HKDRPNP032 Czech Heaven: Historical Figures in National Mythology

Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava
Summer 2025
Extent and Intensity
0/1/0. 2 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Martin Pelc, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Martin Pelc, Ph.D.
Institute of Historical Sciences – Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This course is intended for foreign students mainly. They will gain a basic overview of Czech history by learning about the key figures who are considered to be a part of an imaginary Czech national Pantheon. Instead of a brief summary of Czech history, the course will present important personalities of Czech history in their historical and mythical incarnations. It will pursue two goals: 1) delivering important facts about Czech history, 2) analysis and interpretation of their intrumentalization by the national mythology.
Learning outcomes
The students will gain a basic overview of Czech history by learning about the key figures who are considered to be a part of an imaginary Czech national Pantheon. Instead of a brief summary of Czech history, the course will present important personalities of Czech history in their historical and mythical incarnations. It will pursue two goals: 1) delivering important facts about Czech history, 2) analysis and interpretation of their intrumentalization by the national mythology.
Syllabus
  • 1) Saint Wenceslas 2) John Huss 3) John of Nepomuk 4) John Amos Comenius 5) Josef Jungmann 6) Božena Němcová 7) Karel Havlíček Borovský 8) Miroslav Tyrš 9) František Palacký 10) Bedřich Smetana 11) Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk 12) Czech hell: the unpopular, the condemned and the despised in Czech history
Literature
    recommended literature
  • Vratislav Vaníček. Svatý Václav. Panovník a světec v raném středověku. Praha-Litomyšl, 2014. info
  • František Šmahel. Jan Hus. Život a dílo. Praha, 2013. info
  • Vít Vlnas. Jan Nepomucký. Česká legenda. Praha - Litomyšl, 2013. info
  • Karel Kazbunda. Karel Havlíček Borovský. Praha, 2013. info
  • Bohumil Doležal. Karel Havlíček. Portrét novináře. Praha, 2013. info
  • Robert Sak. Miroslav Tyrš. Sokol, myslitel, výtvarný kritik. Praha, 2012. info
  • Jiří Štaif. František Palacký. Život, dílo, mýtus. Praha, 2009. info
  • Jiří Kejř. Jan Hus známý i neznámý. Praha, 2009. info
  • Magdaléna Pokorná. Josef Němec. Neobyčejný muž neobyčejné ženy. Praha, 2009. info
  • Robert Sak. Josef Jungmann. Život obrozence. Praha, 2007. info
  • Alain Soubigou. Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. Praha, 2004. info
  • Jaroslav Opat. Průvodce životem a dílem T. G. Masaryka. Praha, 2003. info
  • Vladimír Macura. Český sen. Praha, 1998. info
  • Jiří Kořalka. František Palacký. 1798-1876. Životopis. Praha, 1998. info
  • Marta Ottlová. Bedřich Smetana a jeho doba. Vybrané eseje. Praha, 1997. info
  • Vladimír Macura. Znamení zrodu. České národní obrození jako kulturní typ. Jinočany, 1995. info
  • Jiří Rak. Bývali Čechové? České historické mýty a stereotypy. Jinočany, 1993. info
  • Jan Kumpera. Jan Amos Komenský. Poutník na rozhraní věků. Praha, 1992. info
  • Václav Holzknecht. Bedřich Smetana. Život a dílo. Praha, 1979. info
Teaching methods
discussion, lecture
Assessment methods
oral examination
Language of instruction
Czech
The course is also listed under the following terms Summer 2021, Summer 2022, Summer 2023, Summer 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Summer 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.slu.cz/course/fpf/summer2025/HKDRPNP032