Czech Studies at UNL

Hana Waisserova Author

03/09/2023 Added

151 Plays

Description

A presentation about the Czech Studies program in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Searchable Transcript

Search:

[00:00:00.940]Welcome to UNL Czech Studies.
[00:00:05.070]Hopefully this presentation will make you excited
[00:00:10.050]about our Czech.
[00:00:12.300]So at UNL, we do have a long tradition.
[00:00:17.370]Our Czech program is nearly as old as the university,
[00:00:20.310]so we have been here for a while.
[00:00:27.270]And this is us today.
[00:00:30.060]So you can see we actually do a lot of really cool stuff.
[00:00:34.050]We learn language, culture, history,
[00:00:36.510]we make films and I will show you some clips.
[00:00:40.470]We do a lot of field trips, we have lectures,
[00:00:43.110]lunch and lectures, we bring guests, we have social,
[00:00:45.630]we have a lot of fun.
[00:00:46.860]And you can also study so-called Czech minor.
[00:00:49.770]We have regular and online classes,
[00:00:52.590]and later on if you do Czech these are all the cool jobs
[00:00:55.980]you can have in government,
[00:00:57.420]different organization, businesses.
[00:00:59.700]So don't be afraid and just try to join up.
[00:01:04.980]And we are also in a beautiful friendship
[00:01:09.180]with the community because we really have
[00:01:11.430]like absolutely fantastic scholarships.
[00:01:13.530]So all students of Czech
[00:01:15.270]get Czech Language Foundation scholarships.
[00:01:18.030]But we have other scholarships which are listed here.
[00:01:21.090]And so we are just grateful for this really,
[00:01:24.630]really generous support.
[00:01:27.210]Chab Fund for example funds one student to go
[00:01:30.870]for a full semester, fully paid, in the Czech Republic
[00:01:35.889]after you know, finishing two years of studying Czech.
[00:01:39.660]Isn't that cool?
[00:01:43.260]And we also like to create a lot of opportunities.
[00:01:47.340]So we mingle with others, we are very present.
[00:01:51.540]We also, you know, have the exciting study abroad trips.
[00:01:54.870]So these are just some clipits
[00:01:56.430]of our wonderful Czech students.
[00:01:59.790]And we actually travel.
[00:02:01.920]So in here you can see that from our study abroad trips,
[00:02:05.490]we are seeking always Czech-American connections.
[00:02:08.220]We also do that in our classes.
[00:02:10.080]So this is from Pilsen, Czech Republic.
[00:02:13.140]Thank you America, because you probably know
[00:02:16.140]that Pilsen or Western part of Czech Republic was liberated
[00:02:21.000]by the Americans Heart to Heartland connections.
[00:02:23.460]Yes, we visited American sector in Berlin.
[00:02:26.460]Charlie Checkpoint, so really cool stuff.
[00:02:31.417]And we are culture ambassadors.
[00:02:34.050]So we actually visit various organizations.
[00:02:36.778]We do lots of field and experiential learning
[00:02:39.810]and our students are recognized.
[00:02:42.780]They earn scholarships, they're very, very visible.
[00:02:45.660]So we are really proud of our alumnis.
[00:02:49.291]And, also, because we have an expertise.
[00:02:53.220]We here and there look at you know,
[00:02:55.800]old Czech letters and heritage documents,
[00:03:01.200]which are so present here.
[00:03:02.490]So we have fun with that.
[00:03:04.650]And we also, you know, do some cool research.
[00:03:07.560]So we will sort of show you that.
[00:03:10.260]But what we believe mainly is our program is fun
[00:03:13.410]and every interaction matters.
