Description: Overview of course structure, expectations, and assessment. Students discuss composition as a process of inquiry and are introduced to the assignments including the semester-long Podcast Project. Podcast related: Reading list See Assignment Section

Description: Collaborative activity linking reading, writing, and visual representation. Students explore major composition concepts and connect them to potential podcast ideas. The editor of the John Lennon wall AAU Magazine, Poppy Elizabeth Mynard will give students a workshop about writing for journalistic enterprise. Student will afterwards write a journalistic piece for the John Lennon Wall with the possibility of having it published. Reading list · Brewer, M. L., van Kessel, G., Sanderson, B., Naumann, F., Lane, M., Reubenson, A., & Carter, A. (2019). Resilience in higher education students: A scoping review. Higher Education Research & Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2019.1626810 · Kuh, G. D. (2009). The National Survey of Student Engagement: Conceptual and empirical foundations. New Directions for Institutional Research, 141, 5–20. https://doi.org/10.1002/ir.283 · Li, R., Che Hassan, N., Zhu, Q., Ouyang, S., & Dong, J. (2025). A systematic review on the impact of social support on college students’ wellbeing and mental health. PLOS ONE, 20(7), e0325212. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0325212 · Daniilidou, A., Nerantzaki, K., & Stavropoulou, G. (2025). Pathways to happiness and resilience among university students: Understanding the role of belongingness and academic engagement. International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology, 10, 30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41042-025-00223-3 · Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C., & Paris, A. H. (2004). School engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74(1), 59–109. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543074001059 · Aulia, F., Hastjarjo, T. D., Setiyawati, D., & Patria, B. (2020). Student well-being: A systematic literature review. Buletin Psikologi, 28(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.22146/buletinpsikologi.42979 · Kristiana, I. F., Karyanta, N. A., Simanjuntak, E., Prihatsanti, U., Ingarianti, T. M., & Shohib, M. (2022). Social support and acculturative stress of international students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(11), 6568. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19116568

Description: How does our past influence and shape us as individuals? In this lecture we will explore why humans are drawn to the past and how it shapes our self-identity. We will examine the role of nostalgia in identity formation and consider how modernity amplifies this connection. Additionally, we’ll discuss how modern communication and our desire to forge group identities contribute to this ongoing process. Podcast related: Students collect field notes and conduct short interviews for later integration into the Podcast Project. Deadline: Students will submit an article for the John Lennon Wall University Magazine

Experiential writing activity around Prague’s nostalgic spaces. Students connect sensory observation to analytical reflection. Podcast related: Students collect field notes later integration into the Podcast Project

Description: Prior to submitting the first assignment Students will learn to implement the writing process including: pre-writing, outlining, drafting, revising and editing; to make stylistic and lexical choices appropriate to a specific audience and genre; e.g., expository and persuasive essays; understand and conform to the conventions of academic writing; Deadline: Nostalgia Writing Assignment Due

Description: This lecture explores the relationship between artistic expression and psychological experience, focusing on how mental and emotional states manifest through portraits and self-reflective performances or works. We will discuss how artists translate inner turmoil, identity, and perception into visual form, and how these expressions can reveal, distort, or mask the self. The session invites students to view art not only as aesthetic creation but also as a mirror of the mind’s complexities. Podcast related: Students collect field notes and conduct short interviews for later integration into the Podcast Project.

Final Q&A, submission of part A assignment related to Podcast Deadline / Deliverable: Art Essay Assignment Due

Description: Field-based research activity. Students visit selected Černý installations using an instructor-provided map, document observations, and analyze cultural and political meanings.

Description: Group presentations on Černý’s work linking art and social critique. Introduction to the Social Model of Disability and preparation for the experiential activity. Deadline: Černý Presentations Due

Description: Students participate in the Invisible Exhibition and reflect on how the experience challenges cultural assumptions about perception and ability. Podcast related: Students collect field notes and conduct short interviews for later integration into the Podcast Project.

Description: Students synthesize insights from the exhibition into analytical steps: A)experience B)concept C) claim D)evidence. Deadline:Group flipchart posters are presented and discussed

Peer feedback session focusing on argument flow, integration of research, and academic voice. Groups finalize their podcast episodes. Deadline: Disability Writing Assignment Due

Deadline: Essay & Podcast Due