The workshop “Challenges to Area Studies” took place in Prague, on November 10-12, 2021. Participating were academics and students from the Charles University, University of Warsaw, University of Milan and University of Heidelberg. In the first part of the meeting, the very concept of “area studies” was discussed, the problems of interdisciplinarity and inclusiveness, of criteria for defining the “area”, but also of practical outcomes of area studies in academia and outside it. The greater part was then dedicated to the preparation of the joint course, resolving practical questions but also debating the aims and contents of the lectures. The student feedback was crucial in this.
