The Faculty of Humanities, Charles University () is a faculty of

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. Located in

Libeň Libeň () is a cadastral area and district of Prague, Czech Republic. It was incorporated into Prague in 1901. Places * Praha-Libeň railway station Demographics People * Reinhard Heydrich, assassinated here * Herz Homberg, born here ...

Prague 8 Prague 8 is a municipal district (''městská část'') in Prague, Czech Republic. The administrative district (''správní obvod'') of the same name consists of municipal districts Prague 8, Březiněves, Ďáblice and Dolní Chabry. Demographic ...

, the faculty has about 220 internal employers and 3250 students. It is a member of the European Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

History

The Faculty of Humanities is the youngest faculty of

. Founded as the Institute for Liberal Education () in 1994, the faculty gained full academic autonomy in 2000. The first dean of the faculty was the former

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

Jan Sokol Jan Sokol may refer to: * Jan Sokol of Lamberk (c.1355–1410), Moravian nobleman * Jan Sokol (philosopher) (1936–2021), Czech philosopher * Ján Sokol (bishop) (born 1933), Slovak archbishop and priest * Ján Sokol (footballer) (born 1985), Slov ...

. Sokol ran for

President of the Czech Republic The president of the Czech Republic, constitutionally defined as the President of the Republic (), is the head of state of the Czech Republic and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. The presidency has largely bee ...

in the 2003 election but lost to

Václav Klaus Václav Klaus (; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second president of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. From July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, he served as the second ...

. He was replaced in 2007 by Ladislav Benyovszky. The current acting dean is Marie Pětová. In 2013, Czech President

Miloš Zeman Miloš Zeman (; born 28 September 1944) is a Czech politician who served as the third president of the Czech Republic from 2013 to 2023. He also previously served as the prime minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002. As leader of the Cze ...

refused to approve the professorship of anthropologist Martin C. Putna at the faculty for Putna's involvement in Prague Gay Pride in 2011. After numerous protests from academic and broader circles, Zeman capitulated. Putna was appointed by the Minister of Education

Petr Fiala Petr Fiala (; born 1 September 1964) is a Czech politician and political scientist who has been the prime minister of the Czech Republic since December 2021 and leader of the Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic), Civic Democratic Party (ODS) ...

in June 2013.

Academics

The faculty's main research and academic focus is the humanities and social and cultural

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

, including

ethnomusicology Ethnomusicology is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. The discipline investigates social, cognitive, biological, comparative, and other dimensions. Ethnomusicologists study music as a reflection of culture and investiga ...

continental philosophy Continental philosophy is a group of philosophies prominent in 20th-century continental Europe that derive from a broadly Kantianism, Kantian tradition.Continental philosophers usually identify such conditions with the transcendental subject or ...

gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field n ...

contemporary history Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

intellectual history Intellectual history (also the history of ideas) is the study of the history of human thought and of intellectuals, people who conceptualization, conceptualize, discuss, write about, and concern themselves with ideas. The investigative premise of ...

and

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information from people, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people who pa ...

BA

For undergraduates, the faculty offers a BA program in

Liberal Arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

and

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

(''Studium humanitní vzdělanosti''). This program corresponds to the concept of

liberal education A liberal education is a system or course of education suitable for the cultivation of a free () human being. It is based on the medieval concept of the liberal arts or, more commonly now, the liberalism of the Age of Enlightenment. It has been d ...

. The student must achieve 60 ECTS credits in each year; they can freely choose lectures, seminars, etc. from the offer of the FHS and other faculties of Charles University. In addition, during the course of study, each student must pass three

comprehensive exams In higher education, a comprehensive examination (or comprehensive exam or exams), often abbreviated as "comps", is a specific type of examination that must be completed by graduate students in some disciplines and courses of study, and also by u ...

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

, and

social sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

(

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

, and

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

), translate a professional text from the chosen foreign language (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, or

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

) and defend a bachelor's thesis.

MA

For master's students, the faculty offers MA programs in

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

, ''Deutsche und Französische Philosophie'' (taught in German), History of Modern European Culture,

Semiotics Semiotics ( ) is the systematic study of sign processes and the communication of meaning. In semiotics, a sign is defined as anything that communicates intentional and unintentional meaning or feelings to the sign's interpreter. Semiosis is a ...

Gender Studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field n ...

Historical Sociology Historical sociology is an Interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of research that combines Sociology, sociological and History, historical methods to understand the past, how societies have developed over time, and the impact this has on ...

, Master

Erasmus Mundus The European Union's Erasmus Mundus programme (named after Erasmus, the Renaissance scholar) aims to enhance quality in higher education through scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students f ...

EuroPhilosophie (taught in German and French, joint degree with

Autonomous University of Barcelona The Autonomous University of Barcelona (; Spanish: ; ; UAB) is a public university mostly located in Cerdanyola del Vallès, near the city of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. , the university consists of 57 departments in the experimental, lif ...

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; , ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The university ...

Université catholique de Louvain UCLouvain (or Université catholique de Louvain , French for Catholic University of Louvain, officially in English the University of Louvain) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university and one of the oldest in Europe (originally establishe ...

, Université Toulouse 2 – Jean Jaurès,

University of Memphis The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

, Universidade Fédérale de Sao Carlos, and

Bergische Universität Wuppertal The University of Wuppertal (''Universität Wuppertal'') is a German scientific institution located in Wuppertal in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The university's official name in German is ''Bergische Universität Wuppertal'' ...

), Oral History - Contemporary History, Social and Cultural Ecology, etc.

PhD

For doctoral students, the faculty offers three- or four-year PhD programs in Applied Ethics, Historical Sociology, German and French Philosophy (taught in German and French), General Anthropology,

and Philosophy of Communication, Social Ecology, Europäische Kulturzeitgeschichte (taught in German), Civic Society Studies, etc.

Facilities

The IZV was located in the building of the

Czech Academy of Sciences The Czech Academy of Sciences (abbr. CAS, , abbr. AV ČR) was established in 1992 by the Czech National Council as the Czech successor of the former Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and its tradition goes back to the Royal Bohemian Society of Sc ...

in Legerová street. At the same time as the faculty was founded in 2000, it moved to the new building of the Charles University in U Kříže 8,

Jinonice Jinonice is a cadastral district of Prague, mostly part of Prague 5, but a small area is part of Prague 13. It is located on the north edge of Prokopské údolí national park. Jinonice has been a part of Prague city since 1922. Part of Jinonice ...

Prague 5 Prague 5, formally the Prague 5 Municipal District (''Městská čast Praha 5''), is a Prague city districts, second-tier municipality in Prague. The administrative district (''správní obvod'') of the same name consists of municipal districts Pra ...

, with two separate facilities, one in Hůrka district,

Prague 13 Prague 13 is a municipal district (''městská část'') in Prague, Czech Republic. The administrative district (''správní obvod'') of the same name consists of municipal districts Prague 13 and Řeporyje Řeporyje is a cadastral area of Prague ...

, and another at Máchova street 7,

Prague 2 Prague 2, formally the Prague 2 Municipal District (''Městská čast Praha 2''), is a second-tier municipality in Prague. It is co-extensive with the national administrative district (''správní obvod'') of the same name. As of the end of 200 ...

. The faculty moved to a new building in

in 2020. The new building won a national architecture award in 2021. Two research and educational institutions are operating within the Faculty of Humanities: the Research Center for Personality Development and Ethnicity, the Rehabilitation Institute for the Visually Impaired, and the Cabinet for Civic Democratic Education. Its three-floor library is located beneath the university building on

Jan Palach Square Jan Palach Square () is a town square in the Old Town of Prague. It is located on right bank of the Vltava River next to the former Jewish Quarter. Buildings and structures The western side of the square is adjacent to the Vltava River. The Má ...

by Staroměstská metro station.

Departments

Gallery

Prostory a zazemi Fakulty humanitnich studii UK (FHS UK) v Praze (ilustracni fotografie) (UK0446).jpg Prostory a zazemi Fakulty humanitnich studii UK (FHS UK) v Praze (ilustracni fotografie) (UK0417).jpg Prostory a zazemi Fakulty humanitnich studii UK (FHS UK) v Praze (ilustracni fotografie) (UK0430).jpg Prostory a zazemi Fakulty humanitnich studii UK (FHS UK) v Praze (ilustracni fotografie) (UK0437).jpg Prostory a zazemi Fakulty humanitnich studii UK (FHS UK) v Praze (ilustracni fotografie) (UK0401).jpg Prostory a zazemi Fakulty humanitnich studii UK (FHS UK) v Praze (ilustracni fotografie) (UK0406).jpg

Notable people

*Ladislav Benyovszky * Martin C. Putna *

Jaro Křivohlavý Jaro Křivohlavý (19 March 1925 – 27 December 2014) was a Czech people, Czech psychologist and writer. He dealt with health psychology, experimental psychology and logotherapy. He published a number of books on stress, aging, happiness and al ...

Petr Vopěnka Petr Vopěnka (16 May 1935 – 20 March 2015) was a Czech people, Czech mathematician. In the early seventies, he developed alternative set theory (i.e. alternative to the classical Cantor theory), which he subsequently developed in a series of ...

* Miloslav Petrusek *

Bedřich Moldan Bedřich Moldan (born 15 August 1935, Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech ecologist, publicist and politician. Moldan is professor of environmental science, founder and director of the Charles University Environment Center. From 2001 to 2004 coor ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Universities in the Czech Republic Charles University 2000 establishments in the Czech Republic Universities and colleges established in 2000 Liberal arts colleges