Beginning

There is no language prerequisite for courses at this language level.

Taught In English

There is no language prerequisite for courses at this language level.

This course will provide the student with information of the Jewish experience in Central Europe. This means to show the student the Jewish experience in the Czech region and countries of Central Europe - a history of suffering and hope, of prejudice and contempt, and that which culminated in the worst tragedy of Jewish people in history - the holocaust. In this course, however, the issue of the holocaust is not the principal. Its aim is to provide the student with knowledge of the Jewish experience in Prague and Central Europe which was once the most flourishing center of Jewish life. The student will gain from a trip to Prague's Jewish city and the famous Jewish cemetery, the new Jewish cemetery (where Franz Kafka is buried) and also from a trip to Terezin, the only concentration camp in the Czech Republic.

This course will partly deal with the history of Jews in Russia, as Russia and Poland share common history. It may be of interest for US students, as the USA is now the largest Jewish community worldwide, with most being of Central or Eastern European descent.

The course pertains not only to Jews, but also to Christians, as the Judeo/Christian dialogue is one of the main interests in Jewish and Christian cultures. The course will deal only partly with Jewish ideas.