Czech Republic: Post-Communist Transition and the Arts

Program Overview

Students meet with playwright and former President Vaclav Havel.

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Explore Czech post-war history and the legacy of communism through Czech literature, art, film, and theater.

Students consider the role of artists and creative civic initiatives in raising awareness of local and global issues in a country where art and creative dissent historically has played a crucial role in challenging oppressive regimes. Students learn how that rich tradition has transformed more recently to address the new critical challenges associated with liberal democracy, open borders, and free market of post-communist Europe.

The program gives students the chance to interact with local artists, academic specialists, representatives from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) such as the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, and community leaders. Review a more complete list of program partners and projects visited.

Through discussions, readings, film screenings, and performances, students gain insight into the Czech Republic's vibrant yet volatile arts scene and how it has evolved to reflect the values of Czech society. Students are immersed in Czech culture through language instruction and homestays with host families, providing them with an inside view of contemporary social issues and the lasting impact of communism on Czech society today.

"Through the SIT Czech Republic program we were exposed to diverse sections of society, opinions, and mediums through which to interpret post-socialist life. From conversations about the Roma minority with my host mother to discussing public policy toward the arts with studio artists, I saw hands-on what it looks like to rebuild a nation after socialism.  I came back with a more well-rounded education and the tools to dive further into studies of post-socialist problems, such as writing an honor’s thesis on the institutional failure of Czech public policy in regards to the Roma minority after the 1989 Revolution."

-- Elise Randall, Colby College, Fall 2008

 
North Bohemia, drum lessons in the square

"For a Cultural Prague"
The program's base in Prague offers students an historical and artistically prolific environment in which to study the interplay of art and society in the Czech Republic. The city's ongoing cultural crisis regarding state-level funding for the arts is the most recent example of how unprecedented rapid social change and delayed public reforms of post-communist society have brought Czech culture to a critical turning point. Like the Czech film and publishing industries, the formerly dynamic visual arts and theatre communities such as the Alfred in the Courtyard Theater have been challenged by the pressures of the burgeoning commercial and tourist markets, deeply entrenched corruption and outdated public funding structures that bear the marks of the recent communist past. Students observe the debate surrounding cultural policies and study the recent petition prepared by Czech theatres entitled "For a Cultural Prague," which calls for the city of Prague to take responsibility for the creation of conditions that support cultural development.

Students also observe the parallel crisis in the NGO community, where many civic and community initiatives for social change in the 1990s are now struggling in the face of more limited funding  and public complacency. These crises draw attention to the broader challenges in politics and society creating a unique angle for study of the uncertainty of post-socialist society in Central Europe.

Students learn about the country's complex communist past and its relation to contemporary society as well as the impact of globalization and tourism on the Czech arts scene. Excursions to rural areas in the Czech Republic and to Slovakia and Poland expose students to the cultural differences among regions within the country and beyond its borders. Lectures from local artists, NGO leaders, and academic specialists provide insight into the synergy between history, the arts, and current social issues while opportunities for volunteer work with local theaters, artists, and NGOs enable students to contribute to the Czech community.

Browse this program's Independent Study Projects/Undergraduate Research