Courses in English and German in the academic year 2017/2018
(last updated 31 August 2017)

The summer semester 2018

Courses intended for all students

Czech for Foreign Students - Beginners - RET9534
Practice, 2 hours/week, 4 credits, Teacher: Dr. Hana Slavíčková
Information about the nature and characteristics of the language, pronunciation, spelling. Comparison with English (language the course is taught in). The aim is to cover the material in the first 7-8 lessons of the textbook New Czech Step by Step (greetings, numbers, months, colours, time….. basic grammar) in written and spoken form.

Courses recommended for students of Theology

Theological Ethics Seminar: Luther on Freedom - Selected Texts – RET5060
Seminar, 2 hours/week, 6 credits, Teacher: Petr Gallus, Th.D.
In 2017, Protestants in Europe celebrate 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's publication of the 95 theses, which uses to be taken as the start of the reformation movement. Therefore, in this seminar we are going to read and discuss Luther's famous work On Christian Liberty (De libertate christiana, Von der Freiheit eines Christenmenschen): as an introduction to Luther's theology on the one side, and as a important text for the still very actual topic of human freedom on the other side. In addition, some passages from Luther's De servo arbitrio (On the bondage of the will) will be discussed as well.
The seminar offers an introduction to Luther's theology, a discussion of some principial thoughts about human freedom and some other topics of protestant ethics.

Acts of Apostles - RET2063 (Biblical Foundations)
Lecture + Practice, 1 hour/week, 2 credits, Teacher: Professor Petr Pokorný

Church History Seminar: Churches in the Cold War - RET3054 or RET3054A 
Seminar, 2 hours/week, 6 credits, (RET3054A  - 4 credits), Teacher: Dr. Peter Morée
The communist regime after the Second World War had the aim to suppress and eventually ban religion and churches from society. They implemented a system of oppression, but they also successfully used the churches for their aims of propaganda. Which were the main stages, how did the churches in Czechoslovakia or in other European countries react? 
In Spring 2016 the course takes place in cooperation with the Institute for Protestant Theology of the Technical University of Dresden. One of its focuses is on the relations between Czech and German Protestants during the Cold War. For more information see http://moodle.etf.cuni.cz/moodle/

Practical Theology: The History and Celebration of the Eucharist - RET6052 
Seminar; 2 hours/week, 6 credits, Teacher: Professor David Holeton
"The best way towards unity in Eucharistic celebration and communion is the renewal of the Eucharist itself in the different churches in regard to teaching and liturgy." (Baptism, Eucharist, Ministry - Eucharist III, 28) Over recent years, most churches have undertaken a significant renewal of their Eucharistic rites and the manner in which they celebrate the sacrament. Through lectures and assigned readings in primary sources the student will become familiar with the historical development of the Eucharist and its various theologies through the ages as well as pastoral questions facing the churches today. By the end of course students should have a solid background with which to engage the contemporary reforms of the Eucharistic rites and practices of their own church as well as an understanding of the practices of other churches.

Theological Ethics: Natural Law – RETK5041
Practice, written essay (3-5 standard pages); 2 credits, Teacher: ThDr. Pavel Keřkovský
John Witte, Jr. Law and Protestantism. The Legal Teaching of the Lutheran Reformation, 2002, Cambridge. 
John Witte, Jr. The Reformation of Rights. Law, Religion, and Human Rights in Early Modern Calvinism, 2007 Cambridge. 

Seminar Philosophie (Deutsch); Wittgenstein: Philosophische Untersuchungen - RET7061 
Seminar, 2 Stunden/Woche, 6 Kredite, Lehrer: Jan Kranát, Ph.D., Olga Navrátilová, Ph.D.

Systematic Theology Seminar - RET40508
Lecture+Seminar, 2 hours/week, 6 credits, Teacher: Associate Professor ThDr. Petr Macek, Ph.D.
God and Evil. Dealing with the perennial question and with some classical and some modern approaches to the problem of theodicy. Critical introduction to the solution offered by Process Theology.

Jesus Christ in Theologies and Cultures of the 20th and 21st Century - RET40512
Seminar; 2 hours/week, 6 credits, Teacher: Prof. Ivana Noble, Ph.D.

Gustavo Guttierez, "A Theology of Liberation"- RET40514
Seminar; 2 hours/week, 6 credits, Teacher: Associate Professor Tim Noble
Fifty years after the first use of the expression "a theology of liberation" by Gustavo Gutierrez in 1968, this course will consist in a close reading of Gutierrez's classic foundational work on the theology of liberation. It will also ask to what extent this work is still relevant, and how liberation theology has developed in the intervening period.

Courses recommended for students of Social Work

Social Work in the Czech Republic I; Current Situation and Challenges – RPZ02B
Lecture and Seminar, 2 hours/week, 5 credits; Teachers: PhDr. Eva Křížová, Ph.D., Mgr. Daniel Bartoň, PhDr. Hana Janečková, Ph.D., PhDr. Jaroslava Šťastná. Ph.D.
The course aims to introduce major social issues and concerns in CR which are closely associated with social work: socio-economic development after 1989, current social structure and emerging problems, approaches to solving them and basic coping strategies. The course will explore theories and concepts related to social exclusion and integration, legal concerns and provide examples of practical applications to be analysed and discussed by the course participants. The course is taught over a semester (12 sessions) with one lecture or seminar each week. 

Health, culture and society; Social, cultural and religious aspects of health and health care – RPZ01
Lecture + Seminar, 2 hours/week, 5 credits, Teacher: PhDr. Eva Křížová, Ph.D.
In this course various links between human health, disease and socio-cultural conditions will be studied. Health, disease and health care will be explored in the historical and cultural perspective.  Paradigms of health and disease in ancient and modern cultures will be compared. 
Selected topics from the list will be presented: 
Religious and spiritual aspects of human illnesses and treatments will be investigated. Focus on health and health promotion in religious systems will be discovered.  A special focus will be paid to extreme and life changing situations like dying, suicide, lethal illness, stillbirth, abortion, loss in the family, injury etc. Archaic, traditional and modern medical systems will be compared and discussed. Medicalization of modern society will be demonstrated. Complementary and alternative medicine as a part of integrated medicine. 
Pedagogical tools:
This course is based on ACTIVE LEARNING. Lectures will be combined with seminars (reading and discussions)
Students will be encouraged to contribute actively to the course content by means of their written essays, presentations and group discussions. This course is suitable for Erasmus incoming students who can contribute to the intercultural and international perspective in perceiving health and disease as cultural phenomena. 

Person Centered Approaches and their Use in Working with Frail Old People - RPZ102 (Validation, pre-therapy, basal stimulation, videotraining of interaction, reminiscence)
Lecture and practice, 2 hours/week, 5 credits, Teacher: PhDr. Hana Janečková, Ph.D.
The course is intended for future pastors, social workers, and pastoral workers, who want to be prepared for the demographic development currently taking place, which involves a rapid increase in the number of very old people in our society, in congregations and in local communities. Students will become familiar with the social consequences of the demographic ageing of the population. The course will also provide concrete examples of appropriate working methods and approaches that will help maintain contacts for senior citizens with reduced independence, promote their dignity, and integrate them into society, while at the same time helping family members who care for them.

Social Work in Practice I – RPZ21B
Practice placement, 50 hours, 5 credits, Teachers: PhDr. Hana Janečková, Ph.D. and Ing. Mgr. Ondřej Fischer