Syllabus - UPCES - cerge-ei

CERGE-EI and the Faculty of Humanities (FHS) at Charles University
Prague as a Living History
Lecturer: Pavel Soukup, Ph.D
Email: [email protected]
Lecturer: Ondřej Skripnik, Ph.D
Email: [email protected]
Lecturer: Jaroslav Svátek, Ph.D
Email: [email protected]
Lecturer: Věra Soukupová
Email: [email protected]
OUTLINE OF THE COURSE:
This course, consisting largely of on-site visits, will introduce students to the history of the
Czech Republic and of its capital, Prague, while also showing the development of its urban
structure and main social functions. By this single - and beautiful – example, students should
gain a deeper understanding of the particularities and intricacies of urban life as it evolved
through the centuries.
After an introductory lecture in the classroom, most of the time shall be spent walking through
the town, visiting historical sites, churches, museums and galleries, as well as other places of
interest. Students should gain a certain ability to look at historical buildings and art objects, to
discern their style, age and provenience, as well as to connect them with their historical and
contemporary social functions. Other excursions will be devoted to interesting places, showing
the recent and contemporary lifestyle of Prague inhabitants, including the social periphery.
Grading policy:
Class participation/attendance/quizzes:
Presentation:
Mid-term test:
Final test:
Final paper:
15 %
15 %
20 %
25 %
25 %
MIDTERM TESTS ARE DUE IN WEEK 8
FINAL PAPERS ARE DUE IN WEEK 13
Week 1
UPCES Orientation Lecture Series
Lectures and site visits on subjects of history, culture, politics, and the economies of the Czech
Republic and Central Europe in order to establish a common interdisciplinary background and
vocabulary for all courses.
Week 2
Topic: How Statues Speak - Charles Bridge and Beyond
Introduction – Prague’s genius loci. Czech Lands in a nutshell. Changing functions of statues in
public space. Attributes of saints.
Required Readings:
Václav Cílek, Prague Between History and Dreams, Bloomington 2004, pp. 3-53.
Josef V. Polišenský, History of Czechoslovakia in Outline, Praha: Bohemia International, 1991,
144 pp.
Presentation:
Old Town Bridge Tower (Staroměstská mostecká věž)
Week 3
Topic: Vyšehrad Castle - Legends and memory
Medieval chronicles and Romantic forgeries. Cultural memory. Old Czech mythology and the
“national revival”.
Required Readings:
- Cosmas of Prague, The Chronicle of the Czechs, transl. Lisa Wolverton, Washington 2009, pp.
38-52.
- Peter Demetz, “Libussa, or Versions of Origin,” in: Prague in Black and Gold: The history of a
city, Penguin Books, 1998, pp. 3-5, 16-29.
- Vladimír Macura, “Problems and paradoxes of the national revival,” in: Bohemia in History,
ed. Mikuláš Teich, Cambridge University Press 1998, pp. 182-197.
- Derek Sayer, The Coasts of Bohemia, Princeton 1998, pp. 141-147 (chapter “A Discovery in
Dvůr Králové”).
Presentations:
• Church of St. Peter and Paul (Chrám sv. Petra a Pavla)
• Vyšehrad Cemetery (Vyšehradský hřbitov, Slavín)
Week 4
Topic: The Castle - Power and defense, security and luxury
Medieval castles. Castle as a center of power. Symbolisms of Prague Castle. St. Vitus’s
Cathedral. Prague castle today.
Required Readings:
- Derek Sayer, The Coasts of Bohemia, Princeton 1998, pp. 176-184 (chapter “The Completion
of Saint Vitus’s”).
- Vladislav Dudák, Prague Pilgrim, or Prague from every side, Praha : Baset, 1995, 203 p.
Presentations:
• St Vitus’s Cathedral (Katedrála sv. Víta)
• Queen Anne’s Summerhouse – Belvedere (Letohrádek královny Anny)
• Old Royal Palace (Starý královský palác)
Week 5
Topic: Christianity Comes to Town - Convent of St. Agnes of Bohemia
Role of the Church in pre-modern periods. Christianity and early history of kingdoms.
Monastery as a centre of culture. Medieval art.
Required Readings:
- Mikuláš Teich (ed.), Bohemia in History, Cambridge University Press 1998, 398 p.
- Lewis Mumford, “Cloister and Community,” in: idem, The City in History Cities, New York
1961, pp. 243-281.
Week 6
Topic: Medieval Town of Prague - Prosperity and revolution
Principles of medieval town planning. Medieval urban housekeeping. The guilds. Hussite
movement and the Reformation.
Required Readings:
- The Letters of John Hus, ed. Herbert W. Workman, Martin Pope, London 1904, pp. 90-97.
- Lewis Mumford, “The Monastery and the Clock,” in: The City Cultures Reader, ed. M. Miles,
T. Hall, I. Borden, London – New York 2000, pp. 120-124.
- Václav Cílek, Prague Between History and Dreams, Bloomington 2004, pp. 52-53 (“Living
among Imps and Political Economy”).