[00:03:15.300]So we bring tons of super cool guests like Paul Wilson
[00:03:20.280]very famous journalist, translator, rocker
[00:03:23.587]who was connected to The Plastic People of the Universe.
[00:03:27.540]If you have never heard about it, you know,
[00:03:29.820]we will let you know super cool stuff, writers, scholars,
[00:03:35.970]and you know we have all these wonderful interactions,
[00:03:39.090]lunches and talks.
[00:03:40.200]So, that really can make a difference in your life
[00:03:44.190]and we make it fun.
[00:03:45.510]So with this class for example,
[00:03:48.069]as we love history and culture,
[00:03:50.660]we had our "My Antonia" played by Rachel Fuchsa,
[00:03:54.870]and we also had other historical figures.
[00:03:57.570]So what a fun way to learn a language
[00:04:00.450]and just make all this wonderful product.
[00:04:03.360]And we are inspired.
[00:04:05.130]So we also work with Czech special collections
[00:04:09.674]in our fantastic library.
[00:04:11.790]And you probably don't recognize these two guys
[00:04:14.610]but they are quite well known
[00:04:16.710]in the US and American history.
[00:04:18.660]So Edward Beneš and Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk,
[00:04:21.510]the first Czechoslovak president
[00:04:23.310]and the second Czechoslovak president.
[00:04:25.830]And we sort of had some fun
[00:04:27.779]reenacting some of their moments.
[00:04:31.500]And we travel, so every semester
[00:04:34.200]we go for these fantastic field trips.
[00:04:36.799]When we try to sort of meet with the community,
[00:04:40.260]we read stories, we listen to people,
[00:04:43.590]we learn about their families
[00:04:45.180]and it's just absolutely fascinating.
[00:04:47.736]And here and there our students
[00:04:49.170]also discover their families.
[00:04:51.270]Like in here we have find a grandma of our student,
[00:04:57.371]or a gravestone of this sort of legendary Nemec family
[00:05:02.340]who are very well known in the Bohemian Alps
[00:05:04.380]or Taborek family.
[00:05:05.850]And we are quite a crowd.
[00:05:07.260]So on every trip, you know, we are just a really huge crowd
[00:05:11.730]and we have so much fun.
[00:05:13.231]And as I said, we are really curious, we are very creative.
[00:05:18.171]We do research, but we meet people
[00:05:20.490]we talk and we also make these super cool films.
[00:05:23.910]So this is actually on campus so you can see,
[00:05:27.330]you know that we are all over the place
[00:05:29.400]and we are just not afraid.
[00:05:32.190]And we do really believe that every interaction matters.
[00:05:35.670]So when we meet with different famous personalities
[00:05:39.334]you really, you know, get to know them.
[00:05:41.730]And this is for example in Wilber where one of the
[00:05:44.730]famous celebrity economists from the Czech Republic visited
[00:05:48.150]and students showed him Wilber
[00:05:50.550]and all these sort of Czech signs and other stuff.
[00:05:54.240]So that was absolutely fantastic.
[00:05:56.490]We meet with writers, we go to places we meet with community
[00:06:01.170]and it is just really a life-changing experience.
[00:06:04.620]And yes, sometimes we blush,
[00:06:06.600]because as you see community, you know,
[00:06:08.760]actually know this word, which I cannot pronounce
[00:06:11.520]because I am blushing.
[00:06:13.196]It means what you see here, right?
[00:06:16.320]And yeah, it's just so fun to see, you know
[00:06:19.290]these sort of interactions.
[00:06:21.150]And yes, experiential learning, we're all for it.
