Histoire, culture et langue tchèques

General introduction to Czech history, culture and literature from its beginnings to the present day.
The 1st term covers the period up to the turn of the 19th century; the 2nd term focuses on the 20th and 21st centuries.

Czech language: a variety of oral and written communication exercises to develop language skills (listening, reading, writing, speaking) corresponding to an elementary user level (introductory or discovery level), basic knowledge about the Czech Republic and its culture.

Skills and objectives for the "history, literature and culture" section:

1) Restore the major personalities of Czech history and culture to their times

2) Restore the major writers of Czech literature to their time period

3) Present in writing an annotated bibliography of theoretical works on Czech history and culture (on a theme chosen from a list)

4) Analyse major texts of Czech literature in relation to their historical and socio-cultural context

5) Restore Czech self-perception and national myths through contemporary 'cult' films

6) Describe the geopolitical development of the Czech lands since the Middle Ages

7) Analyse a historical document and situate it in its time (2000 words, Charter 77, etc.)

8) Give a presentation on a specific subject (at a study day at the end of the year).

9) Acquire a critical approach and apply scientific reasoning to the subject studied.

Czech language: 

Acquire good pronunciation.

Develop oral and written skills corresponding to the level of an elementary user in order to communicate in very simple way in everyday situations, with an interlocutor speaking slowly and clearly and prepared to cooperate.
He/she can:
introduce him/herself
share his/her contact details
talk about his/her family
describe his/her day
express what he/she likes (to do) / doesn´t like (to do), talk about his/her interests
communicate in a shop
say the time, arrange an appointment
ask questions and answer the same type of question
write a simple e-mail in Czech

Learn selected grammatical phenomena:
alphabet, phonetics and pronunciation exercises
natural and grammatical gender of nouns
personal, demonstrative, possessive pronouns
basic adjectives
verb "to be", verbs of the type -Á, -OVAT, Í, *E, reflexive verbs
verbs JÍT, JET + prepositions NA, DO
accusative singular of nouns, adjectives, personal pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, possessive pronouns
accusative plural
nominative plural

The course combines ex-cathedra lectures with exercises and other practical activities. It is accompanied by PowerPoint presentations (available on the UV) and analyses of the literary texts studied. It emphasises the active participation of students: presentations of Czech socio-political and cultural news, activities designed to familiarise students with the basic notions of the Czech language (reading texts, listening to songs, analysing film extracts, etc.).

Contribution to the teaching profile

The aim of this course is to develop students' critical faculties and their knowledge of Czech literature, history and culture.

References, bibliography, and recommended reading

List of books to be studied in the 1st term :

The Chronicle of Dalimil (Kronika tak řečeného Dalimila), early 14th century - French translation by Eloïse Adde available on the Virtual University.

Jan Amos Komenský (Comenius), Labyrint světa a ráj srdce (written 1623, published 1631), trans. fr. Xavier Galmiche, Le Labyrinthe du monde et le paradis du cœur, Paris, Desclée (La nuit spirituelle), 1991.

Karel Jaromír Erben, Le Bouquet de fleur (Kytice), 1853 1st edition, 1861, 2nd enlarged edition, trans. l'atelier de traduction littéraire de la section tchèque, UFR d'Études slaves, Université de Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV), texts compiled by Xavier Galmiche and Arnault Maréchal, Cahiers Slaves, no. 4, Paris, 2006.

Karel Hynek Mácha, Mai (Máj), 1836 and Mácha's prose texts (Journal and M árinka): available in French translation in Xavier Galmiche, Pèlerin et brigand de Bohême : Œuvres choisies, Lausanne, Éditions Zoe, Les Classiques du monde series, 2007.

Božena Němcová, Babička (1855), trans. fr. Eurydice Antolin, Babitchka: La Grand-mère - Tableaux de la vie campagnarde, Lausanne, Éditions Zoe, Les Classiques du monde series, 2008.

Jan Neruda (1834-1891), Povídky malostranské (1878, 1885), transl. fr. François Kérel, Les contes de Malá Strana, Pierre Terrail, 2007.

Miloš Urban, Sedmikostelí (1999), trans. fr. Barbara Faure, Les Sept -Églises, Vauvert, Au Diable Vauvert, 2011.

List of books to be studied in the 2nd term:

Karel Čapek (1890-1938), R.U.R. (1920), trans. fr. Jan Rubeš, R.U.R., Minos/ La Différence, 2011.

Modern Czech Poetry, Anthology by Petr Král and Michel Deguy, Belin, 1990

Egon Hostovský (1908-1973), Půlnoční pacient, (1954 English, 1959 Czech) trans. Michel Manoll, Le Vertige de minuit, Robert Laffont, 1955

Milan Kundera (1929-2023), Žert (1967), trans. fr. Marcel Aymonin (revised translation by Claude Courtot and the author), La Plaisanterie: roman, Paris, Gallimard, 1985.

Zdena Salivarová (b. 1933), Honzlová (1972), trans. Helena Axler, Un été à Prague, PowerPrint, 2016.

Bohumil Hrabal (1914-1997), Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále (1971), trans. Milena Braud, Moi qui ai servi le roi d'Angleterre, Paris, Robert Laffont, coll. Pavillons, Domaines de l'Est, 2008.

Klíma, Ladislav, I am the Absolute Will, Editions de la Différence, 2012.

Havel, Václav. Audience, Vernissage, Petition, Gallimard, 1980.

CZECH LANGUAGE

SLABOCHOVA D., Langue tchèque I, Bruxelles: PUB. 
HOLÁ, L. Czech step by step, Prague: Akropolis.
RAŠKOVÁ, I. Communicative Czech - Elementary, Praha: Karolinum.
BOCCOU - KESTŘÁNKOVÁ, M. ŠTĚPÁNKOVÁ, D., VODIČKOVÁ K. Czech for foreigners A1, A2. Prague: Albatros.
on-line dictionary: slovnik.seznam.cz , deepl.com/translator
ortography, synonyms: nechybujte.cz/nastroje
czech keyboard : czech.typeit.org
jitkapourova.cz/en/blog-en/
slowczech.com/category/podcast/podcast-beginner/
slowczech.com/category/culture

Course notes

• Université virtuelle
• Syllabus

Contacts

Astrid Muls
Astrid.Muls@ulb.be

Barbora Svobodová
Barbora.Svobodova@ulb.be

Czech language: Adéla Jelínková Mazurová
adela.jelinkova@ulb.be (Centre d´Etudes Tchèques S.AX4.CET)

Campus

Solbosch

Method(s) of evaluation

• written examination
• Oral examination
• Other

written examination

Oral examination

Other

Q1: oral exam 
Q2: written exam + oral exam

Czech language:
Q1: written exam, ongoing tests, active participation of students, assignments
Q2: written exam + oral exam, ongoing tests, active participation of students, assignments

The final mark is made up of 50% of the mark for the "Czech history, literature and culture" section and 50% of the mark for the "Czech language" section.

Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)

Czech language :
Throughout the academic year, students hand in assignments, make presentations and take ongoing tests.
The results of ongoing activities may have a positive influence on the overall mark.

The final mark is made up equally of the mark for the history, literature and culture section and the mark for the language section.

Language(s) of evaluation

• french