Faculty of Philosophy at Charles University

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The main building of the Philosophical Faculty in Prague's Old Town

The Faculty of Philosophy of Charles University ( Filozofická fakulta Univerzity Karlovy , FF UK ) in Prague was founded in 1348 as one of four original faculties of Charles University . At the time of its establishment, it was called the Faculty of Liberal Arts or Artist Faculty. It represents a traditional educational center and one of the most important humanistic- oriented educational institutions in the Czech Republic . At the second largest Czech faculty, around 8,000 students study more than 70 subjects and teach 700 teachers.

history

The faculty seal of the Prague Philosophical Faculty from the second half of the 17th century, on which, next to the imperial eagle with an anchor and the letter IHS, the patron saint of the faculty and the philosophers, St. Catherine of Alexandria with her attributes of martyrdom - the sword, the wheel and the palm branch - is shown.

Under the name Faculty of Liberal Arts, the Faculty of Charles IV was founded on April 7, 1348 as one of four original faculties of Charles University in Prague. The word "philosophical" in their name is related to the fact that philosophy used to be viewed differently than it is today, namely as science or the love of wisdom. At that time it was customary to graduate from the liberal arts faculty first, where students received rhetorical and philosophical training. That is why the faculty soon became the largest at the university and in 1366 Emperor Charles IV dedicated the prestigious Collegium Caroli building to the masters of the liberal arts.

After the Hussite Wars , the liberal arts faculty became the core of the university for the next two centuries. Since the 17th century it has been called the Philosophical Faculty and up to the half of the 19th century it offered future students from other faculties a higher preparatory education. In addition to philosophy, you could also study aesthetics, education, mathematics, astronomy, natural and engineering sciences, economics and history. In the 19th century, oriental studies , archeology, religious studies and philological subjects such as bohemian studies , romance studies , English studies or Hebrew studies developed. In the second half of the 19th century, education was liberalized and since 1897, studies at the faculty have also been open to women.

Despite the division of the university into a German and a Bohemian educational establishment in 1882 and the establishment of the independent Faculty of Natural Sciences in 1920, the Faculty of Philosophy continued to play a key role until 1939, when the university was closed by the National Socialists and the teachers and the students were followed. After the liberation in 1945, the Faculty of Philosophy was re-established. However, the February overthrow of the Communist Party in 1948 meant the end of the development, because many excellent educators were forced to leave the faculty and Marxism-Leninism became a compulsory subject, which is why the prestige of the faculty has declined. In the 1960s, many important personalities were active again in the faculty, but the reform process was ended by the Soviet occupation in 1968 and the subsequent process of so-called normalization . The student Jan Palach burned himself to death in protest against the passivity and conformity of the majority of Czechoslovak society. The faculty only reestablished itself after the Velvet Revolution and the resignation of the compromised exponents in 1989 and is one of the largest and most famous university institutes in Czech Republic. Due to the centuries-old tradition, the successful scientific and educational activity and the wide range of subjects, it also has an international reputation.

Personalities

During its almost seven centuries of existence, numerous important personalities have studied and worked at the Philosophical Faculty.

Personalities such as the translator Martin Hilský , the theologian Tomáš Halík and the Egyptologist Miroslav Verner currently teach at the FF UK .

The writers Michal Viewegh , Miloš Urban , Radka Denemarková , Petra Hůlová , the composer Miroslav Srnka , the Czech ombudswoman Anna Šabatová and the political scientist Vladimíra Dvořáková , who is chair of the accreditation commission of the Czech Republic, studied here from the personalities of the Czech cultural scene .

Education

Historic rooms with original furniture from 1930

The number of students in the Faculty of Philosophy exceeds the majority of Czech universities. It has the widest range of subjects that are usually only studied by a small number of students. These small study include Arabic , Iranian , Turkish Studies , Korean Studies , logic and aesthetics . There is no other faculty in the Czech Republic that offers such an in-depth education in various small subjects.

The Philosophical Faculty of Charles University is the only faculty in Europe where you can study all languages ​​of the European Union. In addition to Germanic, Romance and Slavic languages, African languages , Albanian , Bengali , Hebrew , Hindi , Japanese , Mongolian and Sanskrit are also taught.

The largest by number of students subjects include Bohemian , English Studies , German Studies , Hispanic Studies , Romance Languages , History and Philosophy . In addition, the Philosophical Faculty offers a wide range of disciplines, e.g. B. traditional philosophy, religious studies , logic, aesthetics, pedagogy , psychology , sociology , political science , andragogy, theater and film studies and a progressive study in the field of new media.