[00:06:23.820]So sometimes we make dumplings and goulash,
[00:06:27.260]and we make kolaches and we just do a lot of stuff.
[00:06:31.878]On our trips, we also eat well.
[00:06:34.290]As you see, we are hosted usually by the community
[00:06:37.110]and we can taste all sorts of delicacies like, you know,
[00:06:40.920]really kolaches, dumpling, goulash, you know
[00:06:45.450]fantastic sausages or pork and dumplings,
[00:06:50.790]you know, so, so much fun.
[00:06:53.638]And we also love kolache and polka.
[00:06:57.930]So we also learn to then folk dance polka
[00:07:01.410]and we meet with you know, different people
[00:07:03.660]and we have royalty among us.
[00:07:05.220]We love our queens, right?
[00:07:07.795]So on top of it, we do believe that if you are
[00:07:11.754]active on the communal level and you get to know people
[00:07:16.230]maybe that's the way to be on the world stage tomorrow.
[00:07:20.100]So the secret is that whatever you do on your CV,
[00:07:23.940]you probably want to show that you had some sort
[00:07:26.610]of internationalization, meaning exposure to either
[00:07:31.350]language or foreign culture.
[00:07:33.420]And that you are actually networked with other people
[00:07:36.360]because you know, it can really make a difference
[00:07:39.120]in the long run, right?
[00:07:41.252]So this is the short.
[00:07:47.670]Here at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
[00:07:50.220]Think it might be too hard?
[00:07:51.540]Well think again!
[00:07:53.190]Because you probably know half the words already.
[00:07:55.680]So stay tuned to see
[00:07:56.820]if you might recognize some of these key Czech words.
[00:08:04.381]Ahoy Ahoy
[00:08:06.545](speaking Czech)
[00:08:08.837](speaking Czech)
[00:08:14.424](speaking Czech)
[00:08:17.378]Ahoy,
[00:08:18.403]ya!
[00:08:19.413](speaking Czech)
[00:08:20.876]Oh nice.
[00:08:22.014](mumbling indistinctly) (chuckling)
[00:08:26.074]Brian, (speaking Czech)
[00:08:31.222](speaking Czech), hockey star!
[00:08:34.488](speaking Czech)
[00:08:36.628](speaking Czech)
[00:08:37.530]Oh, (speaking Czech) baseball (speaking Czech)
[00:08:39.919](both speaking Czech)
[00:08:43.558](basketball dribbling) (exclaims nervously)
[00:08:48.197](speaking Czech)
[00:08:52.673](speaking Czech)
[00:08:55.788](speaking Czech)
[00:09:02.406](speaking Czech) (chuckling)
[00:09:06.785](speaking Czech) engineer?
[00:09:09.389](speaking Czech) (speaking Czech)
[00:09:13.584](speaking Czech) (speaking Czech)
[00:09:17.787]Woo-hoo!
[00:09:20.105]Oh, ahoy.
[00:09:21.217]Ahoy!
[00:09:22.178](speaking Czech)
[00:09:26.727](speaking Czech)
[00:09:28.420]Nah.
[00:09:30.224](speaking Czech)
[00:09:32.429]Nah.
[00:09:34.485](speaking Czech)
[00:09:36.777](laughs) Nah.
[00:09:39.953](speaking Czech)
[00:09:43.267](gasps) Yeah.
[00:09:45.459](speaking Czech)
[00:09:48.113]Sexy.
[00:09:49.610](accordion music playing loudly)
[00:09:51.035](accordion music continues) (groaning)
[00:09:55.775]Stop! Stop!
[00:09:57.570](speaking Czech)
[00:09:59.306](speaking Czech) uh... rocker?
[00:10:02.638](speaking Czech) (speaking Czech)
[00:10:06.058](speaking Czech) uh... hip hop!?
[00:10:08.804](speaking Czech) (speaking Czech)
[00:10:12.198](speaking Czech) uhm... bluegrassista?
[00:10:15.157](speaking Czech) (speaking Czech)
[00:10:21.088](speaking Czech) uh... jazzman?
[00:10:23.633](speaking Czech) (speaking Czech)
[00:10:27.727](speaking Czech) Polka!
[00:10:29.441](plays accordion) (groans)
[00:10:35.054]Ahoy, (speaking Czech)
[00:10:39.964](speaking Czech)
[00:10:42.596](speaking Czech)
