Specialization: course opened to all study programs
Warrantor: doc. PhDr. Martin Bútora
Instructor: North-American academicians from American and Canadian prestigious universities (via videoconference and in person)
Lecturing hours (weekly): 2
Credits: 3 ECTS
Date: Wednesday 5 PM - 6.30 PM
Room: Rector Conference Room (3rd floor, new building)
Working language: English
Evaluation: passed/not passed
Aim of the course: The Certified Interdisciplinary Introduction to North-American Studies intends to provide the students with extraordinary lectures from distinguished academicians and personalities. The aim is to evoke interest and introduce North-America by presenting particular lectures on politics, economics, security, culture, law, geography and sociologic characteristics of the region. The course will constitute an introduction into a study program specialization on North American region while discussing the question of the role of the region in the international affairs in more detail. Students who pass the course will be awarded with a certificate.
Course Sylabus and Schedule to download
Timetable of the course:
- Introductory session 1st WEEK
Prospects and Challenges for North-American – Central European Relations in the 21st Century. Presentation of the Transatlantic Trends. (5pm CET, February 9)
H.E. Theodore Sedgwick (US Ambassador to Slovakia) & Ms. Oľga Gyárfášová (Senior Analyst, Institute for Public Affairs)
- Sociological Dimension 2nd WEEK
Society of the Northern America - “Societal overview of North America” (5pm CET, February 16)
Multiculturalism of the Region – Privilege or Doom?
Evolution of the American society
Mr. John Stauffer (Professor, Harvard University)
- Legal Dimension 3th WEEK
Legal System of the USA (5pm CET, February 23)
Legal and institutional framework
Ms. Mira Gur-Arie (Director, Federal Judicial Center, Washington)
- Political Dimension 4rd WEEK
“American Democracy” as a phenomenon (5pm CET, March 2)
Political system of the USA
Elections and political parties in the USA
System of representation
American and European Values
Mr. Kevin R. Deegan-Krause (Associate Professor, Wayne State University)
American Politics in a Nutshell.ppt
- Economic Dimension 5th and 6th WEEK (two sessions)
Economics of North America (5pm CET, March 9)
North American Business Environment
US Stakes and Shares in Strategic World Regions
Mr. Earl H. Fry (Professor, Brigham Young University)
Reading 1 - US-Mexico Economic Relations.pdf
Reading 2 - Canada-US Relations.pdf
Key Ideas and Paradigms in American Economy (5pm CET, March 16)
Neoliberalism and its critics
Impact of globalization
Income inequality and poverty in North America
Regional common market or free-trade agreements and domestic economic policy
International competition
Mr. David A. Westbrook (Professor, State University of New York)
- Global Dimension 7th WEEK
Key-Note Speech: American Quest for Universal Values: Why, How, What Impact?
(5pm CET, March 23)
Mr. Charles Gati (Senior Adjunct Professor, John Hopkins University)
- Security Dimension 8th WEEK
Homeland Security in the Age of War on Terror (5pm CET, March 30)
America as a target – Protection Capacities
Transformation of the US military
Immigration Policies of North America
North American Security Issues and Capacities
From Cold War to War on Terror
Mr. Steven Meyer (Professor, National Defense University)
- Public Affairs Dimension 9th WEEK
The Struggle over the Public Sphere: Media and Cultural Narratives (5pm CET, April 6)
The conservative critique of "liberal bias"
The repeal of the Fairness Doctrine
The conservative critique of American popular culture
New political radio and television formats
Political blogs and their impact
Mr. Mark Feldstein (Associate Professor, George Washington University)
Reading - The Implications of WikiLeaks by Mark Feldstein
- Cultural Dimension 10th WEEK
Culture and Arts in America (5pm CET, April 13)
Historical concepts of arts and aesthetics in the US and Canada
American literature
Role of the arts and culture in the American history
Mr. Philip Kennicott (Culture Critic for The Washington Post)
Reading - Seeing tragedy in Japan, through the camera’s double lens by Philip Kennicott
- Social Dimension 11th WEEK
Social Security and Social Justice in the USA (5pm CET, April 19)
Sustainability of the American way of life (…or…of the “American Dream”)
Welfare vs. Health Care & Pension System
New labor-community immigrant coalitions and movements for social justice
Unions
sister Simone Campbell (Executive Director, NETWORK)
Reading/watching: speech by sister Simone Campbell advocating Health Care Reform in the US
- Geographic Dimension 12th WEEK
Geography and Natural Resources of Canada and USA (5pm CET, April 28)
Ms. Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach (Associate Professor, George Mason University)
The Geography of North American.ppt by Sheryl Beach
- Concluding Presentation 13th WEEK
Where Canada meets the US: similarities and differences (5pm CET, May 4)
George Lemieux (chargé d´affaires, Embassy of Canada in the SR) & Ms. Nancy Baker (professor of political science, Nex Mexico State University)
