Spring 2024

Students work on pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary enrichment. Emphasis is placed on developing and enhancing listening, comprehension and oral skills. Additional hours are offered to improve pronunciation. Written and oral examinations required.

Elementary Czech I - Sample Syllabus

Prerequisite: RUSSN-UA 9201 or Elementary Czech I or by placement exam.

Continuation of Elementary Czech I course.

Elementary Czech II - Sample Syllabus

Prerequisite: RUSSN-UA 9202 or Elementary Czech II or by placement exam.

Using communicative methodology this course introduces more complex features of the language and focuses on building reading and writing skills while continuing to develop conversational ability.

Intermediate Czech I - Sample Syllabus

Prerequisite: RUSSN-UA 9203 or Intermediate Czech I or by placement exam.

Continuation of Intermediate Czech I.

Intermediate Czech II - Sample Syllabus

In Elementary German I students will learn the basics of the language. The course is focused on conversational skills; by learning a simplified structure of German grammar in a clear and concise format, students will be encouraged to use the new language as often as possible. The first steps into the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing) will be accompanied by an introduction to contemporary life and culture in German-speaking countries. At the end of the course students should be able to handle some essential structures of the (real-life functional) language and achieve a rough idea about the way how the German language works.

Elementary German I - Sample syllabus

Prerequisite: GERM-UA 9001 or Elementary German I or by placement exam.

In Elementary German II students will continue to learn the basics of the language. Although the course introduces more complex grammatical concepts and is intended to enrich lexical knowledge, it focuses on the development of conversational ability. Students will grow more confident and more proficient while using various conversational strategies accompanied by a learning by doing attitude. Written assignments will support writing skills, which gradually are getting more important during the course. By acquiring these competencies and by understanding some aspects of contemporary German life and culture students should achieve an initial knowledge of the language.

Elementary German II - Sample syllabus

Prerequisite: GERM-UA 9202/GERM-UA 9010 (Elementary German II/Intensive Elementary German) or by placement exam.

Intermediate German I is intended to develop communication, writing, and argumentation skills beyond the basic level. Students learn more advanced features of the language and read longer and more-complex texts. Grammar of the basic level is reviewed and practiced as appropriate. The course focuses on building reading and writing skills while continuing to improve conversational abilities. Students will grow more confident and more proficient while discussing and presenting various general topics of modern life. On the basis of assorted passages and articles from various books, magazines, and newspapers students train to comprehend and to speak about present-day problems and issues of German-speaking countries. Film clips, literary excerpts, and fieldtrips enhance the cultural dimension of this course.

Intermediate German I - Sample syllabus

Prerequisite: GERM-UA 9003 or Intermediate German I or by placement exam.

Intermediate German II is intended to develop communication, writing, and argumentation skills beyond the basic level. Students learn more advanced features of the language and read longer and more-complex texts. Grammar of the basic level is reviewed and practiced as appropriate. The course focuses on building reading and writing skills while continuing to improve conversational abilities. Students will grow more confident and more proficient while discussing and presenting various general topics of modern life. On the basis of assorted passages and articles from various books, magazines, and newspapers students train to comprehend and to speak about present-day problems and issues of German-speaking countries. Film clips, literary excerpts, and fieldtrips enhance the cultural dimension of this course.

Intermediate German II - Sample syllabus

Advanced German Tutorial is intended to develop communication, writing, and argumentation abilities at a high level. Students examine, discuss, and value texts of various genres, then write essays related to these areas. The course includes a selected review of advanced grammar, idioms, and structures necessary for the effective written (and oral) expression of systematic concepts. Therefore it is focused on the diversification in the fields of syntax, style, and phraseology. Other features of the course are presentations, guided writing, and written analysis. On the basis of assorted passages and articles from the internet, various books, and selected magazines students train to comprehend and to analyze present-day issues of German-speaking countries. However, the main objective of the course is to improve and to consolidate students’ command of spoken German (Format of the course: Lectures).

Advanced German Tutorial - Sample Syllabus

Using communicative methodology, this course introduces students to essential linguistic and social conventions of spoken Polish, with an emphasis on establishing conversational skills.

Elementary Polish I - Sample Syllabus

Prerequisite: RUSSN-UA 9211 or Elementary Polish I or by placement exam.

Continuation of Elementary Polish I.

Elementary Polish II - Sample Syllabus Coming Soon

Prerequisite: RUSSN-UA 9212 or Elementary Polish II or by placement exam.

Using communicative methodology this course introduces more complex features of the language and focuses on building reading and writing skills while continuing to develop conversational ability.

