Joint teaching of UHK and Missouri Southern State University (USA)
Author: Matyáš Strnad, Tomáš Vodička
Thanks to a unique joint teaching project, last semester UHK students had the opportunity to try studying at our partner university in the USA, Missouri Southern State University (MSSU). Several dozen students completed the thematically divided teaching according to faculty affiliation in online joint Czech-American classes, of which 12 UHK students visited the partner university in America. In December 2022, we had the opportunity to welcome guests from MSSU to our home in Hradec Králové.
Neither the Czech Republic nor Hradec Králové is entirely unknown to MSSU students. The American university organizes thematic semesters for those interested, in which it always presents the details and peculiarities of different countries. Some semesters are subsequently linked to a visit to the respective countries. This was also the case in the Czech semester, in which academics from UHK also took part in online lectures.
The topic was opened with a lecture on the history of Prague by the assistant professor of the Institute of History of the Philosophical Faculty UHK (FF UHK), PhDr. Ondřej Tikovský, Ph.D. Then, the study of the Czech cultural heritage in the digital era and the contrasts between the Czech and American cultural heritage was introduced by the director of the Institute of History FF UHK, assoc. prof. PhDr. Zdeněk Beran, Ph.D.
The dean of the Faculty of Informatics and Management UHK, prof. RNDr. Josef Hynek, MBA, Ph.D., gave a general introduction to the benefits of studying in the Czech Republic.
Four colleagues from the Faculty of Education UHK participated in the teaching. Mgr. Františka Schormová, Ph.D., from the Department of English Language and Literature, revealed the story of Czechoslovak spies who simultaneously specialized in the black diaspora and poetry. Mgr. Kateřina Andršová, Ph.D., from the Department of Music, gave an engaging lecture about European Roma culture and their rich musical expressions. PhDr. Mgr. Ludmila Kroupová, Ph.D., from the same department, presented a significant figure of the Czech and European musical heritage, Antonín Dvořák. Mgr. et Mgr. Klára Zářecká, Ph.D., from the Department of Art, Visual culture and Textile Studies contributed with her lecture on the development and essential personalities of Czech graphic art.
As part of this inter-university cooperation, Czech students could register for three courses taught by colleagues from the USA. Cross-cultural Fiber Art studies of Czech and USA: Identity, Traditions, and Place at the Department of Art, Visual culture and Textile Studies, Export Marketing at the Department of Management, and The Heart of Europe: Culture & Identity at the Institute of History. Selected students also went on a short stay in the USA in October 2022.
The entire project was concluded with a visit of students and academics from MSSU to UHK. The delegation included the president of MSSU, Dean Van Galen. After receiving the certificates, all participants expressed their gratitude. Zdeněk Beran, who coordinated the entire project at UHK, summarizes the project's success as follows:
We managed to organize a pilot project of hybrid teaching, which enriched the students from the Czech Republic and the USA as well as the teachers who participated in the teaching. These international experiences are invaluable for university teaching. Thank you all for your support. We have shown each other that cooperation can overcome any boundaries.
