East European Studies – Master’s Study

Entrance Examination (NMgr.) – East European Studies

 

Each applicant will be asked to answer a total of three questions testing their knowledge of 1) one language from the area of studies, with B2 being the minimum level required (according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages), 2) the history of Eastern Europe, 3) the historical development of East European literature and culture. All questions will be based on a reading list which the applicant must present at the oral entrance examination and which should include not only items from our recommended reading list, but also other publications of the applicant’s choice (non-fiction and fiction) related to the region of Eastern Europe.

During the entrance examination, each applicant must state their choice out of the three available modules (linguistics – Slavonic Studies; linguistics – Baltic Studies; literature and history).

 

Sample questions for the oral examination:

The applicant’s profile language, at least level B2 required (according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages):

All applicants will be asked to speak on a given topic in order to demonstrate their speaking skills and their knowledge of vocabulary at level B2 (according to standards specified in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages)

Sample conversation topics:

  1. Introducing oneself, polite phrases, nationality, countries and continents, learning foreign languages.
  2. Work and occupation, personal information, CV.
  3. Visiting the family, family relationships, giving congratulations.
  4. House and flat.
  5. Daily routine, activities at different times of the day.
  6. Travel and transport.
  7. Food and eating.
  8. Clothes, accessories, gifts and other goods, shopping.
  9. Telecommunication, bank and other services.
  10. Weather, health, healthcare.
  11. Tourism, outdoors.
  12. History, historic sites.
  13. Literature and folklore, the press, theatre.
  14. Music, fine arts.
  15. Sports, free time activities.
  16. Education, science.
  17. City, trade, industry.
  18. Countryside, agriculture.
  19. Politics, society, religion.
  20. The state and the law.

History of Eastern Europe:

    1. The formation of Kievan Rus’.
    2. The state of Galicia-Volhynia and its importance in the Ukrainian historical tradition.
    3. Consequences and nature of Tatar dominance over Russia.
    4. The formation and rise of the Principality of Moscow.
    5. The unification process of Russian regions surrounding Moscow under the rule of Ivan III and Vasily III.
    6. The rule of Ivan IV – domestic and foreign policies.
    7. The formation of the state of Lithuania and its development until the end of the 14th century.
    8. The expansion of Poland in the region of Eastern Europe and the formation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
    9. Belarusian and Ukrainian lands under the rule of Lithuania and Poland.
    10. The development of Left-bank Ukraine within the Moscow state.
    11. The history of Right-bank Ukraine from the second half of the 17th century until the three partitions of Poland.
    12. “Time of Troubles” after the death of Ivan IV.
    13. The stabilisation of Moscow state under the rule of the first Romanovs.
    14. Reforms of Peter I in Russian history.
    15. The era of palace coups after the death of Peter I.
    16. Building an empire under the rule of Catherine II.
    17. The Russian empire during Napoleonic wars and the era of the Holy Alliance.
    18. The Decembrist revolt.
    19. The rule of Nicholas I and Crimean War.
    20. Reforms of Alexander II.
    21. 1848 and its impact on the historical development of Western Ukraine.
    22. Russian policy in Ukraine’s territory in the first half of the 19th century.
    23. The Ukrainian lands under the rule of Russia in the second half of the 19th century.
    24. Historical development of Bukovina and Carpathian Ruthenia in the 19th century.
    25. Emancipatory processes in the Baltic region in the 19th century.
    26. The revolution of 1917.
    27. Soviet Russia under the rule of Lenin.
    28. The rise of Stalin’s totalitarianism.
    29. The Khrushchev Thaw.
    30. Brezhnev’s rule in the context of the Soviet Union’s history.
    31. Gorbachev’s reforms and the Soviet Union’s dissolution.
    32. Ukraine during World War II and its development after joining the Soviet Union.
    33. The formation of Baltic countries after World War I and their development in the interwar period
    34. Soviet annexation of the Baltic countries.
    35. Restoration of independence in the Baltic countries and their transformation.
    36. The Russian Empire during World War I.

 

 

The history of East European literature and culture

  1. Classicism in Russian literature.
  2. Genres in the work of A. S. Pushkin.
  3. Romanticism and realism in the works of N. V. Gogol.
  4. Russian literary critics of the 19th century.
  5. N. S. Leskov
  6. Tolstoy and Dostoevsky as thinkers.
  7. The thematic structure of Russian classical novels.
  8. Russian lyric poetry of the second half of the 19th century.
  9. Russian modernist drama.
  10. Russian symbolism.
  11. Acmeism.
  12. The poetics of futurism.
  13. The canon of socialist realism.
  14. Neorealist tendencies in Russian prose.
  15. Poets and prose writers of post-revolutionary emigration.
  16. The 1960s generation of poets and their work.
  17. Labour camps in Russian literature.
  18. The works of Russian dissidents.
  19. Perestroika in Russian literature.
  20. Main literary movements in contemporary Russian literature.
  21. Lithuanian folklore.
  22. Latvian folklore.
  23. The literature of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
  24. The role of Lithuania Minor in the formation of Lithuanian literature.
  25. The Herrnhut movement in Livonia and its significance in Latvian culture.
  26. The Lithuanian national revival literature.
  27. Young Latvians, Latvian patriotic romanticism.
  28. The beginnings of Latvian realism.
  29. The beginnings of modernism in the works of J. Poruks and J. Rainis.
  30. Lithuanian modernism and avant-garde between the two world wars.
  31. Latvian modernism and avant-garde between the two world wars.
  32. Overcoming the canon of socialist realism in Lithuanian literature.
  33. Overcoming the canon of socialist realism in Latvian literature
  34. Preserving traditions by breaking them in Lithuanian exile.
  35. Preserving traditions by breaking them in Latvian exile.
  36. The beginnings of postmodernism in Lithuanian literature.
  37. The beginnings of postmodernism in Latvian literature.
  38. The specifics of Ukrainian Baroque.
  39. The role of I. Kotliarevsky in Ukrainian literature.
  40. “Schools” of Ukrainian Romanticism.
  41. The phenomenon called T. Shevchenko and his changing role in Ukrainian literature.
  42. Modern interpretations of T. Shevchenko; translations of T. Shevchenko’s works into Czech.
  43. Czech-Ukrainian literary relations in the 19th century.
  44. Ukrainian realistic prose (the works of the most prominent writers).
  45. Basic literary tendencies in the late 19th century and the first two decades of the 20th century.
  46. The influence of F. Nietzsche’s philosophy on the formation of Ukrainian literature in the first decades of the 20th century.
  47. I. Frank and his work.
  48. The changing depiction of life in the country in the works of V. Stefanyk and O. Kobylianska.
  49. The changes in female characters in the works of L. Ukrainka and O. Kobylianska.
  50. Basic tendencies in literature in the 1920s.
  51. The policy of Ukrainisation; Literary Discussion of 1925–1928.
  52. The development of drama and theatre from the second half of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century.
  53. The Sixtiers generation.
  54. The phenomenon called Bu-Ba-Bu and its origins.
  55. The most prominent figures in contemporary Ukrainian literature.
  56. Translations of contemporary Ukrainian literature into Czech.

 

The recommended reading list for the entrance examination can be accessed here.

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