Intermediate Polish I - Sample Syllabus coming soon

Prerequisite: RUSSN-UA 9213 or Intermediate Polish I or by placement exam.

Continuation of Intermediate Polish I.

Intermediate Polish II - Sample Syllabus

The course combines the traditional grammatical approach with a communicational, interactive method. Since the size of the classes is usually small we can put a great emphasis on oral drills and getting the pronunciation right from the beginning. This course is tailored for students who have never taken Russian but some linguistic awareness about Slavic languages is welcome. Students will be introduced to the grammatical complexity of the Russian language and will have the opportunity to master enough Russian to cope with everyday situations in Russian. The students will do considerable amount of grammar and vocabulary exercises in the Workbook as part of the home assignments.

Elementary Russian I - Sample Syllabus

Prerequisite: RUSSN-UA 9001 or Elementary Russian I or by placement exam.

Continuation of Elementary Russian I.

Elementary Russian II - Sample Syllabus 

Prerequisite: RUSSN-UA 9002 or Elementary Russian II or by placement exam.

The course combines the traditional grammatical approach with a communicational, interactive method. Since the size of the classes is usually small we can put a great emphasis on oral drills and improving speaking in Russian on various subjects. Students will be given short topics to talk about at the beginning of every lesson and most written essays will have to be presented orally in class. The class also focuses on improving your writing skills and broadening your vocabulary. That is why the students are expected to keep a diary in Russian and write several compositions during the course. The students will also read several Russian short stories which will be discussed in class. We will review familiar grammar and study some advanced grammatical structures. The students will do considerable amount of grammar and vocabulary exercises in the Workbook as part of the home assignments. Several short lectures on various aspects of Russian culture and history will be given during the course and we will watch two Russian films that would be followed by the discussions.

Intermediate Russian I - Sample Syllabus

Prerequisite: RUSSN-UA 9003 or Intermediate Russian I or by placement exam.

Vocabulary building, idiomatic expressions, and drills in spoken Russian.

Intermediate Russian II - Sample Syllabus 

Prerequisite: RUSSN-UA 9004 or Intermediate Russian II or by placement exam.

The course combines the traditional grammatical approach with a communicational, interactive method. Since the size of the classes is usually small we can put a great emphasis on improving speaking in Russian on various subjects. Students will be given short topics to talk about at the beginning of every lesson and most written essays will have to be presented orally in class.

The class also focuses on improving your writing skills. That is why the students are expected to keep a diary in Russian and write several compositions during the course. The students will also read several Russian short stories in original which will be discussed in class. We will review familiar grammar and study some advanced grammatical structures. The greater emphasis is also put on and broadening your vocabulary and the students will do considerable amount of vocabulary exercises as part of the home assignments. Several short lectures on various aspects of Russian culture and history will be given during the course and we will watch two Russian films that would be followed by the discussions.

Advanced Russian I - Sample Syllabus Coming Soon

This course explores the development of the rule of law and human rights issues in post-communist Central Europe. We will also refer to transitional systems outside the post-communist region. Although dealing with Central European region, we will often talk about American situation as well.

First, we will face a short introduction into the history of the Central European region and its culture of human rights, and try to delineate this region. Next, we will examine the historical, national and international context of making constitutionalism and the rule of law in Central Europe. We will try to understand what human rights actually mean. We will face the debates that occurred when emerging democracies dealt with the former communist regimes. On several case studies, we will explain several basic attitudes towards the former communist regimes, its apparatchiks, its agents, and collaborators (lustration laws and dealing with the communist crimes). We will compare these approaches with those found elsewhere (South Africa, Latin America). Furthermore, we will examine contemporary human rights debates surrounding abortion, freedom of speech, social rights, the relation between religion and the state, the discrimination against minorities, gay rights, gender discrimination, affirmative action etc. We will also analyze the Western legal transplants in Central Europe and the post-communist application of basic rights. Finally, we will deal with the European Union and the legal dimension of the European Enlargement of 2004.

Contemporary Issues in Law: Law and Human Rights in Central Europe - Sample syllabus

The course will introduce students to the development of Romany politics and culture from a persecuted minority through to the emergence of Romany organizations with an emphasis on Central and Eastern Europe. The aim is to challenge any essentializing view on Roma as either a people outside or/and without society or as perennial victims of oppression. Two main approaches have dominated the teaching of Romany issues: a culturalist/ethnic approach, which stresses Romany cultures, and an economistic approach, which stresses ´poverty.´ This course will challenge mono-causal and a-historic explanations for the social situation of Roma and will stimulate students to think about Roma in a critical holistic way that brings into consideration the societies they live in. Building on a diverse selection of empirical material, ranging from ethnographic, historical and sociological case studies to artistic representations of Roma, the course will present the Roma “as good to think” for our comprehension of current social issues. The course is divided into three interconnected thematic blocks – 1. Identity, community and culture, 2. Power, the State and social stratification, 3. History, memory and politics of representation – which will allow to cover much of the current debates on the plight of European Roma as well as a grasp of social theories on marginality.

