Study Abroad and Summer Language Study
University of Toronto Summer Abroad Program
In addition to the Summer Language Study, this program now has two courses devoted to the study of Central Europe for the summer of 2012:
POL366Y0 "Kidnapped Europe's Return"?: Contemporary Politics, Security, and Culture in Central Europe since 1989.
HIS395Y0 Topics in History: The City in Central Europe: Imperial Pasts, Imperial Aspirations, Wars and Revolutions.
• POL366Y0
"Kidnapped Europe's Return"?: Contemporary Politics, Security, and Culture in Central Europe since 1989.
This interdisciplinary course introduces students to the politics and societies of Central Europe, including Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and for the purposes of historical contextualization, Austria. Although a historical introduction is provided covering the period 1918-1989, the material covered deals primarily with the key issues in the revolutionary and post-communist periods. Special focus is on the post-Cold War security issues (NATO membership, energy security and missile defense) along with European Union integration and the changing face of the region in terms of migration, immigration and minority/majority relations. The course is taught by faculty from the University of Toronto and Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic and students will have the opportunity to explore through field trips to Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia and sites inside the Czech Republic.
Prerequisites: none.
This is a Social Science course and can be counted toward both the Political Science and the European Studies programs at the University of Toronto.
Field trips: Three-day excursions to Prague, Krakow (including a visit to Auschwitz), and Budapest will take place at the ends of weeks two, three and five. Return transportation and two nights’ overnight accommodation will be arranged for all course participants. Students may opt to stay for the rest of the weekend at their own expense. Logistical help will also be provided for those wishing to visit nearby Bratislava, Vienna or other cities in Europe on free weekends.
• HIS395Y0
Topics in History: The City in Central Europe: Imperial Pasts, Imperial Aspirations, Wars and Revolutions
The goal of this course is to familiarize students with the complex historical role of Central European cities, their interaction with imperial and then national cultures, the legacies of the First and Second World Wars, and their importance in creating modern nation states. The Czech Republic’s dynamic second city, Brno, will provide the starting point for travel to the course’s focus cities. Students will visit the three great cities of the former Habsburg Empire, Vienna, Prague, and Budapest, each with its own unique churches, museums, and castles. Students will also visit Wroclaw, which spent the first half of the twentieth century as a major German city and the second half as a major Polish one. There are five modules – an introductory session followed by city-specific and period specific studies of Vienna, Budapest, Wroclaw, and Prague.
Prerequisites: none.
This is a Humanities course and can be counted toward both the History and the European Studies programs at the University of Toronto.
Field trips: Three-day excursions to Vienna, Budapest, Wroclaw (including a visit to Auschwitz), and Prague will take place at the ends of weeks two, three, four, and five. Return transportation and two nights’ overnight accommodation will be arranged for all course participants. Students may opt to stay for the rest of the weekend at their own expense. Logistical help will also be provided for those wishing to visit nearby Bratislava or some other European city on their free days.
Instructors:
Robert Austin teaches at the Centre for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. In the past, Austin was a Tirana-based journalist for Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, a correspondent for the Economist Group of publications in Slovakia and a writer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Toronto. He writes widely in Canadian and international media and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses at the U of T on the politics and history of Central and Southeastern Europe.
Though a Canadian, Don Sparling has lived in Czechoslovakia / the Czech Republic since 1969, when he arrived in the country to teach English, following studies at U of T and Oxford University. In 1977 he joined the Department of English and American Studies at Masaryk University, where he became Chair following the collapse of the Communist regime in 1989. In 2000 he was named Director of Masaryk University’s Office for International Studies. Sparling’s courses have focused on both American and Canadian literature and cultural studies, and he has published a wide variety of articles on cultural and intercultural issues.
Students interested in either of these courses must apply through Woodsworth College and space is extremely limited. For all details please visit: http://summerabroad.utoronto.ca/
Summer Language Study
The Hungarian Studies Program welcomes applications for summer language study. The program is intended to assist students in acquiring the language skills needed to pursue a course of advanced study pertaining to Hungary. Students are asked to identify a host institution for study and to submit a one-page proposal that includes a budget along with one letter of reference. Students are especially encouraged to look at the courses available through the Debrecen Summer School.
Deadline for applications: February 1, 2012
