Elective courses in the Croatian language and culture will not be available in academic year 2023/2024.
In addition to acquiring linguistic competences, students enrolled in the Semester Course of the Croatian Language and Culture can choose to learn more about Croatian language and culture. Participation in elective courses is not charged additionally and it is available only to students participating in the Semester Course of the Croatian Language and Culture in person at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Each elective course is held over 15 weeks during one semester. Students attend 2 lessons per week (2×45 minutes). The offer of elective courses is different in the winter and summer semesters.
OVERVIEW OF ELECTIVE COURSES AVAILABLE IN THE WINTER AND SUMMER SEMESTERS
- Pronunciation exercises in Croatian as a second and foreign language 1 (levels A1 and A2, 1 ECTS)
- Pronunciation exercises in Croatian as a second and foreign language 2 (level B1.1, 1 ECTS)
- Pronunciation exercises in Croatian as a second and foreign language 3 (level B1.2, 1 ECTS)
- Pronunciation exercises in Croatian as a second and foreign language 4 (level B2.1, 1 ECTS)
- Pronunciation exercises in Croatian as a second and foreign language 5 (level B2.2, 1 ECTS)
- Pronunciation exercises in Croatian as a second and foreign language 6 (level C1, 1 ECTS)
OVERVIEW OF ELECTIVE COURSES AVAILABLE IN THE WINTER SEMESTER
- Croatian history (in English, 6 ECTS)
- Croatian politics (in English, 3 ECTS)
- Introduction to Croatian grammar for non-native speakers 1 (in English, 3 ECTS)
- Music in Croatia (in English, 3 ECTS)
- Cultural institutions in Croatia (in English, 3 ECTS)
- Croatian language in contact with other languages in the past and today (in English, 4 ECTS)
- History of Croatian art (in English, 3 ECTS)
- Croatian literature in the 15th and 16th centuries (in Croatian, 5 ECTS)
- Introduction to modern Croatian literature 1 (19th century) (in Croatian, 5 ECTS)
- Standard Croatian – phonology and morphophonology (in Croatian, 5 ECTS)
- Croatian syntax (in Croatian, 5 ECTS)
OVERVIEW OF ELECTIVE COURSES AVAILABLE IN THE SUMMER SEMESTER
- Croatian ethnological heritage (in English, 4 ECTS)
- Croatian everyday culture (in English, 4 ECTS)
- Croatian film in the European context (in English, 4 ECTS)
- Introduction to Croatian literature (in English, 4 ECTS)
- Introduction to Croatian grammar for non-native speakers 2 (in English, 3 ECTS)
- Croatian literature in the 17th and 18th centuries (in Croatian, 5 ECTS)
- Introduction to modern Croatian literature 2 (20th and 21st century) (in Croatian, 5 ECTS)
- Morphology of standard Croatian (in Croatian, 5 ECTS)
- Standard Croatian for heritage speakers (in Croatian, 3 ECTS)
- History of the Croatian language (in Croatian, 4 ECTS)
Courses are held in Croatian or English. Classes are organised in diverse groups of participants of different mother tongues, nationalities and ages. The required level of competence in Croatian or English necessary to enrol in elective courses is level B, except for Pronunciation exercises in Croatian as a second and foreign language. In case of an insufficient number of applicants, the course will not be held. The schedule is announced during the first week of the semester. Regular attendance and a passing grade in the final exam are required for a successful completion of the course and award of ECTS credits.
Overview of elective courses available in the winter and summer semesters
Pronunciation exercises in Croatian as a second and foreign language 1 (levels A1 and A2, 1 ECTS)
Students learn how to properly pronounce all sounds of standard Croatian by practising the pronunciation of speech units and intonation. Special emphasis is placed on the pronunciation of sounds not present in students’ mother tongues. Students learn about sound changes not recorded in writing using audio and written materials – dropping of consonants, assimilation and coarticulation.