Roma in Central East Europe: Ethnographic and Historical Overview Of A People Without A State - Sample Syllabus

Note: This course requires a camera which takes film (i.e. not digital): a 35 mm single lens reflex camera that can be either manually or semi automatically adjusted with a light meter built-in. The lens could be fixed focal 35mm or 50mm, or standard zoom (range from 35mm to around 80mm, for instance). Flash is optional.

Students are required to bring their own camera. It is possible to buy a second hand camera in Prague; the approximate cost is $100. 

The course is focused on photography as an art and photography as a means of communication. It includes aspects of history and the theory of photography and practical photographic education of classic analog/wet darkroom process — i.e. black and white photographic image making and printing. The goal is to develop a new way of seeing through the viewfinder of the camera and to hone critical thinking about photography. This course aims to teach students to experience the photographic works of art and reflect on that experience. Importance is laid on students’ understanding of the photographic image as a means of expressing an individual artistic attitude towards the world.

Photography I for Non-Majors - Sample syllabus

Students in the NYU Art History Dept: This course counts for Urban Design credit.

Prague is a unique city, in which all architectural styles combine: from the pre-Romanesque, to Romanesque and Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Classicist styles, to the modern ones that include Historicism, Art Nouveau, the original Cubism in architecture, Art Deco, Constructivism and Functionalism, even the post-war Stalinist architecture, and contemporary trends. The city did not undergo extensive renewals such as occurred in other European metropolises, and thus fragments of various epochs have been left standing here side by side, and partially, there is also the medieval urban layout to be seen. Architects and master builders from many European countries worked here and local architects and artists were also influenced by foreign models. The city is in fact an ideal textbook of architecture from the Middle Ages to the present day. The course should take the students through this development chronologically, in lectures accompanied by projections of pictures and short films, but also in visits to typical buildings, including their interiors. The main emphasis will be put on the period of the 19th and 20th centuries, in which the lecturer specializes. Architecture is linked to other fields, such as fine arts, urban planning, national heritage care, industrial design, and others. Teaching will thus also focus on these. During the course, each of the students will present an independent study of one chosen building: they will analyze the building, place it within a broader context of European architecture and supply it with their own illustrations. They will defend the work. At the end of the term they will sit for a test. There is compulsory and recommended specialist literature in English available for them, and they are expected to supplement the information gained at lectures and excursions by self-study. By the end of the term the student should have acquired some knowledge of the complex development of Central-European architecture, of the most significant figures, and be fairly well informed in related fields.

History of Czech Architecture - Sample syllabus

Students in the NYU Art History Dept: This course counts for Art History elective credit.

This course presents a survey of art and architecture in Prague and its environs - from the Middle Ages to the present - placed within the context of the main periods and movements of Western art history. The course will be rooted in a discussion of the city of Prague, and students are encouraged through excursions and assignments to become acquainted with the city's architecture, monuments and urban design. Students will learn to analyse formal aspects of art and architectural styles (from Romanesque to modern) and will also be encouraged to investigate their sources and theoretical foundations. Emphasis will be given to the historical and cultural context of art styles and movements. We will also look at art patronage in some key periods of Czech history to see how this reflects political, cultural and ideological change. Classroom lectures will be combined with regular excursions to examine works of art and architecture at first hand. These will include architectural walking tours and visits to temporary exhibitions as well as the city's major art galleries.

Czech Art and Architecture - Sample syllabus

Students in the NYU CAS Music Department: This course counts for Major credit.

This is a chance to immerse yourself in the musical culture of Prague. You will attend five music performances together with the class and two on your own. Each of the concerts will be in a different style, and performed in a different sort of venue. Each concert will be preceded by a lecture/listening session, often involving the actual performers; you will also be assigned a reading excerpt relevant to the music you will hear. The concerts, scheduled about once every two weeks on evenings between Mondays and Thursdays, will be supplemented by architecture walks and film showings, which will usually take place during class time.

