MSSU focuses themed semester on Czech Republic

The Joplin Globe, Mo.
·2 min read

Sep. 2—The annual themed semester at Missouri Southern State University this fall focuses on the Czech Republic, officially called Czechia since 2016.

The themed semester has been a regular feature of the university's mission of international education since 1997. It has previously highlighted China, Africa, Latin America, America, Japan, India, Cuba, Russia, Mexico, France, Germany, Canada, Brazil, Egypt, Thailand, Italy, Turkey, Spain, Great Britain, Korea, the Nordic region and Oceania.

Major events planned for the semester include:

—"A Taste of Czechia" from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday in Mayes Dining Hall. Admission is $13, plus tax. Sponsored by Fresh Ideas, the menu includes šopský salát (vegetable salad with tomatoes, peppers, cucumber and Balkan cheese), kulajda (mushroom potato soup), guláš (beef goulash), vepřový řízek (pork schnitzel), kuře na paprice (chicken paprikash), dušené červené zelí (braised red cabbage), bramboráky (potato pancakes), houskové knedlíky (bread dumplings), bramborový salát (potato salad), filled crescent cookies, makovník (poppyseed roll) and koblihy (jam-filled donuts).

—A book club reading Czech author Milan Kundera's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being." The group will meet at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at MSSU's Spiva Library and at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22, at the Joplin Public Library to discuss the novel, which tells the story of two couples following the Prague Spring of 1968.

—The MSSU wind ensemble performing the music of Czech composer Antonín Dvořák at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4, in a location still to be determined.

—A book club reading Prague-born Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis," the novella depicting a journey with Gregor Samsa as he deals with life after being transformed into a "monstrous insect." The group will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, at Bookhouse Cinema.

—Dvořák's "Rusalka," or "The Little Mermaid," at 1 and 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, in Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall. Following the lecture, a vocal quartet will sing selections from the wonderful opera.

—Lectures on a variety of topics, including Prague and its history, Czech cuisine and culture, the Cold War, the European Roma, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the tradition of glassmaking, and more.

—A series of films from Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. They will be shown at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays in MSSU's Cornell Auditorium or Bookhouse Cinema.