Czech Literature

The objective of the PhD program in Czech Literature is to provide its students with vocational education, as well as practical skills, in the field of Czech Literary Studies at a level designed to prepare them for independent work in research. The offered courses, which reflect the current state of scholarly knowledge in the primary disciplines of Literary Studies (such as literary theory, methodology, history, criticism, or comparative literature), shall guide the student toward independent and innovative scientific, as well as critical, thinking. There is a strong focus on the all-round development of student’s professional skills and their competence in research and study of primary and secondary sources, which they would later be able to integrate into the body of a scholarly text, as well as present that text in academic discussions on various scientific forums at home and abroad. In this respect, there is also a focus on student’s readiness to join the international academic community through their own work. The program also provides opportunities for enhancing one’s practical skills and independent teaching of, predominantly, specialized seminars, in which the student can assess the practical use of their research results, and boost their own didactical skills.

“Knowledge of mother tongue and literature shapes a culturally literate personality.”

The PhD program offers two specializations, which shall provide the student with profound knowledge, skill, and expertise in areas of their deep interest, in an interdisciplinary perspective:

The specialization Historical Languages of the Czech Lands is designed as a combination of Latin, Germanic, and Czech Studies (it is carried out by the Department of Classical Studies, the Department of German, Scandinavian and Netherland Studies, the Department of Czech Literature, and the Department of Czech Language). It is designed for students interested in Paleo-Czech Language Studies, which shall represent Old Czech in the pertinent Latino-Germanic and Czech context. The specialization’s objective is to provide a complex linguistic and literary insight into medieval writing. Part of the required and selective courses is concerned with issues that every scholar of medieval Czech sources comes across. The emphasis is put on both theoretical and practical aspects of working with medieval sources: apart from the methodologies of classical and modern textual criticism, the sudent shall be introduced to the basic approaches in editing manuscripts and early printed sources. The syllabus of the selective courses shall introduce the students not only to the issues of medieval Latin and German writing, but also to the queston of the status and development of Medieval Latin and German in Central European context. Apart from explaining the important aspects of the individual histories of Medieval Latin and Medieval German, and their respective writings, the focus shall be also put on the history of the scholarship in the said fields.

b) the specialization Intermedial and Intercultural Communication incorporates Literary, Translation, Intermedial, Adaptation, Visual, and Cultural Studies. Its objective is to provide an understanding of the ongoing changes in the status of literature in cultural communication, as well as explore the complexity of its strategies and devices. In this specialty, the traditional Literature Studies are therefore complemented by innovative courses in literary theory looking into issues such as multilinguism and cultural frontiers. The course structure aims at illuminating the contemporary theoretical concepts and interpretational approaches to the PhD students, as well as getting them acquainted with key methodological questions of literary and cultural history.

The post-graduate of the study program shall be qualified for conducting research in the field of Czech literature. Their prospect lies within academic communities engaged in the study or teaching of Czech literature, as well as in any department that is concerned with literature and its applications in general. They can pose as scholars and workers at specialized academic institutions, or institutions of public memory. The post-graduate is prepared for specialized or managerial jobs in media, publishing houses, cultural institutions, in both the public and the private sector.

The post-graduate specialized in Historical Languages of the Czech Lands is qualified to work professionally in scholarly and academic institutions, as well as institutions of public memory both at home and abroad, which are specialized in the said field.

The post-graduate specialized in Intermedial and Intercultural Communication is qualified to work not only in the field of arts and academics but also on managerial positions at cultural institutions and institutions of public memory, both home and abroad.

Deadline for applications: January 1 - April 30.

Deadline for delivery of documents for the admission procedure: May 15.

Documents for the admission procedure:

• signed CV;
• list of publishing activities;
• dissertation project;
• motivation letter.

Documents for the admission procedure must be inserted into the e-application (rubric “Documents”) by 15 May. Applicants are required to include their full name and application number on all attached documents.

The entrance examination takes the form of an oral discussion over the doctoral thesis project.

Notice: A poof of completion of a Master’s degree programme (officially certified copy of the diploma, in the case of education obtained abroad also the so-called recognition) shall be submitted by the accepted applicants upon enrolment in the studies. For the entrance examination, a proof of completion of a Master’s degree programme is not required.

Criteria for evaluation

Pass/fail line: 70 points (out of 100; 50 points for the dissertation project).