In addition, you will undertake a “Personal Connection Project”, in groups of two or three, in which you will choose a local genre, performer or composer to research. The research will include reading relevant contextual material, attendance at a live concert or rehearsal, and an interview with a performer. You will share your project with the class in an oral presentation, which will take place at the end of the semester. after which you will submit your conclusions in a final paper, in lieu of a final exam.

Expressive Culture: Music in Prague Field Study - Sample Syllabus

The course is focused on exploring Franz Kafka’s work – stories, novels, diaries and letters – in the context of fin de siècle Prague and the birth of modernism. We will take a closer look at the cultural and social context of Central Europe (literature and the arts, but also the Modernist architecture of Adolf Loos, Simmel’s sociology of the metropolitan life, Freud’s analysis of the unconscious, Brentano’s psychology, the resonance of Nietzsche’s philosophy, or the emergence of new media like phonograph and silent film) in the first two decades of the 20th century. In addition, we will discuss the adaptations of Kafka’s work and its impact on later art, fiction and film (Borges, Welles, Kundera, Roth, Švankmajer). The topics discussed through Kafka’s writings and other related works include: man and metropolis, family, estrangement, authorship, time, writing and media, travelling, territories and identities, languages, animals, art and pain. We will be especially interested in how these phenomena transform when represented in and through the medium of literary fiction.

Kafka and his Contexts - Sample syllabus

Individual or minority revolt against for the time being prevailing majority position, religious interpretation or political rule is an important but often forgotten part of history. Modern Political Dissent class covers this phenomena combining findings from several fields like psychological response to extreme situations, modern history, political and communication theory, art and culture in opposition against perceived injustice and case studies and analyses of important examples of modern political dissent. From interpretation of holocaust or torture survival ordeal and Stockholm syndrome students are led to analyze the context – both psychological and historical – in order to search for possible remedies. Conditions that made totalitarian ideologies so widely acceptable are studied within the context of thought reform and cult manipulations. Works of Robert J.Lifton, Stanley Milgrams and Phillip Zimbardo are used to explain importance of individual responsibility versus obedience to authority. Role modeling and differentiation in communicating minority or dissent values to majority society give a possibility to adjust complex strategies for change.

Modern Dissent in Central Europe: The Art of Defeat - Sample syllabus

Enrollment by permission only. Application required.

The seminar portion of the course explores many different aspects of your internship site. The goal is to finish the semester with an in-depth understanding of the company or organization, including its approach, its policies, and the context in which it operates. We will also discuss more generally the state of the contemporary workplace and ourselves as workers. Finally, you will use the seminar to reflect critically and analytically on the internship experience and as a way to refine your own personal and professional goals.

Experiential Learning Seminar - Sample Syllabus

The goal of the course is to give students picture of main streams in development of Czech filmmaking from its origins to present times. The phenomena will be explained in the international context regarding the influences and original innovations in style and in national economical and political relations. The major interest will represent new tendencies from “velvet revolution” of 1989 till contemporary situation. Lectures will be supplied by screening of characteristic excerpts from films, eventually of entire movies.

Seminar in Czech Cinema and Culture - Sample syllabus

This interdisciplinary seminar is designed to discuss and question the identity of specific nations in European space, which has always been a fascinating crossroad of ideas and ideologies as well as the birthplace of wars and totalitarian systems. The course will cover masterpieces of Russian, Hungarian, German, Polish and Czech cinematography, focusing on several crucial periods of history, in particular WWII and its aftermath, showing moral dilemmas of individuals and nations under the Nazi regime as well as revealing the bitter truth of the Stalinist years.Students will be exposed to brilliant and often controversial works of film art focusing on moral dilemmas of individuals under the stressful times of history. Participants of this course will thus map the European space through the means of film trying to analyze the individual approach to historical events while getting a general picture of Europe in its crucial periods of history - and last but not least learn to appreciate European film art.

Central European Film - Sample syllabus

Individual or minority revolt against for the time being prevailing majority position, religious interpretation or political rule is an important but often forgotten part of history. Modern Political Dissent class covers this phenomena combining findings from several fields like psychological response to extreme situations, modern history, political and communication theory, art and culture in opposition against perceived injustice and case studies and analyses of important examples of modern political dissent. From interpretation of holocaust or torture survival ordeal and Stockholm syndrome students are led to analyze the context – both psychological and historical – in order to search for possible remedies. Conditions that made totalitarian ideologies so widely acceptable are studied within the context of thought reform and cult manipulations. Works of Robert J.Lifton, Stanley Milgrams and Phillip Zimbardo are used to explain importance of individual responsibility versus obedience to authority. Role modeling and differentiation in communicating minority or dissent values to majority society give a possibility to adjust complex strategies for change.

