Activities for the public

Open Day

Every year, usually in November, the Centre for Classical Studies organises an Open Day within the framework of the Week of Science and Technology of the CAS. The Open Day targets especially high-school students and the general public. The programme consists of popular science lectures by the staff of the Centre, often accompanied by other programme (an excursion with expert guidance for example).

The programme of the Open Day 2016 may be downloaded here (in Czech).

Summer School of Classics

General Information

The Summer School of Classics, organized annually by the Centre for Classical Studies, offers specialised lectures on the reception of classical heritage from the points of view of classical, medieval and humanistic philology, classical archaeology, Czech and world history, theatre studies, history of arts, philosophy and other related fields. The lectures on various subjects are accompanied with reading of ancient sources in Latin and Greek. In the morning, thematic panels cover multifaceted issues (such as medieval canonical hours and classical references in the Sokol movement) by means of film screenings, panel discussions, music workshops, etc. The reception of the ancient heritage is traced from the first “renaissances” in the antiquity through the Middle Ages and early modern era until the modern period. Since 1998, every Summer school has its special topic. The lectures at Summer Schools are given not only by the members of the Centre for Classical Studies, but also by other renowned specialists from other research institutions.

Target audience

The lectures suitably complement university studies in the above mentioned fields of humanities (Latin, Greek, Czech, History, Arts, etc.), but also in science and medicine (not just the history of science, but also an understanding of the evolution of Latin terminology). Students may, after an agreement with the organisers, attend the Summer school as an optional course of their university curriculum. Furthermore, the lectures may help improve the qualification of the teachers in the above mentioned fields who are receptive to the call of lifelong learning. Another target group are those scholars and researchers who are willing to break through the carapace of their narrow specialisation.

Date and duration

The Summer school takes place every year at the end of June and beginning of July, beginning with the first day of school holidays. It lasts for 4–5 days, depending on the breadth of the topic.

Structure

The mornings are usually devoted to multimedia panel courses. In the afternoon courses, lectures are given concerning current topics of the given field with the intent to introduce the audience with problems of research and its most recent results, supplemented by reading of an original Greek or Latin text.. Evening hours are dedicated to Latin and Greek theatrical performance, discussions, seminars, soiree, etc. Each summer school is tipped by an excursion, linked to the school’s topic. The Summer school is accredited by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic. The participants are awarded a certificate of attendance to the Summer School.

History

The Centre for Classical Studies organises the Summer School of Classics along with the Association of Teachers of Classical Languages (ALFA) every years since 1992 (with the exception of 1999). The Summer school is accredited by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. In the first years they did not have unifying topics. Since 1998, the individual years are thematically oriented. The Summer schools also ceased to be held only in Prague and their organisation was joined by other institutions depending on the topic and venue. Since 2012, the Summer School is offered to students of universities in Prague, Brno and Olomouc as an optional course. The students register in the electronic system of their respective universities and contact the responsible teacher at their institute.

Overview of past Summer Schools