SLAVIC STUDIES > Czech > Polish > Russian
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Slavic Studies
Czech Studies
The Czech Studies Program at the University of Florida was founded in 2005. It is a part of the Center for European Studies and the Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies. The program focuses on language, culture, politics and society of the contemporary Czech Republic. At the same time, the curriculum of courses is designed to provide students with excellent language skills, which should prepare them for independent study in their area of specialization, for the study in the Czech Republic as well as for other practical and professional use of Czech.
In Milan Kundera’s words, “[t]he entire story of this nation, evolving from democracy, Fascist subjugation, Stalinism and socialism (amplified by its unique ethnic problem), includes all the essential features which make the 20th century what it is … In this century this nation has experienced probably more than many other nations and, assuming that its genie has remained alive, it probably knows more. This greater knowledge might transform itself into an emancipating transgression of existing boundaries …” (excerpt from Milan Kundera’s speech at the 4th Writers’ Congress in 1967). What is here evoked by “transgression of existing boundaries” is a return of the Czech nation to Europeanism. The strong ties of the Czech nation to other countries of the European Union are traditionally seen in the similarities in their economic, political, cultural and spiritual developments, reaching all the way back to Antiquity, Christianity, Reformation, Renaissance and Enlightment up to the society of today.
Polish Studies
The Polish Studies Program at the University of Florida was founded in 2004 as a joint undertaking of the Center for European Studies and the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages. The goal of the program is the development of an innovative curriculum of courses in Polish language and culture in order to provide students with strong area skills over a broad range of topics within Polish Studies. The program places a special emphasis on the culture and society of contemporary Poland.
From the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe in 1989 to its entry into the European Union as one of ten new member states in 2004, Poland’s geopolitical position has shifted radically. Contested conformity to Soviet dominance in the region has been replaced by the enjoyment of the rights and the obligation to uphold the duties accompanying the country’s status of important new European political and economic partner. The country’s cultural landscape has undergone no less significant a transformation. From a preoccupation with questions of national struggle against the communist state there has been a shift in emphasis in Polish culture to a broad range of topics rooted in the new socioeconomic order – popular culture; artists and the free market; and Poland’s diverse legacy of ethnic, regional, and gender identities. Finally, the achievement of cultural and academic freedom has given rise to the project of rethinking and rewriting Polish national history, particularly that of the turbulent nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The curriculum of the UF Polish Studies Program has been designed to reflect this sea change in Polish culture and society.
Russian Studies
At once one of the richest cultures and one of the most volatile, perplexing and powerful of the world's emerging economies, Russia and the Newly Independent States are fast attracting the attention and involvement of a variety of professional spheres, ranging from industry and finance to law, government and education. All of these sectors are actively recruiting graduates familiar with the Russian language and culture.
The Russian Studies Program is committed to providing its students
with a thorough, well-balanced and practical proficiency in
contemporary spoken and written Russian, an in the rich and diverse
literary and cultural traditions that make Russia such a fascinatingly
different and complex nation today. We are committed to helping
students develop the critical, analytical and interpretive tools
essential for successfully working and living in today's increasingly
global environment. Toward these ends, we regularly offer the UF
community an array of courses conducted in both English and Russian,
restricted in size, and taught by full-time faculty and native
speakers who are trained to teach Russian as a foreign language and
culture. Our Overseas Study Program at the Russian State University
for the Humanities ensures that those interested in living and
studying in Russia have a safe and affordable means of doing so.
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