Modern Dissent in Central Europe: The Art of Defeat - Sample syllabus

The course is focused on exploring Franz Kafka’s work – stories, novels, diaries and letters – in the context of fin de siècle Prague and the birth of modernism. We will take a closer look at the cultural and social context of Central Europe (literature and the arts, but also the Modernist architecture of Adolf Loos, Simmel’s sociology of the metropolitan life, Freud’s analysis of the unconscious, Brentano’s psychology, the resonance of Nietzsche’s philosophy, or the emergence of new media like phonograph and silent film) in the first two decades of the 20th century. In addition, we will discuss the adaptations of Kafka’s work and its impact on later art, fiction and film (Borges, Welles, Kundera, Roth, Švankmajer). The topics discussed through Kafka’s writings and other related works include: man and metropolis, family, estrangement, authorship, time, writing and media, travelling, territories and identities, languages, animals, art and pain. We will be especially interested in how these phenomena transform when represented in and through the medium of literary fiction.

Kafka and his Contexts - Sample syllabus

Enrollment by permission only. Application required.

The seminar portion of the course explores many different aspects of your internship site. The goal is to finish the semester with an in-depth understanding of the company or organization, including its approach, its policies, and the context in which it operates. We will also discuss more generally the state of the contemporary workplace and ourselves as workers. Finally, you will use the seminar to reflect critically and analytically on the internship experience and as a way to refine your own personal and professional goals.

Experiential Learning Seminar - Sample Syllabus

The contours of Jewish life in Europe (and around the world) transformed drastically between the 16th and 20th centuries: legally, culturally, religiously, and politically. As empires gave way to nation-states and new globalizing structures emerged, the main arenas of Jewish politics and politics about Jews shifted. During these years, Jews acquired new rights as individuals, including the right to re-interpret what it meant to be Jewish. At the same time, communal institutions lost many of their coercive and political functions. No aspect of Jewish experience remained unchanged by these processes of modernization, which acted upon Jews and in which Jews also took part. But what does “modern” mean? Is it a quality of a society or of individuals? Might it simply be an historical period and, if so, when and why did it begin? Has it ended and what were its main features? In this class, we will explore how modernization affected Jewish communities and individuals identified as Jewish in various European contexts. We will also seek to understand how different cohorts of Europeans, both Jewish and non-Jewish, sought to claim or reject modernity, with specific reference to the modern “Jewish Question.” What place, if any, do Jews have as individuals and collectives in new socio-political and cultural orders? We will thereby come to appreciate better what it meant to be a Jew (or not to be a Jew) in the modern

Modern Jewish History - Sample syllabus

The goal of this course is to introduce the students  into  nationalism studies and into  a plethora of historical and present roots of national identities and manifestations  of nationalism in Central and Eastern Europe. The course will examine how  selected aspects of national histories  have been used (and misused)  in 19., 20. and 21. century  to support/justify  national political programs and leaders; specifically, how a romantic picture of national history influenced the development of national identity and what role its interpretation has had in political struggles and programs of Central and East European nations. The course focuses on forces that triggered  many eruptions of ethnic hatred and  atrocities in Central and Eastern Europe including Holocaust,  post World War II expulsion of Germans, civil war in former Yugoslavia, and most recently the nationalist aspects of conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

The course will focus on Ukraine and Russia,  Poland, Hungary,  former Czechoslovakia, present-day Czech Republic and Slovakia,  on  former Yugoslavia and on independent states on its territory, and it will motivate the students to formulate a positive and cooperative prospect  for the region's  future. 

History of Nationalism in Central and Eastern Europe - Sample syllabus

The course focuses on combining the creative techniques of fiction with the rigor of journalistic travel writing to produce stories about Prague (not only) that move beyond the constraints of the news and feature story: stories that engage, resonate with readers, provide insight – stories which “produce the emotion”.

The course proceeds by the reading and analysis of important contemporary journalism and classic travel pieces: examination of the narrative; fictional and literary devices used in travel writing; examination of and practice with various information gathering strategies; humor; point of view; unique voice. Distinguished Czech travel writers/journalists/photographers will be invited as guest lecturers.

