Cultural History of the Western Slavs

The course Cultural History of the Western Slavs will shortly introduce students to the ethnogenesis of Slavs.
The course introduces students to the concepts of cultural-historical definition of the Western Slavic area in terms of linguogenesis of West-Slavic languages and literary/standard languages. The understanding of the historical processes of ethnic, confessional and linguistic belonging in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia is based on reading texts and other sources. Attention is also focused on the historically relevant areas of Galicia, Silesia, Lusatia, Carpathian Ruthenia and Transylvania. Topics covered include: the Medieval chronicles as historiographical source, the role and position of Central European universities, the image of the Turk and migration, the idea of the Slavic Reciprocity, the German in Jewish question in the 20th century, cultural heritage, the role of dissidents and emigration.