Course detail

School of Imagination 1

FaVU-2PEDKAcad. year: 2026/2027

The course offers students space to develop their imagination, creativity and sensitivity towards themselves, society and the world. It draws on the principles of systems thinking and enables them to explore complex topics in a safe and participatory environment. Experiential activities broaden the possibilities of sensory perception and support self-reflection, the examination of habitual patterns and a deeper understanding of social and ecological issues. The process also includes reflection on students’ own sociocultural identities, the questioning of established self-images and the search for new ways of relating to the world.

The three-day workshop, which includes two overnight stays, takes place off campus at a location near Brno during the first week after the end of the semester’s teaching period. It is led by external tutors MgA. Barbora Kleinhamplová and Mgr. Tereza Čajková from the Centre for Transformative Education.

Language of instruction

Czech

Number of ECTS credits

2

Assignment to study programme types

Master's

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Entry knowledge

None.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

The course is completed by the award of course credit. The three-day intensive course takes place off campus, usually at Kaprálův Mlýn near Brno, during the first week after the end of the semester’s teaching period. The cost of students’ accommodation and meals is covered. Attendance throughout the course is compulsory.

The course employs the following teaching methods:

  • experiential engagement with course themes;
  • sensory-based learning;
  • participatory interactive workshops using methods of individual and collective reflection;
  • group discussion;
  • analysis of shared materials.

Aims

The course aims to develop students’ capacity to explore complex and challenging issues relating to contemporary life and the future through sensory-based activities. It focuses on developing the imagination, including its social and ecological dimensions. Each seminar introduces a diverse range of creative experiential methods and presents engagement with the senses and emotions as an essential part of the educational process. Students are introduced to the basic principles of critical pedagogy and systems thinking. Working together in groups with fixed membership supports openness and the gradual deepening of mutual exchange.

Upon completion of the course, students will have developed the following abilities and competencies:

  • the ability to work with groups;
  • their imagination and capacity to incorporate a wide range of creative experiential methods into professional and teaching activities;
  • future-oriented thinking and the ability to analyse so-called epochal themes critically, understood as key issues of the present;
  • the ability to engage with the senses and emotions as an essential part of the educational process.

The School of Imagination workshop series is conceived as a continuous process of creative learning in groups with fixed membership. This pedagogical format supports the gradual acquisition and development of creative and pedagogical competencies that students can apply in their own professional practice, particularly when working as facilitators and creative educators.

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

Čajková, T. (2023). Smysly a vzdělávání. FUTUROPOLIS: Škola emancipace.

Recommended reading

Abram, D. (2013) Kouzlo smyslů: vnímání a jazyk ve více než lidském světě. DharmaGaia. Praha.
Butler, C. H. (2014). The abandonment of art: 1948–1988. New York : Museum of Modern Art.
Čajková, T. (2022) Transformativní vzdělávání jako klíčová odpověď na četné výzvy budoucnosti. NaZemi.
Harding, S. (2016). Animate Earth. Science, Intuition and Gaia. Green Books Ltd.
Rolnik, S. (2017) The Knowing-Body Compass in Curatorial Practices. Theater 1 February 2017; 47 (1): 116–136.
Rosa, H. (2015). Social Acceleration: A New Theory of Modernity. Columbia University Press.
Rosa, H. (2019). Resonance: A Sociology of Our Relationship to the World. Polity.
Weber, A. (2022). Cítí, tedy je. Jakub Hlaváček – MALVERN.

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme DES_M Master's 1 year of study, winter semester, elective
    1 year of study, winter semester, elective
    1 year of study, winter semester, elective
    1 year of study, winter semester, elective
  • Programme VUM_M Master's 1 year of study, winter semester, elective
    1 year of study, winter semester, elective
    1 year of study, winter semester, elective
    1 year of study, winter semester, elective
    1 year of study, winter semester, elective
    1 year of study, winter semester, elective
    1 year of study, winter semester, elective
    1 year of study, winter semester, elective
    1 year of study, winter semester, elective
    1 year of study, winter semester, elective
    1 year of study, winter semester, elective
    1 year of study, winter semester, elective

Type of course unit

 

Seminar

24 hours, compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

Syllabus