21 July – 1 August 2025
60 classes, 3 ECTS credits
Course Description:
Debrecen Summer School offers an academic course for foreigners who are interested in the history and culture, the past and the present of the region generally called East-Central Europe. The course has been designed with special regard to those who (might) get into contact with, or, want to know more about, the exciting and colourful world of Central Europe. Based on the major turning points of the history of the region in the 19th-20th centuries, The Story of East-Central Europe: Past and Present provides a comprehensive portrait of the political and cultural events as well as the radical changes the countries of the region have experienced during the past centuries. While the morning classes will concentrate upon concrete topics, the afternoon classes will involve watching films, interactive projects and site visits related to the course material.
Major Topics:
The Meaning of East-Central Europe in History; Ethnical-Cultural Diversities and Empire Buildings; The Anatomy of the Habsburg Empire; Military Empires, South and East: The Ottomans and the Russians; Religious Aspects: Western Christianity vs. Eastern Orthodoxy; The Melting Pot of Austria-Hungary in the 19th Century; Nation Buildings and the Great War; New Post-WWI Settlements: The Myth of Nation States; In the Shadow of Swastika: The Emergence and Influence of Nazi Germany; World War II Turmoils; Post-WWII Phenomena: Introducing the Soviet System in the Region; The Nature of East-Central European Soviet Satellite States; Riots and Uprisings against Soviet Communism: East-Berlin-1953, Hungary-1956, Czechoslovakia-1968, Poland-1980-81; Living Conditions under the Communist Rule; The Place of Churches in the Soviet Bloc; East-Central European Revolutions of 1989; What Has Happened since 1989; The Future of the Land Between; The Meaning of “East-Central European Character;” The Legacy of East-Central Europe in Historical Approaches.
Program Director:
Dr. Róbert Barta, Professor of History (University of Debrecen)
Structure of the Course:
– 3 blocks of classes (3 × 90 min) a day
– examination offered at the end of the course (ECTS credits)
Cultural Activities:
– opening ceremony
– guided tour in Debrecen
– weekend excursion
– Hungarian gastronomy and foodways
– folk dances and folk songs
– quiz
– farewell party
Leisure Activities:
– disco, karaoke night
– sports
EXTRA Program:
– traditional handicrafts
– sightseeing tour by night
– bike tour
Dates & Reminders:
– registration: 20 July (Sunday), 14:00–18:00
– course starts: 21 July (Monday)
– daily schedule: 9:00–10:30; 11:00–12:30; 14:00–15:30
– tuition ends: 1 August (Friday)
– check-out time: 2 August (Saturday), before 10:00
Accommodation and Meals:
– accommodation: Kossuth Lajos Dormitory (single, double and three-bedded rooms)
– upon request, we can book a room in a hotel (please contact the Summer School staff)
– full board (breakfast, lunch and dinner)
Application Deadline: 30 June 2025
| Course Fee*: | 2 weeks |
| tuition fee;
Saturday excursion; Debrecen sightseeing; evening cultural programs (including the farewell dinner) |
880 EUR |
| Other fees: | |
| three-bedded room | 245 EUR |
| double room | 345 EUR |
| single room | 545 EUR |
| Full board | 310 EUR |
| EXTRA programs | 15 EUR/program |
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