Based on the Erasmus+ Teaching Programme agreements signed between UKF Nitra and its international partner universities, Dr Gallik and Dr Lenka Tkač-Zabakova (Institute of Languages and Cultures of Central Europe at the Faculty of Central European Studies, UKF Nitra), presented their research results at the Faculty of Arts at Charles University in Prague.

After a warm welcome by the staff and the Head of the Department of Central European Studies – an associate professor and a renowned Slovak linguist, Mira Nabělkova – they lectured to students interested in Central European literary science, film and television art.

A series of lectures began with a talk by Dr Jan Gallik – ´Slovak and Hungarian Catholic Literature standing vis-a-vis Communism´. In it, the author presented the spiritually motivated literary works of Pavol Strauss, Jozef Toth – Sandor Sik, Sandor Weörös, and Janos Pilinszky. During the era of communist totality, they were the ´outsiders´ of mainstream literature and they were somewhat tolerated by the government.

In the lecture entitled ´Motive of Death in the Works of Slovak, Czech and Hungarian Catholic literature´, Dr Gallik introduced the motif of death in selected works by Slovak, Czech and Hungarian Catholic authors.

After the inspiring presentation and discussion, he lectured to the students and teachers on ´The Image of the Holocaust and Persecution of the Jewish Population in Czech and Slovak Cinematography´. He discussed the essential features of Czech and Slovak films related to the holocaust, arization and persecution of the Jewish population. In the lecture entitled ´Cyrillo-Methodian Theme in Film and Documentary in Bohemia and Slovakia´, Dr Gallik introduced significant personalities of the Great Moravian Empire, i.e. St Cyril, St Methodius, the Princes Svätopluk and Rastislav in Czech and Slovak films and TV production after 1993. Afterwards, the lecture was followed by a long and inspiring discussion.

Text: Mgr. art. Stefan Timko, PhD. – Institute of Central European Languages ​​and Cultures, Faculty of Central European Studies
Photo: PhDr. Lenka Tkač-Zabakova – Institute of Central European Languages ​​and Cultures, Faculty of Central European Studies