[00:10:45.954](speaking Czech)
[00:10:51.324](speaking Czech)
[00:10:54.338](speaking Czech)
[00:10:56.200]Ahoy!
[00:10:57.401](speaking Czech)
[00:11:00.061]Aha! Woo! Woo!
[00:11:06.533](imitating motorcycle engine revving)
[00:11:13.152](imitating motorcycle engine revving)
[00:11:17.170](speaking Czech)
[00:11:20.002](speaking Czech)
[00:11:22.139](speaking Czech)
[00:11:25.074](imitates motorcycle engine revving)
[00:11:28.927](speaking Czech)
[00:11:32.030](speaking Czech)
[00:11:35.115](speaking Czech) (sighs) (speaking Czech)
[00:11:39.431](speaking Czech)
[00:11:41.459](gasps) No. Oh, (speaking Czech)
[00:11:43.956](smacks kiss)
[00:11:50.306](clears throat)
[00:11:52.664]Oh, ahoy!
[00:11:53.730](speaking Czech) paparazzi?
[00:11:57.560](speaking Czech)
[00:12:09.432](makes silly sounds)
[00:12:12.490](crowd laughs and claps)
[00:12:15.940]Ah! (speaking Czech) comic.
[00:12:19.426](speaking Czech) clown.
[00:12:23.694]Ahoy, (speaking Czech)
[00:12:27.938](speaking Czech)
[00:12:31.134](speaking Czech)
[00:12:32.318](speaking Czech)
[00:12:35.942](speaking Czech) professor?
[00:12:38.419](speaking Czech)
[00:12:42.351](speaking Czech) student?
[00:12:44.363](speaking Czech) student!
[00:12:47.410](speaking Czech)
[00:13:07.764](speaking Czech)
[00:13:11.612][Speaker offscreen] (speaking Czech)
[00:13:18.530](continues speaking Czech)
[00:13:22.506](continues speaking Czech)
[00:13:26.400]I don't need this degree! (scoffs)
[00:13:28.727](laughter offscreen)
[00:13:33.787][Speaker Offscreen] (speaking Czech)
[00:13:38.524]photograph, (speaking Czech)
[00:13:42.510]Yo!
[00:13:47.216][Speaker Offscreen] (speaking Czech)
[00:13:51.958](continues speaking Czech)
[00:13:57.456]Ah, (speaking Czech)
[00:14:01.078](continues speaking Czech)
[00:14:03.776](speaking Czech)
[00:14:05.259](both laugh) (laughter offscreen)
[00:14:07.543](speaking Czech)
[00:14:09.898](all exclaim happily)
[00:14:14.817]So "Czech" out the Czech studies program at UNL!
[00:14:20.195](all cheering)
[00:14:28.020]So as you see,
[00:14:30.000]Czech is doable
[00:14:31.230]and you have probably understood a lot
[00:14:33.450]from the previous video.
[00:14:35.820]And we also learned a little bit about Czech Republic.
[00:14:38.880]You probably heard about Prague, Praha
[00:14:44.028]and it is a beautiful city.
[00:14:46.110]So we go there on our study abroad trips
[00:14:49.290]and the best thing is to just, you know
[00:14:53.010]get lost in those little streets.
[00:14:54.750]But we watch documentaries about Czech history, culture.
[00:14:58.191]And just for your information
[00:15:00.300]do you know where Czech Republic is?
[00:15:01.920]It's actually part of Europe, you know
[00:15:04.140]north of us is Poland, Germany, Austria, Slovakia.
[00:15:09.572]And you know that, you know
[00:15:11.430]Czech is still a Slavic language
[00:15:13.770]but it has a lot of words from German
[00:15:16.050]because we are surrounded by German islands,
[00:15:19.800]you know, German-speaking countries.
[00:15:21.720]And you also probably noticed
[00:15:23.640]that Prague is actually west of Vienna.
[00:15:26.400]So it is a, you know
[00:15:28.237]sort of western countries which just fell
[00:15:33.624]during the 20th century
[00:15:36.150]after second world war to sort of Eastern Europe
[00:15:38.460]but not so culturally, geographically, historically, right?
[00:15:42.480]So that's also interesting.
[00:15:44.520]And as you probably heard from our video
[00:15:49.560]there are lots of words which you do recognize.
[00:15:52.500]So when you, for example, look on this list