Due to the numerous international exchange programs, many students spend part of their studies abroad and hundreds of foreign students come to Prague every year. Exchange programs include Erasmus +, DAAD, Aktion, CEEPUS, International Visegrad Fund, government grants and a number of bilateral agreements between the Faculty of Arts and foreign universities around the world.

Study areas Subjects
history Archeology of prehistoric times and the Middle Ages, Egyptology, archival and historical auxiliary sciences, history and culture of the Islamic countries, history and culture of the Eastern Mediterranean in antiquity, antiquity, history, economic and social history, Czech history in a European context, Jewish studies, etc. . a.
Language and literature General Linguistics, English Studies - American Studies, German Language and Literature, Finnish Studies, French Philology, Hispanic Studies, Indology, Iranian Studies, Italian Studies, Japanese Studies, Korean Studies, Mongol Studies, Dutch Language and Literature, Phonetics, Portuguese Studies, Russian Studies, Swedish Studies, Sinology, Translation and interpreting (German, English, French, Russian, Spanish), Czech language and literature, tsiganology
People & Society Psychology, sociology, sociological and economic studies, political science, political theories, philosophy, religious studies, andragogy and personnel management, pedagogy, social pedagogy, new media, information science and library studies
art Aesthetics, film studies, art history, musicology, theater studies
Teacher training Czech Language and Literature for Secondary Schools, Czech as a Foreign Language, Latin Language and Literature for Secondary Schools

public events

In connection with the so-called third function of the university, the Philosophical Faculty considers it important that the experts not only teach and do research, but also that they make a contribution to the current public debate. Therefore, various workshops, lectures and festivals are organized for the general public, primary and secondary school students and senior citizens:

  • the interest study for senior citizens "University of the third age"
  • Workshops for children in grades 3 to 9 of the "Children's University" primary school
  • the festival "Open Square"
  • the festival "Week of Diversity"
  • the event "Science Day"
  • "Philosophy Night"

Public discussions have taken place at the faculty with figures such as the Dalai Lama , Madeleine Albright , the Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei, and the Russian historian Andrei Subov .

Student life and student council

There are around 30 student organizations and initiatives at the Philosophical Faculty. Student life has a strong and long tradition. Incidentally, the Philosophical Faculty is the only faculty in the Czech Republic where students make up half of the Academic Senate. Therefore, they can have a strong influence on both what happens at the faculty and its leadership.

The student council, which is the executive body of the civil society organization Studentský fond FF UK, operates at the faculty. The organization was founded by the students who took part in the 1989 revolution and it often represents the students of the faculty in dealing with their management or the university. The council regularly supports selected student projects financially, e.g. B. magazines, theater clubs, festivals and public lectures. Every year a brochure is published for the first year students so that they can better understand the faculty. At the same time, the council is preparing the FAUST event, at which the new students are greeted in a peculiar way on the academic floor.

literature

  • J. Petráň: Nástin dějin filozofické faculty Univerzity Karlovy v Praze. Prague 1983.
  • M. Svatoš (red.): Dějiny Univerzity Karlovy I. (1347 / 48–1622). Prague 1995.
  • I. Čornejová (red.): Dějiny Univerzity Karlovy II. (1622–1802). Prague 1995.
  • J. Holý, K. Volná (eds.): Tato fakulta bude rudá. Prague 2009.

Web links

Commons : Faculty of Arts of Charles University  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Výroční zpráva FF UK za rok 2014, p. 6 ff . Cuni.cz, accessed on March 8, 2016.
  2. ↑ Multimediální projekt Univerzity Karlovy Web Jan Palach janpalach.cz accessed on March 8, 2016.
  3. ↑ Stručný přehled dějin FF UK ff.cuni.cz accessed on March 8, 2016.
  4. ↑ Seznam studijních oborů FF UK otevíraných pro akademický rok 2016/2017 ff.cuni.cz accessed on March 8, 2016.
  5. ↑ Studium v ​​zahraničí ff.cuni.cz accessed on March 8, 2016.
  6. ↑ Acce pro veřejnost: Univerzita třetího věku , Dětská univerzita , Open Square , Týden diverzity , Den vědy
  7. ↑ Akademický senát FF UK ff.cuni.cz accessed on March 8, 2016.
  8. ↑ Studentská rada FF UK strada.ff.cuni.cz accessed on March 8, 2016.
  9. ↑ History Studentské rady FF UK strada.ff.cuni.cz accessed on March 8, 2016.