Production and Publication: Travel Writing - Sample syllabus

This course aims to bring together diverse issues and perspectives in the rapidly evolving and changing area of international/global communication. Through a historical perspective, a framework will be established for the appreciation of the development of the immense scope, disparity, and complexity of this rapidly evolving field. Students will be encouraged to critically assess shifts in national, regional, and international media patterns of production, distribution, and consumption over time, leading to a critical analysis of the tumultuous contemporary global communication environment. Essential concepts of international communication will be examined, including trends in national and global media consolidation, cultural implications of globalization, international broadcasting, information flows, international communication law and regulation, and trends in communication and information technologies. The focus of the course will be international, with attention being paid both to Western-based multimedia conglomerates, as well as to the increasing global prominence of media corporations based in other regions, contributing to the reversal of international media flows and challenging the global hegemony of the Western media producers. Particular emphasis will be on the Czech Republic, as an empirical example of a national media system affected by global media flows.

Global Media Seminar: East-Central Europe - Sample syllabus

This course will examine “social media” from a cultural perspective, with a focus on how media technologies figure in practices of everyday life and in the construction of social relationships and identities. This course is based closely on one offered in New York by Professor Laura Portwood-Stacer, but we will examine many of the issues in the context of Central and Eastern Europe and compare the “Western” experience of social media with the situation in the post communist world.

Although many of our readings will deal with Social Network Sites (SNSs), we will attempt to form an expansive definition of what constitutes “social media.” We will also work from an expansive definition of “technology,” considering the term in a cultural sense to include various practices and tools used to communicate in everyday life. The course will also look closely at the impact of social media on journalism and activism, including a dissection of the recent debates on the power of social media to transform these fields.

Social Media Practicum - Sample syllabus

The course will include an introduction of the influential sociological theory of consumerism by Zygmunt Bauman. Other theories (see the syllabus bellow) will be presented as well. After the presentation of the mentioned theories, we will concentrate on their application to the Central European environment, which will be discussed in the context of globalization. The main aim is to show the relationship between the advertisement and the society in the current phase of society’s development, which can be characterized as a mutual discussion, but a discussion of unequal partners.

In this context we will discuss the impact of current mechanisms of consumer society, which through the advertisement influences issues like i.e.: gender, politics, art, national identity, ethnic relations and democracy. We will also discuss chosen types of advertisement messages, how they influence the viewer and which ethical problems arise from such an influence.

Advertising and Consumer Society - Sample syllabus

This course aims to bring together diverse issues and perspectives in the rapidly evolving and changing area of international/global communication. Through a historical perspective, a framework will be established for the appreciation of the development of the immense scope, disparity, and complexity of this rapidly evolving field. Students will be encouraged to critically assess shifts in national, regional, and international media patterns of production, distribution, and consumption over time, leading to a critical analysis of the tumultuous contemporary global communication environment. Essential concepts of international communication will be examined, including trends in national and global media consolidation, cultural implications of globalization, international broadcasting, information flows, international communication law and regulation, and trends in communication and information technologies. The focus of the course will be international, with attention being paid both to Western-based multimedia conglomerates, as well as to the increasing global prominence of media corporations based in other regions, contributing to the reversal of international media flows and challenging the global hegemony of the Western media producers. Particular emphasis will be on the Czech Republic, as an empirical example of a national media system affected by global media flows.

Global Media Seminar: East-Central Europe - Sample syllabus

Prerequisite: MPATC-UE 35 Music Theory I, or success in placement exam

An exploration of baroque and classical styles through the works of composers from 1600-1800, including the origins of the style, the confluence of stylistic practices and the evolution of classicism. Students will be able to recognize, describe, and discuss features of both styles. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the origins of classicism including the differences from Baroque style as manifest in musical practice. Students will be able to recognize, identify, and discuss works typical of the classical period including symphony, concerto, opera, and solo/chamber works including the sonata and string quartet.

Music History II: Baroque and Classical - Sample syllabus

The course provides an overview of the major trends in classical music of the last 100 years in the West. Special attention will be paid to the musical culture of Central Europe and particularly the Czech lands. Central compositional and aesthetic issues of 20th century music will be discussed on the basis of source texts as well as academic writings. Music, politics and nationalism, atonality and serialism, experimental and electronic music, the musical minimalism, and other topics will be covered.

Music History IV: Twentieth Century Music - Sample syllabus

Prerequisite: Music Theory III, or success in placement exam

In this course students will deepen their knowledge of music theory. We will learn and practice advanced harmony and form in tonal music as well as selected topic of 20th century music theory and practice. We will start from chromatic harmony of the late 19. Century and go through instances of atonal, serial music up to special 20th century composition techniques and forms. Emphasis will be put on assignments and exercises in order to develop good creative and analytical skills. We will examine the main formal principles of post-tonal music and apply our knowledge in analysis of selected compositions. We will use various analytical approaches and test them on a large scale of musical material. Every student will be due to realize at least one analysis of assigned composition during the semester.