[00:15:55.780]you probably know them all right?
[00:15:58.500](reads several words in Czech)
[00:16:02.733]jeans, what you're wearing.
[00:16:05.220]Different disciplines,
[00:16:06.322](reads several more words in Czech)
[00:16:15.308]Those are international words related to science.
[00:16:21.671](reads several more words in Czech)
[00:16:27.669]We have manazer, manager in video,
[00:16:30.471](reads word in Czech)
[00:16:31.470]we understand that
[00:16:32.670]we know what is football, tennis
[00:16:34.350]all sorts of sports.
[00:16:36.626]We also know lots of musical words here like
[00:16:39.544](reads several words in Czech)
[00:16:43.897]Lots of countries.
[00:16:45.270]So there's no need to be afraid
[00:16:48.030]of learning Czech because you can actually, you know
[00:16:51.240]learn a lot and there are lots of really cool, fun facts.
[00:16:54.240]So just to conclude, I also want to play you
[00:16:56.946]another short video which we made with our students.
[00:17:01.530]And just to show you in what fun way we also incorporate
[00:17:06.113]and celebrate Czech history with our program.
[00:17:13.155](mechanism whirring)
[00:17:20.117](bell dings)
[00:17:22.957]Vyborny!
[00:17:26.568](whooshing sound effects)
[00:17:43.070]Hi everyone.
[00:17:43.903]I'm here today at
[00:17:44.760]the University of Nebraska Lincoln,
[00:17:47.070]where we are celebrating 100 years
[00:17:49.410]of Czech independence.
[00:17:51.270]Now my voice is hardly suitable
[00:17:53.760]for such a monumental occasion.
[00:17:55.710]So I've invited my friends Edvard, Tomáš,
[00:17:58.470]and Charlotte here to help me do the talking.
[00:18:01.370]Guys, come on
[00:18:05.562]Oh, hello.
[00:18:06.810]I was just reading this fabulous letter that my
[00:18:09.150]dear husband Tomas wrote to me.
[00:18:11.220]You can see this letter in the wonderful archives held here
[00:18:14.160]at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
[00:18:16.200]There is a vast quantity
[00:18:17.730]of articles from all over the country,
[00:18:20.370]people from Czech history who have donated their items
[00:18:24.060]to the collection for us and generations to come to later.
[00:18:28.290]Right now I would love to introduce you
[00:18:30.210]to my dear husband, Tomáš Masaryk.
[00:18:33.180]Honey.
[00:18:34.654](kisses smack)
[00:18:37.020]Hello. In 2018 we celebrate a hundred years
[00:18:40.110]of Czech independence and we celebrate here today
[00:18:42.870]with these great archives and with our great students
[00:18:46.470]at the program, the Czech language program
[00:18:49.350]here at the University of Nebraska.
[00:18:51.240]But I can't do it by myself.
[00:18:53.310]Great nation means a great artist and Alfonz,
[00:18:55.710]Alfonz, here, come join us.
[00:18:58.200]This is great timing.
[00:18:59.040]I need to go talk to my friend Bedrich Smetana .
[00:19:01.890]He's a wonderful musician and I'm writing a piece on him.
[00:19:04.964]Whatever you say, honey.
[00:19:09.821]I told you, I'm busy
[00:19:11.640]I'm making all these graphics for you
[00:19:13.230]and it's got all this money from Mr. Crane.
[00:19:15.900]Well we're gonna need,
[00:19:17.340]we're gonna need images and stamps
[00:19:19.260]and great art for this great nation.
[00:19:21.180]Well I'm working, you know,
[00:19:22.350]I've got money and now I'm going
[00:19:23.684]and now I have my own projects
[00:19:25.110]like this (indistinct) painting, can't even sleep.
[00:19:28.260]But you know, I'll get to work for you.
