The department

In 2005 the Department of European Cultural Studies was accredited to offer a study programme in the Foreign Languages and Cultures branch of study at the Faculty of Humanities in Banská Bystrica. It is currently involved in the international programme Jean Monnet ad personam "Identités et cultures en Europe". Instruction is provided partly in Slovak and partly in English, Russian, German and French. Besides Slovak specialists, the department also employs foreign professors from Lithuania and France. The department offers interdisciplinary studies, with the main subjects being English Cultural Studies (ECS), Russian Cultural Studies (RCS), German Cultural Studies (GCS) and French Cultural Studies (FCS), all in relation to Slovak culture. The subjects mentioned are based on the presentation of language via culture and culture via language.

The department aspires to prepare graduates with practical skills related to a wide range of areas: lower levels of diplomatic service, state and public administration, various cultural institutions, the third sector and also the public representation of companies (spokespersons). Our graduates are prepared to readily hold a variety of positions which demand language-competent people with general knowledge, ready to hold cultural dialogue in a creative way. Department members include internal and external instructors specializing in culture-oriented linguistics, the culture of art, sociology, psychology, economics and law, and its prospects lie in the expansion of both its programmes and staff.

The department’s bachelor’s programme continues at the master’s level, and we are also accredited to provide further education, in which graduates can earn a PhDr. title. Since the department staff strives to prepare students for making presentations at international conferences, the syllabi involve round-table discussions, panel discussions, presentations of projects, and discussions with important figures in Slovak and international cultural and academic communities. The department also offers a newly formed, successfully accredited doctoral programme provided in English as well as Slovak.

Under the Erasmus program, the department has signed agreements with the following foreign universities:

• Nancy 2 University (FR)
• Latvian Academy of Culture (LT)
• University of Bamberg (DE)
• University of Versailles (FR)
• Palacký University in Olomouc (CZ)
• University of West Bohemia in Pilsen (CZ)
• Metropolitan University in Prague (CZ)
• University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne (FR)
• Šiauliai University, Lithuania (LT)
• Jagiellonian University in Krakow (PL)
• The East European State Higher School in Przemysl (PL)

The department is a silent partner in the CEEPUS – Idea of Europe programme, and it is also planning to establish intensive cooperation with the Institute of European Studies in Krakow in the future.

The department organizes annual international conferences attended by specialists from all over the world. The proceedings from these events have been published by the French publishing house L’Harmattan as a part of the Local&Global series, under the supervision of

the guarantor of the study programme. Each year students can attend the Summer University organized as part of the Jean Monnet project.

Recently, the department has organized the following conferences, with papers published in the proceedings of the same name:

• Aestheticization of Public Space/Esthétisation de l’Espace Public (Estetizácia verejného priestoru) (10/2013)
  International academic conference
• Geoartistic & Geopolitical Borders (Geoumelecké & Geopolitické hranice) (11/2012)
  International academic conference
• Media, Internet, Democracy (Médias, Internet, Démocratie)
  International academic conference
• Cultural Production, Local Production and Global Perception (Kultúrna tvorba, lokálna produkcia a globálna percepcia),
  Workshop
• Citizenship and Nationalities in Europe (Citoyennetés et Nationalités en Europe)
  International academic conference
• Essence of Culture 1 (Koren(i)e kultúry 1)

While our bachelor’s and master’s programmes are provided in Slovak and the four worldlanguages which form the core of this branch of study, our doctoral programme is provided either in Slovak or English.

Contact in English: Mgr. Anna Slatinská (jana.pecnikova@umb.sk)

Contact in Russian: PaedDr. Helena Bálintová, PhD. (ludmila.meskova@umb.sk)