Anthropology of the contemporary in Czechia 3005-KU6AWCZ
The main goal of the course is the extraction of the key components of contemporary Czech cultural practices (contemporary times shall be construed here as the period from the year 2000) from the perspective of cultural anthropology. As we are aware of the discontinuity, heterogeneity, stratification and at times the randomness of cultural processes in the modern world, we propose 7 spheres of issues (ranges of topics), from which one (or possibly two) will be selected in each academic year for in-depth analysis during class.
Our assumption (following Paul Rabinow and Anthony Stavrianakis described in "Demands of the Day: On the Logic of Anthropological Inquiry") is that research into the contemporary times has three possible phases: the present; that which is factual; and that which is contemporary. The first one pertains to the situation observed by the researcher (collecting data from the field), the second is the problematisation of what has been observed, and the third is an anthropological analysis. As a consequence, the selected issue will be transferred, together with the course participants, to three fields of reflection, from observation (data collection), through selection and categorization (reflection field), to conceptualization (knowledge). The implication of the adopted perspective is the assumed way of working on selected issues, in other words, the form of classes. We accepted that the most effective form (both for the students and the lecturer) would be that of a cultural studies laboratory (referring to such researchers as Charles Peirce, Aby Warburg, and especially Claude Lévi-Strauss). Our choice was primarily determined by the openness that guarantees the creation of conditions, a kind of platform for the free exchange of reflections, which Aleksandra Kil, Jacek Małczyński, Dorota Wolska have dubbed "co-thinking" ("Towards a Humanistic Laboratory"). They write that “[…] co-thinking is not a state, but rather a moment or a set of such moments of creative, effective intellectual collaboration. Co-thinking is incidental, ephemeral, event-related, difficult to grasp, and there is no guarantee that it will always come through. This kind of collaboration requires trust and a willingness to share knowledge selflessly, however simple it sounds." Teamwork (in collecting data and discussing them), intensive exchange of reflections ensures that the process of extracting knowledge will take place collectively, in cooperation (co-thinking) of the lecturer and the students.
Type of course
Prerequisites (description)
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
KNOWLEDGE
1. The student will be able to:
- define the subject and scope of research in contemporary anthropology;
- use the basic research categories of anthropology in relation to contemporary social and political events in the Czech
- explain the mechanisms of selected social Czech phenomena on the basis of source material.
2. The student will become acquainted with the dominant paradigms and research perspectives in the humanities and will comprehend the possibility of applying them in their own research and professional activities related to the study of the Czech culture and language.
3. The student will have in-depth and structured knowledge of the terminology and methodology of the core academic fields for cultural studies, especially anthropology, and will learn how to use them in their own independent research of Czech cultural phenomena.
4. The student will gain an insight into the social and political realities of a Czech Republic in relation to the situation in the region and in Europe.
5. The student will have in-depth knowledge of the functioning of the public sphere and the symbolic system of a Czech Republic with references to similar phenomena in the region.
SKILLS
1. The student will be able to:
- perform a critical analysis of source texts;
- interpret the mechanisms governing contemporary social behavior from the perspective of anthropology;
- prepare and defend their reasoning based on self-collected, analyzed and integrated information;
- make use of the achievements of cultural studies and related academic fields, creatively refer to recognized research and research schools in the process of developing their own thesis, defend their position or justify conclusions they drew from their independent analysis of contemporary Czech cultural phenomena;
- apply research methods relevant to various disciplines in the field of humanities and synthesize them in a well-grounded way in their multifaceted research on the Czech culture and language;
- interpret the phenomena of contemporary social and political life in a Czech Republic in the context of the situation in the region, using contemporary theories and cultural studies.
2. The student will have in-depth knowledge of the principles of analyzing contemporary culture-based texts from diverse fields of cultural practices alongside their interrelationships within a given area of the Slavic region.
3. The student will be able to hold a reasoned discussion using substantive argumentation in the language of specialization.
ATTITUDES
The student will be able to:
- understand and critically relate to the surrounding reality;
- critically relate to various research methods and theses contained in theoretical texts.
The students will practice group work, they will develop their skills in analyzing and interpreting theoretical texts and interpreting source material. Discussion in class is to result in a better understanding of the mechanisms governing contemporary social behavior.
Assessment criteria
Ongoing preparation for classes and activity during discussions (preparing a presentation on a given topic).
An essay in Czech.
Attendance. Two absences permitted per semester.
Practical placement
Not applicable.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: