Mediterranean Studies

Mediterranean Studies is a comprehensively conceived Bachelor’s degree programme aimed at acquiring knowledge of languages, literatures, and historical background of the various philological disciplines related to the Mediterranean cultural space.

Student of this interdisciplinary programme is systematically educated in the literary history of all the major cultures that were present in the Mediterranean as a contact point for the European, Asian and African continents. Compulsory reading and interpretation of the most important literary monuments of the Mediterranean aims to lead the student to recognize the interdependence and interaction of cultures.

The student is also systematically educated in Mediterranean languages: depending on the study programme, he/she chooses one or two of the following languages (Romance language: French, Italian or Spanish / Greek / Arabic; previous language knowledge is not required). These languages, on the one hand, open up access to modern scholarly literature and, on the other hand, enable him/her to (with the support of the basic knowledge of the classical languages of the ancient Mediterranean) uncover the roots of European civilization and its further development in relation to other cultures of the Mediterranean region up to the present day.

According to his/her own choice, the student can also familiarize himself with the most remarkable monuments of the history of philosophy, art and architecture, including their influence on other artistic creation of the Mediterranean, or broaden philological education from offered language, literary and historical courses.

This study programme is suitable for secondary-school graduates specialized in humanities or economy. It is a suitable complementary study for students of particular, especially Romance philologies, and for other students of related fields (geography, economics, international relations).

Within the bachelor's degree programmes offered in the Czech Republic, the study programme Mediterranean Studies is - in its philological-area focus - unique .

After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• briefly describe the history of ancient, latin medieval, byzantin, Romance and modern Greek literature, characterize their mutual relations and interpret the most important literary works;
• apply key terms and concepts in linguistics and literary theory;
• understand familiar topics in a standard spoken and written Romance language and/or modern Greek and/or Modern Standard Arabic (B1 CEFR / A2 CEFR for Arabic);
• communicate in everyday situations, discuss familiar topics, and write simple texts in a Romance language and/or in modern Greek and/or in Modern Standard Arabic (A2/B1 CEFR);
• define the Mediterranean area from a geographic and cultural-historical perspective and identify its unifying and differentiating elements;
• briefly describe the historical development of the Mediterranean from antiquity to the present;
• independently search for information and bibliography related to the study program in Czech and foreign languages and use the acquired knowledge when writing their own specialized texts.

Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the study programme Mediterranean Studies, the graduates can find employment corresponding to Bachelor’s degree in libraries and museums, in cultural or foreign affairs departments in public administration, publishing, or media. Possible employment of the graduates may differ depending on the studied languages and the type of study programme.

Practical training is not an obligatory part of the study plan.

The recommended scope of Bachelor's Thesis is at least 70,000 characters including footnotes and index. The list of literature, cover page, and affidavit are not included. The supervisor decides to include (or not) the annexes.

The formal requirements established by the Departement of Classical Studies are available at the institute's website: http://classics.phil.muni.cz/studium/pro-studenty

Other formal requirements established by the Faculty of Arts are available on the university document server:

https://is.muni.cz/auth/do/phil/uredni_deska/predpisyFFMU/smernice/

The student will demonstrate the ability to work with literary works and to orientate in the specialized literature within the field of Mediterranean Studies, ie the ability to:

- critically evaluate secondary sources,

- analyze the primary source texts,

- present results relevant to the goals and topic of the thesis.

The student chooses the topics of thesis related to the Mediterranean space in agreement with the supervisor, or chooses from the Topic list: https://is.muni.cz/go/rozpisyMED

After completion of the Bachelor’s degree programme, it is possible to continue further studies in the Master’s degree programme directly in Mediterranean Studies or in other Master’s degree programmes (Theory and History of Arts and Culture, Comparative Literature, Literature and Inter-cultural Communication or Philology Studies) after satisfying the admission requirements.