Pronunciation exercises in Croatian as a second and foreign language 2 (level B1.1, 1 ECTS)
Students practise the pronunciation of speech units and intonation. Special emphasis is placed on the pronunciation of difficult sound groups, as well as the pronunciation of sounds which do not exist in students’ mother tongues. Students learn about sound changes not recorded in writing using more complex audio and written material. By learning vocabulary, they learn about the location of stress in words and about most the common stress paradigms.
Pronunciation exercises in Croatian as a second and foreign language 3 (level B1.2, 1 ECTS)
Students learn how to pronounce speech units (clitics and stressed words) and assimilation – dropping of vowels, assimilation and coarticulation. Special emphasis is placed on sound groups which are difficult to pronounce. In addition to learning vocabulary, students learn about the location and weight of stress and about the most common stress paradigms. They learn how the stress moves to negatives and prepositions.
Pronunciation exercises in Croatian as a second and foreign language 4 (level B2.1, 1 ECTS)
Correction of sounds which deviate from standard pronunciation. Practising assimilation in speech and exercising fluency in pronunciation. Students listen to and read texts of suitable difficulty for their level. In addition to learning new vocabulary, students learn about word stress (how to properly read stress symbols) and the most common stress paradigms.
Pronunciation exercises in Croatian as a second and foreign language 5 (level B2.2, 1 ECTS)
Correction of sounds which deviate from standard pronunciation. In addition to learning new standard language vocabulary, students learn about word stress and the most common stress paradigms. They listen to and analyse lengthy authentic audio recordings from different sources – speeches recorded in conditions other than optimal, poor role models of standard language speakers (speakers with speech impediments) and speech characterised by dialectal pronunciation.
Pronunciation exercises in Croatian as a second and foreign language 6 (level C1, 1 ECTS)
Correction of sounds which deviate from standard pronunciation. Students learn about the stress in new words and their stress paradigms. They learn about the (non)shifting of stress to the proclitic, listen to authentic texts of different functional styles, and are acquainted with classic and generally accepted accents and basic Croatian dialectal deviations from standard Croatian pronunciation, as well as the speech patterns of major Croatian cities.
Overview of elective courses available in the winter semester
Croatian history (in English, 6 ECTS)
The aim of the course is to provide an overview of major developments, turning points and events in Croatian history, to show how the Croatian territory decreased and increased in size, and to present the main historical figures. The course should raise the students’ awareness of the fact that every “local” history is an integral part of the great European history.
Croatian politics (in English, 3 ECTS)
The course will lay the foundations for an understanding of the development of the Croatian state, the main problems of democratic transition and their effects on modern political dynamics and institutional development. By understanding the constitutional organisation and political dynamics, students will gain a better understanding of other developments in Croatian society.
Introduction to Croatian grammar for non-native speakers 1 (in English, 3 ECTS)
The aim of the course is to enable students to define basic phonological and morphophonological concepts of the Croatian language, to categorise Croatian words according to their grammatical and semantic features, to recognise forms of individual words and relate them to their citation forms, to apply sound alternations in inflection and to apply the acquired rules in their language production.
Music in Croatia (in English, 3 ECTS)
This course presents Croatian music as part of broader Croatian heritage. A part of the lectures is dedicated to music as an art form. The students will get acquainted with Croatian masterpieces (e.g. Vatroslav Lisinski’s opera “Ljubav i zloba”) and with important artistic events. They will be introduced to traditional music and popular versions of traditional music (e.g. ethno music) and their representatives. The popular music genres which will be presented include Croatian jazz, the Zagreb and Dalmatian schools of chanson, Croatian rock and pop, crossover, Croatian musicals and Croatian film music.
Cultural institutions in Croatia (in English, 3 ECTS)
The course provides an overview of the most prominent Croatian cultural institutions and acquaints students with their activities. The basic intention of the course is to portray Croatian culture by providing an insight into the activities of Croatian cultural institutions – libraries, museums, theatres, research institutes, cultural centres, memorial centres, archives, publishing houses, media companies and other institutions. Students will learn about the role of cultural institutions during both lectures and visits to different cultural institutions located in Zagreb, including presentations of their activities and student workshops.
