By Ren Blauch ’28, staff writer
LVC students can explore Prague's cultural history and identity through a four-week study abroad program.
The program, now in its second year at LVC, runs from May 24 to June 25, 2027, and is open to students of all majors. Participants will earn six credits while studying Czech culture, history and identity through coursework and excursions throughout Prague and the surrounding area.
The program’s required course, “The City of Laughter and Forgetting,” will be taught by Dr. Jeff Ritchie, chair and professor of design, media and technology. The course fulfills one immersive experience requirement and the general education human diversity requirement.
“This class aims to look at walking as a form of narrative,” Ritchie said.
Through the course, students will observe and reflect on how cultural memory is preserved, rewritten and challenged. Much of the coursework will involve creating photo essays that document students’ experiences and observations throughout the city.
The course will explore Czech cultural identity through architecture, art and storytelling. According to Ritchie, Prague provides a particularly useful setting for examining how cultural identity develops through historical and cultural exchange.
“The Czech Republic is an area with such remarkable cultural exchange, having all this Austrian influence and with the German annexation of the Sudetenland,” Ritchie said. “The goal of this class is to explore how the Czechs explain who they are in the face of all of these cultural conflicts.”
In addition to the required course, students will take an elective course through the CEA CAPA Prague Center, the program’s host institute. Students can choose from a variety of courses, including art-focused classes such as “Architecture and Art in the Golden City” and cultural studies courses such as “Czech Culture, Food and Brewing Tradition.”
The program will also include several excursions designed to give students opportunities to experience Prague and the Czech Republic as a whole. Planned trips include visits to the National Museum and the Museum of Communism, as well as a day trip to Kutná Hora, a historic silver-mining town known for the Gothic Church of St. Barbara and the Sedlec Ossuary, also known as the “Bone Church.”
Prague’s public transportation system also makes it relatively easy for students to navigate the city during the program. The city is a UNESCO World Heritage site, offering students access to historic architecture, museums, cultural sites and other attractions.
The 2027 program differs from last year’s Prague trip, which was organized through the psychology department and focused on cross-cultural psychology. This year’s program is not tied to a specific department.
Cadence Funk, a senior sociology and clinical mental health counseling major, participated in last summer’s Prague study abroad program. Funk said her interest in studying abroad came from wanting to experience a culture that was unfamiliar to her.
“I chose to study abroad because I love to immerse myself in new cultural experiences and wanted to travel to a country I didn’t know a ton about!” Funk said.
Funk encouraged future study abroad students to take advantage of opportunities once they arrive.
“Some general advice I would give to those studying abroad would be to say ‘yes’ to every opportunity you can once you touch down; the time flies!” Funk said.
Funk also recommended researching the country before traveling and exploring Prague beyond its most well-known attractions. She encouraged students to visit local shops and markets and recommended a riverboat sightseeing cruise on the Vltava River and a tour of Prague Castle.
“Prague has a ton to offer students of all academic disciplines as it is a hub of art, music, technology, and culture,” Funk said.
The application deadline for the Summer Prague program is Feb. 1, 2027.
Students interested in the Prague program can contact Ritchie at ritchie@lvc.edu or Jamie LaPine, associate director of Global Education, at lapine@lvc.edu.