- Lewis Mumford, “Protection and the Medieval Town,” in: idem, The Culture of Cities,
Westport 1970, pp. 13-17, 27-35, 51-58.
- František Šmahel, “The Hussite movement: an anomaly of European history?,” in: Bohemia in
History, ed. Mikuláš Teich, Cambridge University Press 1998, pp. 79-97
Presentations:
• Bethlehem Chapel (Betlémská kaple)
• The Astronomical Clock at the Old Town Hall (Staroměský orloj)
• The Týn Yard (Ungelt) and the Church of our Lady (Týnský chrám)
Week 7
Topic: Prague as Heavenly Jerusalem - The New Town of Charles IV
Charles IV and his time. Bohemia as a centre of the Holy Roman Empire. Heavenly patterns and
relic collections.
Required Readings:
- Autobiography of Emperor Charles IV, ed. Balász Nagy, Frank Schaer, Paul W. Knoll,
Budapest 2001, pp. 43-47, 59-71.
- Paul Crossley – Zoë Opačić, “Prague as a New Capital,” in: Prague: The Crown of Bohemia,
1347-1437, eds. Barbara Drake Boehm and Jiří Fajt, New York – New Haven – London 2005, p.
59-73.
Presentations:
• The Church of St Charlemagne (Karlov)
• The Slavonic Monastery Emmaus (Klášter Na Slovanech, Emauzy)
Week 8
Topic: The City Made of Paper - Municipal Museum and Langweil’s Model of Prague
History of the City of Prague in outline. Changes in downtown urbanism in the last two hundred
years.
MIDTERM TESTS ARE DUE
Required Readings:
- Hugh LeCaine Agnew, The Czechs and the Lands of Bohemian Crown, Stanford 2004, pp. 1101.
Week 9
Topic: Baroque Devotion in the Landscape - Loreto and the Infant Jesus
Pilgrimage and Baroque religious festivity. Counter-Reformation in Central Europe. Churches,
chapels and Crucifixions and the emergence of a sacred landscape.
Required Readings:
- Robert Bireley, Refashioning of Catholicism, 1450–1700, New York 1999, pp. 107-120
- R. J. W. Evans, “Prague Mannerism and the Magic Universe,” in: idem, Rudolf II and His
World. A study in intellectual history, 1576-1612, Oxford 1973 pp. 243-274
- Josef Petráň, “Baroque Culture and Society in Bohemia,” in: The Glory of the Baroque in
Bohemia. Essays on art, culture and society in the 17th and 18th centuries, ed. Vít Vlnas, Prague:
National Gallery 2001, pp. 61-77.
- Peter Demetz, Prague in Black and Gold: The history of a city, Penguin Books, 1998, 411 p.
Presentations:
• Wallenstein Palace (Valdštejnský palác)
• The Loreto (Loreta)
Week 10
Topic: Expanding the City: Vinohrady hundred years ago
The fall of the Habsburg Monarchy. The era of industrialization. Czech society before Czech
Republic. Origins of “Great Prague”.
Required Readings:
- Jaroslav Hašek, The good soldier Švejk and his fortunes in the World War, transl. Cecil Parrott,
London 1974, pp. 3-23.
- Jaroslav Seifert’s Reminiscences: On Jaroslav Hašek, in: The Poetry of Jaroslav Seifert, winner
of the Nobel Prize, ed. George Gibian, North Haven 1998, pp. 221-222
- Otto Urban, “Czech society 1848-1918,” in: Bohemia in History, ed. Mikuláš Teich,
Cambridge University Press 1998, pp. 198-214.
Presentations:
• The “Art Nouveau” in Prague
• St Wenceslas’ Church in Vršovice (Kostel sv. Václava)
Week 11
Topic: Modern Architecture: from “Art Nouveau” to the Dancing House
Historicism, pseudo-styles, Art Nouveau, constructivism. Disputes about the “traditional face” of
Prague. The Dancing House – provocative or respectful building? The Golden Angel – a people
friendly modern architecture.
Required Readings:
- Derek Sayer, The Coasts of Bohemia, Princeton 1998, pp. 195-208 (chapter “Modernism and
Modernities: The International Style”).
- Zlatý Anděl. Jean Nouvel in Prague, ed. by Irena Fialová, Prague: Zlatý řez 2000 (parts).
- Garry B. Cohen, The Politics of Ethnic Survival: Germans in Prague, 1861-1914, Princeton, NJ
1981 (Introduction; Conclusion: Ethnic Identity, Group Solidarity, and Historical Change, p. 318, 274-282)
Presentations:
• The old and the new building of the National Theatre (Národní divadlo)
• The Dancing House (Tančící dům)
Week 12
Topic: Prefab Housing: Prague’s suburbs in the era of “Real Socialism”
The idea of communal housing. The socialist concept of the city. Housing standards in the time
of Normalization – “Husák’s 3+1”
Required Readings:
- Sean Hanley, “Concrete Conclusions: The discreet charm of the Czech panelak,” Central
Europe Review, 22-02-1999
- Olga Szantová, “Prefab housing estates,” Talking Point of the Radio Prague, 23-01-2001.
