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Code:
YBLS020 |
Lecturer:
Seidlová,V. |
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Semester:
Winter
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Language:
English
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ECTS credits:
4
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Schedule:
without the schedule or the schedule has not been defined yet
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Anthropological Theory for Everybody engages students with the intellectual history and key theoretical turns of sociocultural anthropology — from early fieldwork paradigms to postcolonial and globalisation critiques. The course proceeds through a series of canonical and contested debates: the Malinowski tradition of participant observation; the Mead–Freeman controversy over cultural vs. biological determinism (nature vs. nurture); Turner's ritual theory; Geertz's interpretive anthropology; feminist critiques of androcentrism in the discipline; postcolonial critiques; and contemporary frameworks for analysing globalisation, from Appadurai and Tsing to Hannerz. By working closely with primary theoretical texts, students develop the ability to read, contextualise, and evaluate anthropological arguments on their own terms. The course is explicitly designed for second-year students of the Liberal Arts and Humanities Programme and could partially serve as a preparation for the CESS (Comprehensive Examination in Social Sciences) exam. It complements and deepens knowledge acquired in the first-year compulsory course Introduction to Anthropology, which introduces the discipline's topics, concepts, and vocabulary; this course shifts the focus to the theoretical debates, methodological controversies, and intellectual genealogies that underlie those concepts. |
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Code:
YBLS031 |
Lecturer:
Abu Ghosh,Y. |
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Semester:
Winter
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Language:
English
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ECTS credits:
4
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Schedule:
without the schedule or the schedule has not been defined yet
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This course seeks to help to understand and address anti-GRT (Gypsies, Roma, Travellers) racism, shifting away from viewing it merely as an issue affecting these communities toward recognizing it as a fundamental structural problem that influences European society as a whole. The persistent and extreme marginalization of GRT people—representing one of Europe's most challenging yet underexamined social issues—arises from this widespread anti-GRT racism that permeates institutions and communities. Institutional approaches to addressing anti-GRT racism have concentrated mainly on mitigating its consequences rather than adequately examining the underlying mechanisms of how, why, and where it emerges and endures. Academic research that could illuminate these fundamental processes has been divided across disciplinary silos and national contexts. During the course, experts who have studied various historical, regional and social instances of violence against GRT will attempt to bridge these shortcoming by will present their reflections on "how has anti-GRT racism been possible" and how it happens. |
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Code:
YBLP013 |
Lecturer:
Hanyš,M. |
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Semester:
Winter
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Language:
English
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ECTS credits:
4
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Schedule:
mon 16:00 - 17:20, room YT112 (Faculty of Humanities, Pátkova 2137/5, Praha 8 - Libeň)
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This course traces the trajectory of Czech intellectual life from the 19th-century National Revival to the post-1989 democratic transition. While Tomáš G. Masaryk and Václav Havel serve as key reference points, the course highlights a wider circle of thinkers — from Palacký, Rádl, and Weltsch to Patočka, Kundera, and Kosík — who shaped debates about nation, democracy, ideology, and dissent. Students read and interpret primary texts and situate them within the broader European intellectual landscape. |
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Code:
YBLS023 |
Lecturer:
Zakreski,E. |
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Semester:
Winter
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Language:
English
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ECTS credits:
4
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Schedule:
thu 13:00 - 14:20, room YT112 (Faculty of Humanities, Pátkova 2137/5, Praha 8 - Libeň)
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The students will learn about the biopsychosocial model of health and illness. We will explore the social and psychological determinants of good physical and mental health. Through experience the students will learn about the promotion of health behavior.At the seminar the students will have to journal their own health behavior in a selected topic. Through discussions the students will formulate hypotheses about the difficulties people face when maintaining health behavior. The students will have to write an essay of 3-5 pages long in their own selected topic. The students will form groups and plan an awareness day or an intervention program in the selected topic and present to the participants of the seminar. The planned activities on this seminar will be lecturing, reading, writing, discussing key topics of health behavior, and student presentations. |
