized as a tool of social order and has also been openly questioned by individuals such as Edward Snowden. Moreover, surveillance today and the invasion of one’s privacy face threats from many "little brothers" rather than just the state itself. In this respect, this course will investigate several issues emerging from the relationship between various technologies (including AI) and societies to determine how they shape the post-modern culture of social control, fear, and empowerment.

This course offers a critical introduction to the key currents of Prague’s alternative and subcultural life, including autonomous venues, graffiti and street art, punk music, political art collectives, human-rights initiatives, and queer cultural festivals. Students will engage with the distinctive legacy of Czech pre-1989 underground culture and trace how samizdat practices evolved into contemporary zine production.

Few things remind us so convincingly of the importance of writing as when we suddenly find ourselves in a new environment. Mere exposure to a new place (be it city or a country) activates senses. Ideas and observations rush in. Questions come up: why is this so? How is this different? Why do I find this unsettling? Maybe you can put these questions into a chatbot and see what happens. But a chatbot itself is not going to generate your individual human experience.

This course invites you to explore history and current debates on how humans captured their experience; what role technology (such as typewriter, computer, AI) played in ways we think about the world and our place in it. It is also an opportunity to practice some of the skills professional writers have developed. This includes studying how writers across times and spaces reflected on their own crossing of boundaries, being strangers in new cultures, and how they navigated belonging to multiple communities. It is not a conventional class, but rather a workshop that helps you, on a regular basis, learn to work with the new experience and unpack its different parts.