Music Theory IV: 20th Century - Sample syllabus

Prerequisite: MPATC-UE 8, Aural Comprehension III, or success in placement exam

In Aural Comprehension IV the students will continue their exploration of the main elements of music - melody, harmony, rhythm, and form - through active listening, sight-singing, and dictation. Course activities are correlated with materials from Music Theory IV. The tonal material will remain a part of our exercises, but we will work with elements of atonal music and complex rhythms too. Besides regular sight singing, prepared singing, dictations and transcriptions of recorded music we will also listen to orchestral instrumentation, identify musical forms from listening to recordings, try to hear overtones, micro-intervals, improvise second voice to a song and write and sing a short piece of music.

Aural Comprehension IV - Sample syllabus

Prerequisite: Keyboard Skills III, or success in placement exam

Development of keyboard skills through improvisation and approaches to accompanying movement, singing and instrumental playing. Techniques of sight-reading, transportation, and score reading are emphasized.

Keyboard Skills IV - Sample Syllabus

This course is designed to introduce the student to contemporary practices of creating and presenting electroacoustic music from the practical perspectives of analyzing works and understanding current technologies and aesthetic paradigms. In addition to musicological issues, composition will be placed in the wider context of contemporary art and New Media practices. This is a composition class that uses a music appreciation format to teach music creation today.Practical compositional lectures by Michal Rataj will focus on the analysis of a few key works, each dealing with specific aspects of music and technology and individual compositional approaches. Eric Rosenzveig will present theoretical classes providing an overview, background and competing theories from the varied perspectives of the artist, philosopher, technologist, musician and composer. We will try and look at the question “why” in addition to “how” to make a new work. We'll listen to many shorter works in class, to provide context to our discussions.

Note: This is not a 'software class'. Tools are secondary to concepts, history, philosophy and compositional methods.

Electroacoustic Composition: Techniques of Computer Music Synthesis - Sample Syllabus

By Permission only. Private lessons are available only to Steinhardt Music and Performing Arts Professions (MPAP) performance majors (instrumental performance, vocal performance, theory and composition, and music education) for whom lessons are required every semester. Students may register for only one private lesson per semester.

PRIVATE LESSONS: 2 credits (30 minute lesson/week); 3 credits (60 minute lesson/week)

Private Instruction on Piano - Sample Syllabus

By Permission only. Private lessons are available only to Steinhardt Music and Performing Arts Professions (MPAP) performance majors (instrumental performance, vocal performance, theory and composition, and music education) for whom lessons are required every semester. Students may register for only one private lesson per semester.

PRIVATE LESSONS: 2 credits (30 minute lesson/week); 3 credits (60 minute lesson/week)

Private Music Composition Instruction - Sample

By Permission only. Private lessons are available only to Steinhardt Music and Performing Arts Professions (MPAP) performance majors (instrumental performance, vocal performance, theory and composition, and music education) for whom lessons are required every semester. Students may register for only one private lesson per semester.

PRIVATE LESSONS: 2 credits (30 minute lesson/week); 3 credits (60 minute lesson/week)

Private Instruction on Wind Instruments - Sample Syllabus

By Permission only. Private lessons are available only to Steinhardt Music and Performing Arts Professions (MPAP) performance majors (instrumental performance, vocal performance, theory and composition, and music education) for whom lessons are required every semester. Students may register for only one private lesson per semester.

PRIVATE LESSONS: 2 credits (30 minute lesson/week); 3 credits (60 minute lesson/week)

Private Instruction on Percussion Instruments - Sample Syllabus

By Permission only. Private lessons are available only to Steinhardt Music and Performing Arts Professions (MPAP) performance majors (instrumental performance, vocal performance, theory and composition, and music education) for whom lessons are required every semester. Students may register for only one private lesson per semester.

PRIVATE LESSONS: 2 credits (30 minute lesson/week); 3 credits (60 minute lesson/week)

Vocal Training (Private Lesson) - Sample Syllabus

Open to Music majors and other students by placement audition. Non-Steinhardt music majors should email karolina.jirelova@nyu.edu to request permission to enroll.

Chamber Ensembles - Sample Syllabus

Open to Music majors and other students by placement audition. Non-Steinhardt music majors should email karolina.jirelova@nyu.edu to request permission to enroll.

Study and performance of standard dance band literature, experimental jazz compositions, and student arrangements.

