School of Modern Languages and Cultures

Slavonic Studies

Czech Joint Honours

(September 2007 to June 2008)
(seven hours per week at times to be arranged)
(Course Convener: Dr Jan Čulík)

Enrolment Meeting: Thursday 20 September 2007 at 2.00 pm, in Room 133, Level 1, Hetherington Building, Bute Gardens.

Aims
This course aims to provide students with:

1. provide students with a thorough knowledge of modern standard Czech;
   
2. develop translation skills, as well as the skills of aural, oral and written communication in Czech to a very high level;
   
3. impart to students an in-depth knowledge of Czech literature, history and culture, especially as regards selected works of literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the main literary trends and movements of those periods; with considerable attention being paid to older periods of Czech history, when significant cultural achievements took place;
   
4. increase students' ability to work effectively, as well as to further the acquisition of generic and transferable skills which will be of value in later life.
   

Learning Objectives
By the end of this course students will be able:

1. to produce with confidence written and oral Czech on a wide range of topics of academic or general interest, demonstrating a sound knowledge and understanding of grammatical structures, stylistic register and vocabulary, as well as a very high level of practical competence;
   
2. to translate from and into Czech, with or without access to works of reference, texts of a considerable complexity and sophistication;
   
3. to demonstrate understanding of oral and written Czech taken from a wide range of sources and reflecting a wide range of grammar, style and vocabulary;
   
4. to make effective use of dictionaries and other works of reference;
   
5. to demonstrate a thorough knowledge and understanding of the main literary trends in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Czech literature, with considerable attention being paid to older periods of Czech history, when significant cultural achievements took place, as exemplified in selected texts;
   
6. to demonstrate a close reading of selected Czech works of literature;
   
7. to discuss and to write critically on a wide range of aspects of Czech literature;
   
8. to make effective use of works of literary criticism, both in English and in Czech;
   
9. to have an overview of the history of Czech literature from the 10th century to the present day, with an emphasis on selected periods of special importance such as the 14th century, the 19th century and the 20th century;
   
10. to make effective and appropriate use of audio, video and computer-based technology;
    
11. to produce by stated deadlines carefully structured, cogently argued, appropriately documented and well-written pieces of written work;
    
12. to apply the analytical skills acquired through the study of language and literature to a wide range of problems which may confront them in different situations and contexts;
    
13. to apply their knowledge and understanding of the Czech Republic and their acquired inter-cultural skills, gained both through their period of residence in the Czech Republic, as well as through their studies in Glasgow, in a wide range of situations and contexts.

Course 90UW: Translation from Czech into English (30 credits)
Course 90VP: Translation from English into Czech and Essay in Czech (15 credits)
Course 90UZ: Oral in Czech (15 credits)
Course 90VA: Early Czech Literature (15 credits)
Course 90VB: Modern Czech Literature (15 credits)

and EITHER1 x 30-credit OR 2 x 15-credit Options from the Options below to produce a total of 120 credits:

Course 90VG: Subsidiary Polish Language (Beginners) (30 credits)
Course 90VK: Subsidiary Polish Language (Intermediate) (30 credits)
Course 90VH: Subsidiary Russian Language (Beginners) (30 credits)
Course 90VI: Subsidiary Russian Language (Intermediate) (30 credits)
Course 90TY: Introduction to Comparative Slavonic Philology (15 credits)
Course 90TZ: The Slavonic Languages (15 credits)
Course 90VC: Medieval Czech Literature (15 credits)
Course 90RK: Czech Literature in Emigré Publishing Houses (15 credits)
Course 90RM: Czech Writers (15 credits)
Course 90VE: Contemporary Czech Cinema (15 credits)
Course 90UJ: Czech, Polish and Russian Women's Writing in English Translation) (30 credits)
Course 90UP: The Mass Media in Central and Eastern Europe (15 credits)
Course 90UQ: Further Issues Concerning The Mass Media in Central and Eastern Europe (15 credits)
Course 90VD: History of the Czechs and Slovaks (15 credits)
Course 89BL: Russian Cinema (15 credits)
Course 89CX: Holocaust Literature (15 credits)
Course 89CV: Slavonic Drama (15 credits)
Course 89FS: The Lost Empire: Byzantium and the Slavs, 800-1600 (15 credits)(taught jointly with the Department of Medieval History)
Course 89FT: Domesticating the Dictators. Women's Writing under Stalin and Franco (15 credits)
Course 88BH: Plotting the Linguistic Map of Europe
Course 87CR: Russian 20th-Century Russian Visual Culture (15 credits)
Course 88DP: Dissertation (for Czech Joint Honours students only)