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Code:
YBLP021 |
Lecturer:
Janoušek,H. |
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Semester:
Winter
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Language:
English
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ECTS credits:
4
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Schedule:
wed 11:30 - 12:50, room YT113 (Faculty of Humanities, Pátkova 2137/5, Praha 8 - Libeň)
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The course offers an introduction to basic concepts of the philosophy of Martin Heidegger especially with respect to his most famous book - Being and Time. The concepts and main ideas of the book (existence, time space, authenticity, history, hermeneutics, history of being) will be explained in the wider context of Heidegger’s thought and illustrated by examples from everyday life so that they can be made understandable and relatable from the standpoint of a student of liberal arts. Heideggers critique of the previous philosophical tradition – including teaching of his teacher Edmund Husserl will be briefly outlined.Toward the end of the semester, we will also shortly discuss further development of Heidegger’s philosophy. |
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Code:
YBLH007 |
Lecturer:
Vondráček,J. |
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Semester:
Winter
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Language:
English
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ECTS credits:
4
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Schedule:
thu 11:30 - 12:50, room YT002 (Faculty of Humanities, Pátkova 2137/5, Praha 8 - Libeň)
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The history of the “Third Reich” is still an ever expanding field of research with hundreds of books being published every year. However, we will analyze three key aspects of the history of Nazi Germany: domination, society, and mass murder. We will focus on the building of the Nazi state from 1933 until the end of the war. In this context we will take a look at different theories which try to explain the stability of Nazi domination until its military defeat. The Nazi vision of a racial pure and hierarchically organized “Volksgemeinschaft” as a specific form of German society is the second field we will analyze. Various inclusion and exclusion mechanisms will be considered as well as different historical approaches. The Holocaust and the mass murder of gypsy and other ethnic groups as well as the terror against political enemies of the Reich, materialized in the system of Nazi concentration and extermination camps, will be the last field of research we will deal with. The seminar will be strongly text based. You will be asked to read one or two texts and be asked to answer guiding questions for each session. vondracek@mua.cas.cz |
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Code:
YBLH006 |
Lecturer:
Marková,A. |
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Semester:
Winter
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Language:
English
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ECTS credits:
4
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Schedule:
mon 11:30 - 12:50, room YT211 (Faculty of Humanities, Pátkova 2137/5, Praha 8 - Libeň)
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The course examines the phenomenon of Soviet jokes (anecdotes), which were widely popular during the existence of the Soviet Bloc. These jokes addressed nearly every aspect of everyday life under socialism, including shortages, leisure, sport, media propaganda, ideology, and many other areas. They circulated across all Soviet Bloc countries, such as Poland, Czechoslovakia and others, because these societies shared similar cultural experiences and living conditions during that period.The term “Communist jokes” can be more precisely described as anti-Communist or anti-Soviet jokes, as these labels better capture their critical nature and the sense of a shared political and cultural context.There are several reasons why Communist political jokes were distinctive. They exhibited a remarkable homogeneity: the absolute monopoly of state power meant that any joke about politics, the economy, or the media was, by definition, a joke about Communism. The Communist regime was inherently “funny” due to a unique combination of factors, including the inefficacy of its theories, the mendacity of its propaganda, and the ubiquity of censorship. The cruelty of its methods also interacted with the sense of humor of the people upon whom the system was imposed.The aim of the course is to introduce students to the realities of everyday life under Soviet rule in the countries of the Soviet Bloc through the study of Communist jokes. |
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Code:
YBLP010 |
Lecturer:
Janoušek,H. |
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Semester:
Winter
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Language:
English
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ECTS credits:
4
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Schedule:
without the schedule or the schedule has not been defined yet
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The course offers an introduction to phenomenology, one of the most influential philosophical movements of the twentieth century, tracing the development of its basic ideas from Franz Brentano’s psychology of intentionality, through Edmund Husserl’s founding project of a rigorous science of consciousness, to its transformations in the work of Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Phenomenology will be presented not only as a chapter in the history of philosophy but above all as a distinctive method: a systematic attempt to describe human experience as it is actually lived, from the first-person perspective. The course will introduce its central concepts — intentionality, the phenomenological reduction, being-in-the-world, freedom and bad faith, embodiment and perception — and show how each thinker takes up and reworks the legacy of his predecessors. The course is designed as an accessible introduction for students of liberal arts and presupposes no prior knowledge of phenomenology. |
