This abroad emphasizes the vital connections between creativity, critical thought, and responsible citizenship through creative writing, studio art, and the study of modernist and contemporary Czech literature and visual art.
Students will explore the arts as more than entertainment, but as vital activities that can change the world. The program serves Principia’s unique educational mission by cultivating ethical, original thought. Policy 6 of The Principia states that the institution “shall dedicate its service to the task of training its students to think – and to think clearly, vigorously, fearlessly, tolerantly, and unselfishly.” In “A Word about Words,” the late playwright and president of the Czech Republic Vaclav Havel said, “…self-awareness, our ability to generalize and think in concepts, to perceive the world as the world (and not just as our locality)…surely all these are meditated…by words” (acceptance speech for the Peace Prize of the German Booksellers Association, Frankfurt, 1989).
These statements suggest a powerful rationale for Principia College students to study creative writing, studio art, and literature in Prague and surrounding sites in Moravia and Bohemia: it is vital for students to learn to think independently and to have a practical understanding of creative and fearless responses to human difficulties.
Academics
ENGL 243: Theory as Practice on Location: Prague SH: 3 Attribute: GEH
This course explores the links between critical theory and creative practice in contemporary Czech literature and visual culture.
ENGL 263: Literature of Conflict SH: 3 Attribute: GEH
The study of Czech writers such as Franz Kafka, Václav Havel, Karel Čapek, Ivan Klíma, Milan Kundera, Jaroslav Hašek, and Bohumil Hrabal, especially as their work reflected and influenced a century of social upheaval, world wars, and political change.
ENGL 345: Creative Writing on Location (Prague) SH: 3 Attribute: GEA
This on-location creative writing course offers students the opportunity to write poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction with. Emphasis on experimental writing processes and techniques of the avant-garde. The course includes a journaling component equivalent to a sketchbook in a studio art class. Students will compile a portfolio of finished works by the end of the quarter. It is equivalent to a fiction or poetry course within the sequence of courses in the creative writing track, and will meet a requirement for English majors and minors in that track.
ARTS 251: The Language of Drawing SH: 4 Attribute: GEA
An immersive study of on-location drawing practices and techniques where drawing becomes a tool for observation and recording of cultures, historical sites, and landscapes.
LANG 100: Elementary Language Study: Czech SH: 2 Attribute: none
This course will offer an introduction to Czech so that students can navigate the country. Students will begin language study during the four weeks on campus and will have weekly classes in the Czech language with a qualified language instructor during our stay in Prague.
SPST 281: Reentry Seminar: Prague SH: 1 Attribute: none
Taught on campus during spring semester, 2020, this required reentry seminar is an opportunity for students to internalize, integrate, and formulate the personal and academic learning gained from their study in Prague. Through reflection, writing assignments, and the creation of a documentary presentation for the college community, students will interpret and articulate their growth and experiences.