Dissertation (15 credits)
Joint Honours students should undertake a dissertation as part of their degree. For Joint Honours students opting to do so in the Polish Section, the dissertation topic will be based on one of the Honours options offered in their Junior Honours year. The students will attend the lectures and seminars for the option as normal, but instead of the standard assessment, will present a short dissertation in English of about 5,000 words. The topic of the dissertation will be agreed with the convener of the option at a meeting shortly after the beginning of the course. In addition to the normal contact hours for the option, it is expected that dissertation students will meet individually with the option convener on at least three occassions to discuss the progress of their research. The dissertation topic will require the student to do some independent research beyond the normal scope of the option course in question.

Detailed information about course components and Options can be found via our web link Compulsory and Optional Elements for Honours Courses.

Language element
a) Translation into Czech: one hour per week. Students write a weekly translation of advanced passages of English into Czech. Such proses are prepared weekly for class discussion and correction. These weekly proses are to be handed in for correction in time for the next class. This class also incorporates practice in Czech essay writing on selected topics and students will be expected to submit for marking two essays per session.

b) Translation from Czech: students are required to hand in each week for marking an English translation of a set Czech passage. These are discussed in detail in class with a particular focus on the stylistic precision of translation equivalence. In addition unseen passages will also be translated in class.

c) Oral class: there is one weekly oral class with the Czech Lektor. Some of the time is devoted to free conversation on topics of everyday life. Students are also required to read and discuss excerpts from the Czech press and literature. In Senior Honours the class prepares topics for degree examinations.

d) Grammar class (optional): There is one class per week. Students widen their knowledge of more complicated grammatical structures in Czech and improve their grasp of various stylistic registers. There will be up to eight short progress tests per session.

Literature element
The literature course is taught on a two-year cycle, Early Czech Literature and the Nineteenth Century one year, Twentieth-Century Literature the next. Students attend three or four hours of lectures and seminars per week. They are expected to read more widely than the prescribed texts and are encouraged in the use of literary criticism, both in Czech and in English, to help them reach their own judgements. They are expected to present several seminar presentations per term as well as to submit a minimum of two essays per year. (This applies in particular to nineteenth- and twentieth-century literature.)

A list of prescribed texts will be provided at the beginning of each year as the selection may vary slightly depending on availability and on texts read in Czech Level 1 and Czech Level 2.

Assessment
A number of different schemes of assessment are used for this course. Full details of assessment are given in the documentation accompanying each individual Option. Further details of assessment involving course work are given in the relevant link listed at Compulsory and Optional Elements for Honours Courses. The format of the oral examination (20 minutes) is determined by the External Examiner in consultation with the Slavonic Studies Section of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures; it is normally conducted by the External Examiner alone and is worth 15 credits. A Distinction in Spoken Czech may be awarded by the External Examiner. All Honours students must write a Dissertation in one of his/her two subjects. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that a dissertation has been chosen as part of the Honours curriculum.

Slavonic Studies Arrangements and University Facilities
Essay titles and delivery dates are posted on the notice boards.

Most prescribed texts and other materials (eg audio- and video-cassettes) are available for sale or on loan from the Slavonic Studies Office.

Students are encouraged to make full use of the language laboratory equipment on Level 1 of the Hetherington Building.

All members of the Slavonic Studies staff are available to students on the days and at the times shown on notices attached to the doors of their offices.

Past Degree Examination papers are available both from the Slavonic Studies Office and in the University Library.

The attention of all Honours students is drawn to the exceptionally rich holdings of the Czech and Slovak section of the University Library. We advise students to take advantage of the wide selection of monographs, periodicals and newspapers on Level 6, but warn you that most items are available in only one copy.

Taught by Dr Jan Čulík, Ms Ilona Klemm and Mr Josef Svéda