Croatian language in contact with other languages in the past and today (in English, 4 ECTS)
The course will acquaint students with different linguistic influences on the Croatian language. By providing an introduction to terminological concepts related to language contact theory and information on historical and other extralinguistic contexts, lectures and seminars will deal with the contact between Croatian and Romance, Germanic, Finno-Ugric, Slavic, Anglo-Saxon and other languages. Special emphasis will be placed on the relationship between Croatian and other languages of the former Yugoslavia, and Croatian as spoken in other countries formed after the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Students will also learn about the relationship between Croatian as spoken by Croatian emigrant speakers and majority languages of their new countries.
History of Croatian art (in English, 3 ECTS)
The course provides an overview of visual art forms created and preserved on the historical Croatian territories from ancient history until modern days. It enables students to recognise stylistic and iconographic patterns, and acquire methodological procedures for the historical, cultural and artistic contextualisation of relevant monuments. The objective of the course is to understand the historical and cultural context in which art works are created, to relate other art forms (music, literature, artistic craftsmanship, etc.) with the works of high art in context and to relate complex cultural circles which are intertwined in Croatian historical territories – the contribution of Byzantine and Turkish influences on Croatian culture; the dominant western component in the development of artistic activities; detailed elaboration of specific cultural components (Venice, Central Europe, etc.).
Croatian literature in the 15th and 16th centuries (in Croatian, 5 ECTS)
The course introduces students to Croatian literature from late 15th century and 16th century. Students master textual and philological concepts, as well as the concepts pertaining to stylistic periods and genres. They analyse different types of Croatian literary texts from that period and analyse in writing the selected literary and historical problems on the basis of secondary literature. Knowledge about one segment of Croatian literary history enables students to relate it to other segments, and to analyse, synthesise and evaluate historical literary facts, concepts, procedures and principles of literary history. They learn to manage research activities in the area of Croatian literary history and acquire an ability to develop new ideas and processes.
Introduction to modern Croatian literature 1 (19th century) (in Croatian, 5 ECTS)
The course analyses the context of social, cultural and literary life of the 18th and 19th centuries and gives an overview of national literature from romanticism to modernism. The objective is to introduce students to stylistic formations, genres, poetics, and major authors and works. This propaedeutic course enables students to acquire basic knowledge and a preliminary comprehensive overview of the structure of modern Croatian literature during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Standard Croatian – Phonology and morphophonology (in Croatian, 5 ECTS)
The objective of this course is to define basic concepts in phonology (structural, generative, autosegmental) and morphophonology, to classify standard Croatian phonemes according to their articulatory and acoustic features, to recognise phonologically and morphophonologically conditioned alternation of phonemes, to produce phonetic and phonological transcription of standard Croatian and to apply prosodic rules of standard Croatian.
Croatian syntax (in Croatian, 5 ECTS)
The objective of the course is to master the foundations of standard Croatian syntax, which includes definition and listing of basic concepts of the discipline, application of these concepts in syntactic analysis, independent research of major topics, and critical discussion of theoretical assumptions and hypotheses.
Overview of elective courses available in the summer semester
Croatian ethnological heritage (in English, 4 ECTS)
The objective of the course is to acquaint students with Croatian ethnographic heritage, its changes over time and its role in the present Croatian and European social context. Students should obtain a basic overview of and insight into selected ethnological phenomena, existing research, basic literature and interpretation.
Croatian everyday culture (in English, 4 ECTS)
The primary objective of the course is to raise awareness of cultural diversity and its reflection in language. The secondary objectives are to acquire acceptable linguistic patterns in communication in Croatian, knowledge about the Croatian language and the language itself. Another important objective is to acquire knowledge about Croatian everyday culture in comparison with other European and world cultures.