- Peter Lizon, “East Central Europe: The Unhappy Heritage of Communist Mass Housing,”
Journal of Architectural Education 50 (1996), pp. 104-114.
Presentation:
• Palace of Culture (now Prague Congress Centre)
• Prague Metro
Week 13
Final Test, Evaluation, Closing Discussion
Required Readings:
- Tomáš Rygl, Prague. Detailed Picture Guide, Praha : ATP 2007, 154 p.
RECOMMENDED READINGS:
Mythology and Revival:
- Peter DEMETZ, “Libussa, or Versions of Origin,” in: Prague in Black and Gold: The history of a city, Penguin
Books, 1998, pp. 3-5, 16-29
- Vladimír MACURA, “Problems and paradoxes of the national revival,” in: Bohemia in History, ed. Mikuláš Teich,
Cambridge University Press 1998, pp. 182-197.
- Derek SAYER, The Coasts of Bohemia, Princeton 1998, pp. 141-147 (chapter “A Discovery in Dvůr Králové”)
Middle Ages (Gothic Prague, Charles IV, Hussites):
- Paul CROSSLEY – Zoë OPAČIĆ, “Prague as a New Capital,” in: Prague: The Crown of Bohemia, 1347-1437, eds.
Barbara Drake Boehm and Jiří Fajt, New York – New Haven – London 2005, p. 59-73.
- Lewis MUMFORD, “Protection and the Medieval Town,” in: idem, The Culture of Cities, Westport 1970, pp. 13-17,
27-35, 51-58
- Lewis MUMFORD, “The Monastery and the Clock,” in: The City Cultures Reader, ed. M. Miles, T. Hall, I. Borden,
London – New York 2000, pp. 120-124
- František ŠMAHEL, “The Hussite movement: an anomaly of European history?,” in: Bohemia in History, ed.
Mikuláš Teich, Cambridge University Press 1998, pp. 79-97.
Reformation and Counter-Reformation (Renaissance, Baroque):
- R. J. W. EVANS, “Prague Mannerism and the Magic Universe,” in: idem, Rudolf II and His World. A study in
intellectual history, 1576-1612, Oxford 1973 pp. 243-274
- Josef PETRÁŇ, “Baroque Culture and Society in Bohemia,” in: The Glory of the Baroque in Bohemia. Essays on
art, culture and society in the 17th and 18th centuries, ed. Vít Vlnas, Prague: National Gallery 2001, pp. 61-77.
- Robert BIRELEY, Refashioning of Catholicism, 1450–1700, New York 1999, pp. 107-120
Modern Times (Historicism, Art Nouveau, Cubism, Functionalism)
- Derek SAYER, The Coasts of Bohemia, Princeton 1998, pp. 195-208 (chapter “Modernism and Modernities.
International Style”), pp. 176-184 (chapter “The Completion of Saint Vitus’s”), pp. 98-107 (chapter “Little Golden
Chapel on the Vltava”)
- Otto URBAN, “Czech society 1848-1918,” in: Bohemia in History, ed. Mikuláš Teich, Cambridge University Press
1998, pp. 198-214.
- Garry B. COHEN, The Politics of Ethnic Survival: Germans in Prague, 1861-1914, Princeton, NJ 1981
(Introduction; Conclusion: Ethnic Identity, Group Solidarity, and Historical Change, p. 3-18, 274-282)
Socialist and Contemporary Architecture
- Peter LIZON, “East Central Europe: The Unhappy Heritage of Communist Mass Housing,” Journal of Architectural
Education 50 (1996), pp. 104-114.
- Zlatý Anděl. Jean Nouvel in Prague, ed. by Irena Fialová, Prague: Zlatý řez 2000
FURTHER READINGS:
- Tomáš RYGL, Prague. Detailed Picture Guide,Praha : ATP 2007, 154 p.
- Angelo Maria RIPELLINO, Magic Prague, London : Picador, 1995, 333 p.
- Peter DEMETZ, Prague in Black and Gold: The history of a city, Penguin Books, 1998, 411 p.
- Vladislav DUDÁK, Prague Pilgrim, or Prague from every side, Praha : Baset, 1995, 203 p.
- Mikuláš TEICH (ed.), Bohemia in History, Cambridge University Press 1998, 398 p.
- Petr ČORNEJ – Jiří POKORNÝ, A brief history of the Czech lands to 2000, Praha : Práh, 2000, 94 p.
- Josef V. POLIŠENSKÝ, History of Czechoslovakia in Outline, Praha: Bohemia International, 1991, 144 p.