[00:19:30.180]Yeah, I've seen some of the paintings you've done,
[00:19:32.130]real nice work.
[00:19:33.300]Thank you, thank you.
[00:19:34.133]They're turning out great.
[00:19:35.400]Yeah
[00:19:36.233]Well thanks for all your help.
[00:19:37.380]Keep it up.
[00:19:38.213]I need to find my friend Edvard Beneš.
[00:19:40.590]Is he around?
[00:19:41.520]Ah, here!
[00:19:42.482](indistinct conversations) (talking over one another)
[00:19:43.920]How you doing?
[00:19:44.753]Hey, always good to see you, buddy
[00:19:45.586]You gotta get this nation going.
[00:19:46.890]Right? Yeah, we're gonna get it there.
[00:19:48.870]But you know what we need?
[00:19:49.830]We need Czech language programs
[00:19:51.240]and it's good that we're here at the University of Nebraska
[00:19:53.280]to celebrate this a hundred year anniversary
[00:19:55.260]to inspire more Czech people to learn language.
[00:19:57.870]Yeah, we don't wanna be speaking German, right?
[00:19:59.874](buzzing sound)
[00:20:00.810]Yeah. Anyways, so I had the chance to meet somebody
[00:20:03.450]her name's Hannah [Indistinct]
[00:20:04.740]Where is she at? There she is, get out here.
[00:20:06.406]Hey! You can talk about
[00:20:07.350]these language programs we got, which are great
[00:20:08.300]'cause then we'll have more people to talk to here.
[00:20:13.325]Well I am glad to be here because
[00:20:15.000]I ran into community people
[00:20:16.590]and the only words which they knew
[00:20:18.510]I cannot even pronounce them.
[00:20:21.420]So I am so very glad that we can actually
[00:20:24.510]move this thing forward here
[00:20:26.490]and we have all these wonderful students
[00:20:28.500]and we move all this cool stuff
[00:20:30.726]and we also make (indistinct).
[00:20:32.550]So thank you everybody.
[00:20:33.660]And you know Nebraska is a great place to study Czech.
[00:20:36.510]Right, Tomáš?
[00:20:37.343]You bet! I bet he's (indistinct)
[00:20:40.460]Woo!
[00:20:44.430]Truth prevails.
[00:20:45.309]There we go.
[00:20:46.890]Alright, so everyone, I'd just like to say a few words
[00:20:50.640]about our Czech program at University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
[00:20:54.510]As you see, we do a lot of stuff.
[00:20:56.650]So we study language, we study culture,
[00:20:59.550]we learn about films, history,
[00:21:01.650]we travel to the Czech Republic,
[00:21:03.300]we teach online classes, we make movies,
[00:21:06.510]we write books, and there is much more.
[00:21:08.340]So anyone who is interested in Czech, get in touch with us.
[00:21:11.637]And you are most welcome to join this program
[00:21:14.520]which has been here over a hundred years older than you.
[00:21:24.330]All right,
[00:21:25.163]so I hope you enjoyed this short program
[00:21:28.710]just showing you that there's a lot,
[00:21:30.810]and lot of fun
[00:21:32.334]which can be done if you join us at UNL.
[00:21:36.750]So Czech studies program is
[00:21:38.610]with the Department of Modern Languages and Literature
[00:21:41.496]with College of Arts and Sciences, and this is our website.
[00:21:46.140]And just get in touch if you have any question.
[00:21:49.320]And we are looking forward seeing you here
[00:21:52.680]at UNL, you know, whatever you decide to study.
[00:21:55.800]So all the best and thank you for your attention.

The screen size you are trying to search captions on is too small!

You can always jump over to MediaHub and check it out there.

Comments

0 Comments

Czech Studies at UNL

Description

Searchable Transcript

Comments icon comment

Related Channels

Comments