Croatian film in the European context (in English, 4 ECTS)
The objective of the course is to acquaint students with Croatian film as part of the national cinematographic and cultural practice, with special emphasis on the position of Croatian film in the European context. The main objective is to give an overview of aesthetic history of Croatian film, the works, genres and stylistic features of major film directors and authors, and to establish links with European film trends.
Introduction to Croatian literature (in English, 4 ECTS)
The goal of this course is to present an overview of the Croatian canonical authors, ouvres, and literary history concepts in their historical (i.e. national, Central and West European) and cultural context. Students will be reading major Croatian literary texts in translation, compare them and learn about the dinamics of literary change pertaining to Croatian literature from the Middle Ages to the present (i.e. literary periods, generations and movements). Thereby, students will be acquainted with the political, social and cultural life in Croatia.
Introduction to Croatian grammar for non-native speakers 2 (in English, 3 ECTS)
The objective of the course is to develop competences which will enable students to define basic grammatical concepts in Croatian syntax and lexicology, to categorise parts of sentence structure and major language categories according to their grammatical and semantic features, to learn the basics of concord and verb aspect, to be acquainted with the issue of gender in Croatian, to master the basics of lexicology, and to apply what they have learnt to their written and spoken language production.
Croatian literature in the 17th and 18th centuries (in Croatian, 5 ECTS)
The objective of the course includes acquiring basic knowledge of Croatian literature of the 17th and 18th centuries. Students master textual and philological concepts, as well as the concepts pertaining to stylistic periods and genres. They analyse different types of Croatian literary texts from that period and analyse in writing the selected literary and historical problems on the basis of secondary literature. Knowledge about one segment of Early Modern Croatian literary history enables students to relate it to other segments, and to analyse, synthesise and evaluate historical literary facts, concepts, procedures and principles of literary history. They learn to manage research activities in the area of Croatian literary history and acquire an ability to develop new ideas and processes.
Introduction to modern Croatian literature 2 (20th and 21st century) (in Croatian, 5 ECTS)
The course analyses the context of social, cultural and literary life of the 20th and 21st centuries and gives an overview of national literature from modernism to contemporary times. The objective is to introduce students to styles, genres, poetics, and major authors and works. This propaedeutic course enables students to acquire basic knowledge and a preliminary comprehensive overview of the structure of modern Croatian literature during the 20th and 21st centuries.
Morphology of standard Croatian (in Croatian, 5 ECTS)
The objective of this course is to acquire fundamental knowledge of the morphological level and inflection in standard Croatian. Students will be able to list and define basic concepts in the discipline, apply these concepts to linguistic analysis on the morphological level, independently research topics of special interest, and critically discuss theoretical assumptions and hypotheses.
Standard Croatian for heritage speakers (in Croatian, 3 ECTS)
Heritage speakers of Croatian are bilingual speakers who most commonly have not mastered all language skills equally. The main objective of the course is to acquaint students with Croatian as a heritage language, its features and speakers. Some of the topics discussed include migration trends, Croatian emigrants and waves of emigration, generation gaps, number of speakers, dialects, bilingualism, preservation of Croatian as a heritage language, identity, etc. The second objective is to systematize knowledge possessed by heritage speakers by clarifying different grammatical categories and concepts, and by explaining functional styles, and the differences between standard language and dialects.
History of the Croatian language (in Croatian, 4 ECTS)
The objective of the lectures in this course is to provide students with basic knowledge about the “external” history of the Croatian language. The seminar classes will teach students to recognise and explain important historical language phenomena and equip them with tools for further study of the Croatian language. The main emphasis is on the so-called “external” history of the Croatian language: major cultural and historical events are presented, as well as the monuments of Croatian literacy from 16th to 19th century (the most important monuments from the history of Croatian written culture, the beginnings of printing, the first dictionaries, orthographic manuals and grammar books of the Croatian language from its beginnings to the shaping of the Croatian standard language, the standardisation of the Croatian language).