Fall 2026

This course explores the major artistic periods of European history through their architectural expression in Prague. It is built around guided excursions to some of Prague’s most beautiful and historically significant architectural monuments, interpreted within the broader context of Central European cultural history. Throughout history, shared spiritual and cultural values have profoundly shaped artistic and architectural forms. The course therefore places particular emphasis on the spiritual and social values underlying individual artistic movements. In this respect, Prague offers a unique and exceptionally rich architectural landscape. Through introductory presentations followed by guided site visits, students will learn not only to identify the principal artistic styles, but also to analyze and interpret the cultural values they embody.

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. 

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.

Our economic lives are constantly changing: Technological change, economic and political crises shaped the world since the industrial revolution during the last 200 years. Countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in particular experienced several upheavals during the last 150 years: The collapse of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, weak political and economic institutions after World War I, ethnic cleansing after World War II, a centralized planning economy and the transition towards a market economy after 1990 are partially still visible in socio-economic figures today. A long-term perspective on the evolution of economic figures can also help to understand changes and obstacles today. The course bases on a broader understanding of economic development. Despite classical economic measures like GDP, inflation or population growth, we will also discuss so-called soft economic variables such as norms, culture, trust and social capital.

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.

Technology firms use large-scale experimentation and empirical analysis to make decisions. Microsoft alone runs tens of thousands of A/B tests a year, and many tested changes, often 70 to 90 percent, do not improve their target metric. Without systematic measurement, firms may adopt ineffective features, set suboptimal prices, or scale decisions that do not work.

The course covers the main methods economists use to answer causal questions and solve empirical business problems: randomized experiments, quasi-experimental methods, and demand estimation. Each method is introduced through its formal framework, the academic literature, and a series of case studies.

The course has two complementary goals. The first is to build a foundation of a practical empirical skill set that economists might use working in the technology sector. The second is to introduce the business context of technology companies: how firms such as Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, and Netflix operate, how to read financial statements, and what incentives arise in two-sided markets such as Uber’s or Airbnb’s.

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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.

The aim ofthis course is to improve students' understanding of the symptoms, causes, andconsequences of the crisis of representative democracies in the EU. The purpose is to understand: a) Thekey challenges to the EU in the twenty-first century: populism, technocraticgovernance, anti-system politics, emergency politics and the tensions inrepresentative democracies in the EU politics and policy-making; b) To accessthe comparative perspectives and critical thinking of the crises in Western andEastern societies; c) To understand the theoretical approaches for studying thecrises of representative democracies in the EU, its implications for democraticrepresentation in the EU and the EU’s democratic legitimacy.

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 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.

This course offers a comprehensive introduction to the structure, functions, and dynamics of modern financial markets and the institutions that operate within them, in Czechia and Central Europe in worldwide context. The main objective of the course is to equips students with a solid conceptual foundation in financial instruments, market behaviour, risk management, and the role of central banks and regulatory authorities. Combining theoretical frameworks with real-world applications, the course provides an integrated view of how financial systems support economic activity, interact with the corporate sector, and respond to global trends and innovations.

Further modules introduce the core functions of central banking, financial regulation and supervision, and the Basel framework. The course concludes with an overview of financial innovation - crypto assets, private credit, and prediction markets - and their implications for financial stability and regulation.

This course offers a curated journey through the history of human consciousness, with Prague's fine arts as our guiding light. Rather than dry chronology, we journey from the macro to the micro, tracing the artist's gaze as it evolved from the divine medieval representations to the internal, emotional world of the modern individual. Through classwork and visits to galleries and sites, we begin by analyzing the foundations of reality—the city as a canvas and the body as a sacred vessel. We witness a transition from theological symbolism to sociological realism. By examining the elite power structures that shaped perspective and patronage, we arrive at the emergence of internal worlds in which painting becomes a mirror of the human psyche. This course not only fosters academic analysis but also inspires students to engage in meaningful self-reflection throughout their study abroad experience.

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.