Life at the Department

The Department of Czech Literature and Literary Criticism is involved mainly in teaching and research, but life at the Department also encompasses a range of other activities.

Members of the Department are involved in various activities to popularize literature and culture, including public lectures, seminars and workshops (e.g. for secondary school teachers and students, or for library staff). The Department also organizes lectures by leading scholars and literary figures from the Czech Republic and abroad, and works closely with a number of cultural institutions in Ostrava (the Fiducia bookstore, Czech Radio and Czech Television, and secondary schools). Department staff and students contribute to major literary magazines and journals (Česká literatura, Host, Protimluv, and more), and play an active role in the annual Ost-Ra-Var theatre festival.

The Department also holds an annual Student Conference, an event that offers talented students a forum to present their work; the best presentations then go through to the national competition round in Prague. Students also take part in the ‘Šrámek’s Sobotka’ festival, an annual summer event featuring literary recitals.

Working in close conjunction with our sister department (the Department of Czech Language), we organize a range of excursions which help students understand literature in its broader cultural, historical and geographical contexts, including visits to various research and cultural institutions (the Institute of Czech Literature at the Czech Academy of Sciences, the Museum of Czech Literature, and more).

The Department also offers its students the opportunity to do part of their studies abroad via the Erasmus+ programme; we have partner universities in the UK, Poland, Slovenia, Germany and Austria.

One of the most popular regular events at the Department is the “Czech Studies Evening”, which offers an opportunity for students and staff to meet and socialize in an informal atmosphere and showcase students’ creative talents. Students can also present their own literary work at the “Movable Feast of Reading”, which is held at varying intervals.

Updated: 22. 11. 2017