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Code:
YBLS007 |
Lecturer:
Kolářová,M. |
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Semester:
Winter and summer
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Language:
English
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ECTS credits:
4
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Schedule:
wed 10:00 - 11:20, room YT212 (Faculty of Humanities, Pátkova 2137/5, Praha 8 - Libeň)
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This introductory course provides students with a foundation in the theory and practice of qualitative research methods in the social sciences. It focuses on how qualitative inquiry can be used to study social phenomena, human experience, meaning-making, and the perspectives of individuals and groups. Students will become familiar with the main stages of the qualitative research process, including the formulation of research questions, sampling, research ethics, data collection, coding, analysis, and the presentation of findings. The course introduces key qualitative methods such as semi-structured interviews, focus groups, document and media analysis, ethnography, as well as the use of software tools for qualitative data analysis. By combining theoretical discussion with practical methodological training, the course supports students in developing the basic skills needed to design, conduct, and present their own qualitative research. |
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Code:
YBLS021 |
Lecturer:
Zakreski,E. |
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Semester:
Winter
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Language:
English
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ECTS credits:
4
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Schedule:
thu 11:30 - 12:50, room YT033 (Faculty of Humanities, Pátkova 2137/5, Praha 8 - Libeň)
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This course provides a hands-on introduction to quantitative research methods and statistical analysis in the social sciences. Students will learn the strengths and weaknesses of different research designs, common sources of bias, and strategies to minimize them. The core focus is on describing data, testing hypotheses, selecting appropriate statistical tests based on the research question, study design, and data type, and correctly interpreting and reporting the results. Students will use the free statistical software JASP to perform analyses and answer hypothetical research questions. By the end of the course, students will acquire the conceptual understanding and practical skills needed to conduct their own quantitative research and to critically evaluate published research findings. |
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Code:
YBLH016 |
Lecturer:
Marková,A. |
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Semester:
Winter and summer
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Language:
English
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ECTS credits:
4
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Schedule:
tue 10:00 - 11:20, room YT211 (Faculty of Humanities, Pátkova 2137/5, Praha 8 - Libeň)
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Annotation and course description: The course aims to familiarize students with the processes underlying the emergence of the modern nation and the concomitant evolution of nationalism, including its various forms (ethnic, civic, and others), and to examine their intellectual and historical roots throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It focuses on Central and, to some extent, Eastern Europe as a region in which national movements unfolded and modern nation-states took shape during this period. Intended for undergraduate (bachelor’s) students, the course provides an overview of key moments in 19th- and 20th-century European history and serves as appropriate preparation for history examinations, particularly the Comprehensive Exam in European History. The course is also suitable to incoming students, offering a platform to enhance knowledge of modern and contemporary history of Eastern and Central Europe, viewed within the broader perspective of economic, political, and national interrelations. |
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Code:
YBLH010 |
Lecturer:
Suchý,M. + Vondráček,J. |
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Semester:
Winter
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Language:
English
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ECTS credits:
4
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Schedule:
thu 14:30 - 15:50, room YT112 (Faculty of Humanities, Pátkova 2137/5, Praha 8 - Libeň)
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The course provides students with an overview of European history from antiquity through the Middle Ages to modern history. Students will learn the importance of basic historical terms, such as the Reformation, the Lenten System, the Papal Schism and many others. The course consists of thematic-oriented lectures.. Completition of the course will help students with their preparation for following mandatory examination from European History. |
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Code:
YBLS022 |
Lecturer:
Hanson,E. |
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Semester:
Winter
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Language:
English
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ECTS credits:
4
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Schedule:
wed 13:00 - 14:20, room YT241 (Faculty of Humanities, Pátkova 2137/5, Praha 8 - Libeň)
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In this course, students will learn about the history, theory, and practice of social justice. The course aims to provide a critical understanding of social justice as both a domain for theoretical research and applied practice. In the theoretical portion of the course, we will discuss the relationship between social justice and concepts like power, identity, emotion, systems thinking, and intersectional solidarity. In the applied part of the course, students will learn about the practice of community organizing, including identifying goals, targets, and tactics, as well as ethical principles for organizing. The goal of the course is for students to be able to articulate diverse concepts of social justice and apply these perspectives to analyze and address real-life issues. |
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Code:
YBLS046 |
Lecturer:
Dobrovolná Władyniak,L. |
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Semester:
Winter
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Language:
English
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ECTS credits:
4
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Schedule:
mon 11:30 - 12:50, room YT113 (Faculty of Humanities, Pátkova 2137/5, Praha 8 - Libeň)
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The course is an introduction to the sociological theory and offers a closer analysis of the main sociological concepts (both classic and contemporary). In a form of an interactive lecture, the course offers a comprehensive overview of the most influential theories and theoreticians. Individual lectures are devoted to particular issues in sociological theory. The course is recommended for the students, who already graduated from the course Introduction to Sociology. |
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Code:
YBLP024 |
Lecturer:
Marek,J. |
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Semester:
Winter
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Language:
English
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ECTS credits:
4
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Schedule:
tue 11:30 - 12:50, room YT032 (Faculty of Humanities, Pátkova 2137/5, Praha 8 - Libeň)
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In this course, we will explore the idea of human exceptionalism and attempts at understanding what makes us special, what makes us human, or, in other words, what constitutes the "human condition". We will start by drawing the line - or the parallel - between the human and machines (robots, AI). Secondly, we will introduce Darwinism and its effect on how we understand our nature. Thirdly, we will focus on the idea of culture as a defining trait of humanity. We will continue by discussing value-judgements and the obsessive need to distinguish between "us" and "them" as well as the persistent idea of the human essence. |
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Code:
YBLS025 |
Lecturer:
Çakir,A. |
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Semester:
Winter
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Language:
English
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ECTS credits:
4
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Schedule:
without the schedule or the schedule has not been defined yet
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Social Movements have been one of the main engines of social change worldwide, gaining even more relevance in the first quarter of the 21st century as we observe countless protests and movements in each part of the world. Therefore, the study of the phenomena that is social movements is imperative to our understanding of society and history. This course aims to provide an introduction to the theories of social movements, linking theory to various historical and contemporary cases to better understand how social movements emerge and in which dynamics they operate. These dynamics include social, political, and cultural aspects as the nature of any given social movement is highly dependent on these aspects, while also transforming the dynamics they operate in. The course addresses topics such as collective action, repertoires and cycles of contention, individuals and networks, mobilization patterns, inclusion and exclusion mechanisms, etc by linking them to broader sociological theory. With the help of such topics, the course aims to discuss the contemporary theoretical debates revolving around the complex phenomena of social movements. |
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Code:
YBLH009 |
Lecturer:
Suchý,M. |
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Semester:
Winter
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Language:
English
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ECTS credits:
4
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Schedule:
tue 13:00 - 14:20, room YT121 (Faculty of Humanities, Pátkova 2137/5, Praha 8 - Libeň)
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The course provides students with insights into different aspects of medieval travelling. Source criticism to contemporary sources (chronicles, travel accounts, itineraries, books of travels, charters, etc.) within major topics (such as war campaigns, pilgrimage, university peregrination, diplomacy, trade and crafts) constitutes an important feature of the course. |
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