Between the East and West: Discovering Central Europe

A medieval cultural capital located in the heart of Europe, yet for decades locked seemingly far away behind the Iron Curtain, Prague has a magical flair like no other. One of the things that makes Prauge special is its contradictions: it's both big as well as cozy, it's rich as well as poor, both "Eastern" and "Western," quiet and wild, old yet unmistakably reconfigured by the communist regime (1948-1989) as well as the capitalist system that replaced it.

The Prague program, which is one of the oldest CHID study abroad programs at UW, is all about immersing yourself in Prague and the other great Central European cities - Vienna, Krakow, Budapest, and Berlin, where we will go on four-day trips each - in order to develop a complex understanding of the dynamic historical, cultural, and political life of Central Europe as a whole. The program itself is strongly anchored in the philosophy of CHID: it combines academically rigorous seminar-style courses, international field trips aimed at provoking personal reflection and exploration, and cultural events that transform our program into a living community. We focus on key issues that resonate well beyond Central Europe: the tragedy of the Holocaust, the nature and impact of the communist system, the hopes and tensions of the European Union, and how coming to terms with the past is reflected in the cultural and art scene we witness today.