Jazz Ensembles - Sample Syllabus

This course explores the recent history and the current state of political, economic and cultural relations between the United States and Europe. Ever since the end of the World War II, the cooperative relationship between these two parts of the world, often described as "The West", has been a bedrock of international stability, security and prosperity. After the end of the Cold War, this relationship has undergone changes, along with the whole system of international relations. Recently, on both sides of the Atlantic, the talk has been about a crisis of the Euro-American relationship. We will examine the validity of these claims, the causes of the current disagreements and possible ways of overcoming them. Throughout, we will emphasize the overwhelming nature of common values and interests on both sides of the Atlantic as well as the risks stemming from a potential rift for both Europe and America. We will examine the compatibility of current European and U.S. policies with respect to third countries or regions, such as Russia, the Middle East, China, and other parts of the Globe. We will also analyze the specific role played in this relationship by countries of Central and Eastern Europe as relative newcomers to democracy, to the Atlantic Alliance and to European Union.

European-American Relations in the 21st Century - Sample syllabus

The course "Central Europe, EU and NATO" provides students with an overview of the history, institutional and political structures, and major current debates in the European integration process, including its Atlantic dimension. In particular, the course concentrates on the trends triggered by EU enlargements in 2004 and 2007, the security situation after 9/11 and the impact of globalization on EU economic and social governance.

Central Europe, NATO and the European Union - Sample syllabus

The current anti-Western turn in the Russian politics and the much-publicized violent Russian reaction to the European aspirations of Ukraine provides a useful context for exploration of the profound diversity of the Eastern half of the European continent which until recently has been often perceived in the West as a monolith called "Eastern Europe". This course aims at helping students to understand the distinctiveness and uniqueness of Russia's cultural, social and political traditions vis-à-vis not only Western Europe, but also vis-à-vis the countries of East-Central Europe which until recently constituted a part of the Soviet sphere of influence locked behind the Iron Curtain. By attending to the complexities of the dynamics of the centuries-long interaction between the "Russian civilization" (Russkiy mir) and the diverse nations and cultures of East-Central Europe students will be encouraged to appreciate the social, political and economic significance of seemingly subtle differences between the historical experiences, identity narratives, and value systems of various peoples, who tend to retain their particular cultural patterns of thought and social behavior despite geographical proximity and growing interconnectedness brought about by globalization. While the course is primarily addressed to students of Russian and Slavic Studies, of European history, and of European politics, its focus on the explanatory power of particular cultural outlooks of peoples and nations which provide the context for individual and group decision-making makes this course suitable also for students of other social and cultural sciences. Without adequate understanding and appreciation of both commonality and diversity of human experience we are risking profound misreading of the intentions and expectations of the others, and this in turn is likely to lead to mismanagement of international affairs despite our best intentions to make our globalizing world livable and hospitable to all. 

Russia and East-Central Europe - Sample Syllabus

This course examines the totalitarian oppression from the point of view of ordinary citizens in communist Czechoslovakia. It focuses on the construction of collective mentality through everyday official/public and unofficial/private activities, including mass parades, ceremonies and performances, work relations, children’s education, housing schemes or collective vacationing. The goal of the seminar is to demonstrate the consequences of life in an oppressive regime: suppression of fundamental forms of civic interaction, such as independent public communication, and distortion of moral and behavioral norms. At the end of the semester, students will be able to evaluate the main theoretical concepts and historical events of totalitarianism against the background of specific activities, problems and aspirations of the people directly affected by life in a totalitarian system, the citizens of communist Czechoslovakia.

Collective Identity in a Totalitarian Regime - Sample syllabus

This course explores the development of the rule of law and human rights issues in post-communist Central Europe. We will also refer to transitional systems outside the post-communist region. Although dealing with Central European region, we will often talk about American situation as well.

First, we will face a short introduction into the history of the Central European region and its culture of human rights, and try to delineate this region. Next, we will examine the historical, national and international context of making constitutionalism and the rule of law in Central Europe. We will try to understand what human rights actually mean. We will face the debates that occurred when emerging democracies dealt with the former communist regimes. On several case studies, we will explain several basic attitudes towards the former communist regimes, its apparatchiks, its agents, and collaborators (lustration laws and dealing with the communist crimes). We will compare these approaches with those found elsewhere (South Africa, Latin America). Furthermore, we will examine contemporary human rights debates surrounding abortion, freedom of speech, social rights, the relation between religion and the state, the discrimination against minorities, gay rights, gender discrimination, affirmative action etc. We will also analyze the Western legal transplants in Central Europe and the post-communist application of basic rights. Finally, we will deal with the European Union and the legal dimension of the European Enlargement of 2004.

Contemporary Issues in Law: Law and Human Rights in Central Europe - Sample syllabus