CZS06 Post-Socialist Identities

Pan-university studies
Spring 2007
Extent and Intensity
2/0. 8 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Miklós Vörös, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
PhDr. Thomas Donaldson Sparling, B.A.
Pan-university studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Martin Vašek
Prerequisites
The main source of case studies and ethnographic accounts are the following books: Katherine Verdery, What Was Socialism and What Comes Next (Princeton University Press, 1996); Michael Burawoy and Katherine Verdery, eds., Uncertain Transition (Rowman and Littlefield, 1999); and Daphne Berdahl, Matti Bunzl, and Martha Lampland, eds., Altering States (University of Michigan Press, 2000).
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The seminar focuses on the cultural production and reproduction of identities in East-Central Europe, especially after the end of state-socialism, in order to reveal various cultural patterns of continuity and change. The course starts with a thorough overview of theoretical approaches and historical legacies, and continues with the exploration of various forms of identities as they are presented and discussed in empirical case studies and ethnographic accounts. The format of the course is a combination of brief lectures and a controlled discussion of various assigned readings. The students should be prepared to give concise presentations on the readings during the class meetings and carry out brief research tasks between them.
Syllabus
  • Introduction: cultural and political theories of identity Introduction: cultural geographies of East-Central Europe Nationalism and national minorities Race and ethnicity Citizenship: exclusion and inclusion Property, personhood, and community Class cultures: vocational identity, flexibility, and mobility New tribalism: leisure, consumption, and situational identity Feminism and the family Gendered and generational identities Religious revival and emerging fundamentalism Memory and forgetting: reworking identities
Assessment methods (in Czech)
The course grades will be based on written work and class attendance. Active participation in the class discussions and a 10-minute presentation based on the course readings will account for 30 percent; the timely completion of brief research assignments for 30 percent; and the final take-home essay for 40 percent of the grade. The deadline for submitting the final essay paper, in an electronic format, is at noon on May 17.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught every other week.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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