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
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.
Bibliography
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Term 2023L:
Chris Shilling, Antropologia ciała, Warszawa 2010 |
Term 2024L:
None |
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: