The beginning of the semester is, for some, a symbol of hectic schedules and a return to everyday reality, while for others this year it has brought new opportunities. Thanks to the Erasmus+ project with Argentina, Martina Nimcowicz and Daiana De Roo from the Universidad Nacional de San Martín, together with Ludmila Weisová from the Faculty of Arts of the University of South Bohemia, are now putting into practice what they have learned throughout their studies so far.
Martina and Daiana arrived to analyze Spanish-language textbooks used in the Czech context. They were joined by two additional Argentine students — Ailén Moschini and Rita Belén Meza — who participate in the project remotely. Their task is to examine a range of textbooks by both Czech and Hispanic authors and determine to what extent these materials account for non-European varieties of Spanish, how they represent gender roles, and how they portray Indigenous cultures. The project builds on a previously defended thesis by Klára Nikitinská, who observed that in some textbooks women are depicted as pretty, secretaries, eating salad and enjoying romance, while men are portrayed as doctors or engineers, eating burgers and watching horror films. The outcomes of the project will include a collective publication and participation in the November IV Congreso Internacional de Ciencias Humanas in Buenos Aires. Besides the textbook analysis, Daiana and Martina also attend classes in Czech, sociolinguistics, syntax, and corrective grammar. They are preparing lectures for faculty students as well as for pupils at secondary schools in České Budějovice — and of course, they are fully enjoying Erasmus life before their departure in April.
Lída safely landed in Buenos Aires on March 1 after minor travel complications. As a student of both Hispanic Studies and Czech Studies, she was particularly drawn to the opportunity to complete a work placement at the Czech House, teaching Czech among members of the local Czech community and assisting with the organization of major official and cultural events (such as the wine harvest festival). She has become the very first Erasmus+ intern at that Czech House, thanks to the support of its leadership — especially the deputy chairman, Mr. Petr Táborský, who welcomed her and ensured her smooth integration. The three month in situ stay is essential for her thesis, which focuses on Language contact between Czech and Spanish in Argentina.
Activities connected to cooperation with Argentina within the Erasmus+ programme, as well as beyond it, are not limited to these three internships. In the autumn, the faculty welcomed H.E. Claudio Rozencwaig, the Ambassador of Argentina, who delivered a lecture within the Cátedra argentina series, this time on the geographical and economic diversity of the Argentine Republic. Thanks to director Iván Cherjovsky, we were also able to gain insight into the lives of Jewish musicians who emigrated from Europe to Argentina, through his film El exilio de los músicos.
In November, students of administrative and legal Spanish attended a seminar on Argentine criminal law given by fresh graduate of the collaborating Universidad de Morón, lawyer and our former intern Francisco Forti. Dr. Petrů from the Faculty of Arts presented the European Union’s language policy in Buenos Aires. For May, we are preparing the visit of Argentine lecturers from UNSAM and UM as part of the nationwide Ibero-American Week, in which our faculty will participate for the third time.
Recently, we also shared news about a lecture delivered by Dr. Šmídová — coordinator of cooperation with Argentina at the IRS of the Faculty of Arts and supervisor of the aforementioned projects — at the Instituto Cervantes, as well as her interview for Radio Prague International on topics related to her book and her research on colloquial Argentine Spanish. Students of the course Chapters from World Literature at the Institute of Czech Studies later attended a related lecture on lunfardo and tango as literary languages. Similar topics shall also appear in the upcoming U3A course Languages and Cultures of the American Continent.
We thank the international office of the faculty and the university’s international division for their ongoing support, as well as our colleague Vendula Vlková Hingarová from Charles University for her valuable contacts.
