INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Students examine history, politics of Prague
ECU students tour the Yalta Bunker, a nuclear fallout bunker built during the Cold War – now a museum – during their study abroad trip to learn about the history and politics of Prague. Pictured (left to right) are the museum tour guide, and ECU students Alise Herring, Amory Lawson, Andrew Esposito, Briana McRae and Jacob Dirks. (Photo by Magda Giurcanu)
From June 16 through July 28, Dr. Magda Giurcanu, teaching assistant professor in the Department of Political Science, led seven ECU students to Prague, Czech Republic, as part of her 11-week course on “Prague in Context: Politics in East Central Europe.” The program examined the country’s role in international affairs, combining geography, history, politics and current events.
While in Prague, students also studied at their host university, the Anglo-American University, where they earned three transfer credits through a course in central European history or news video production and editing.
This study abroad course was the first time it had been offered by Giurcanu and the department.
“My initial goal when putting together this study abroad program was to allow students to acquire some context related to the courses I normally teach at ECU,” Giurcanu said. “Gaining this local perspective while in Prague, in addition to the theoretical understanding received during the ECU lectures, will open more job opportunities for the students or will make them more attractive as candidates when applying to graduate programs.”
Giurcanu said central Europe is not a foreign concept anymore and that immersing themselves in the culture allowed students to make sense of the history and understand how much the region has changed in the past 20 years.
ECU students Briana McRae and Amanda Curran visit the John Lennon Wall in Prague. Since the 1980s, the wall has been filled with John Lennon-inspired artwork and lyrics from Beatles’ songs. (Photo by Briana McRae)
Andrew Esposito, a junior majoring in political science, said, “This was my first experience studying abroad and it was fascinating. The most satisfying part was embracing and acclimating into the Czech culture and meeting many great people from around the world.”
“During my time in Prague, I learned that a lot of citizens – old and young alike – are very political, holding protests and rallies around the city almost every day,” Esposito continued. “I learned about the country’s long history, starting from when it was once the great Kingdom of Bohemia, all the way until modern day.”
Supplementing Giurcanu’s course work, students were able to see various parts of the city and surrounding sites, which included attending the Prague European Summit, visiting the Prague Castle, the Museum of Communism and the Yalta Bunker, the Czech Parliament and its Chamber of Deputies, Radio Free Europe and the American Center of the U.S. Embassy, and the small towns of Terezin and Cesky Krumlov.
“Although I learned a lot about the country and culture, studying abroad has made me learn more about myself than I thought I would,” said another first-time study abroad student, Briana McRae. “The most satisfying part about my experience was truly feeling independent. There’s something about exploring and finding my way through the big city of Prague that enhanced that feeling.”
Prague is centrally located and connected to all major European cities. So ECU students were able to visit Austria, Hungary, Poland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, France and Germany.
“This was an eye-opening experience for all my students and taught them important lessons in tolerance, comradery and compromise,” Giurcanu said. “It opened up their appetite for traveling. I also think they forged friendships that will last a lifetime.”
Dr. Magda Giurcanu and her political science students (left to right) Alise Herring, Amory Lawson, Jacob Dirks, Jeff Pence, Andrew Esposito, Amanda Curran and Briana McRae, sit on the balcony outside the Chamber of Deputies, the lower chamber of the Czech Parliament, in Prague. (Contributed photo)