SOC305 Cultural Anthropology of Post-Socialism

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2012
Extent and Intensity
2/2. 10 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Miklós Vörös, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Dr. Aleš Burjanek, Ph.D. (assistant)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Ing. Radim Marada, Ph.D.
Division of Sociology – Department of Sociology – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Soňa Enenkelová
Supplier department: Division of Sociology – Department of Sociology – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Thu 20. 9. 14:00–19:40 U34, Thu 11. 10. 14:00–19:40 U34, Thu 8. 11. 14:00–19:40 U34, Thu 29. 11. 14:00–19:40 U34
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 4 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/4, only registered: 0/4, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/4
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This course gives an overview of the major themes and paradigms in the cultural anthropological research of late-state-socialist and post-socialist societies. Thus, it focuses both on the palette of various fields that have been seen as specific to the region, as well as on the important shifts of attention from one topic to another over the course of the past two decades.
By the end of the seminar students should be able to:
-- Apply cultural anthropological approaches in various fields of post-socialist societies.
-- Conduct a brief ethnographic research on the observable cultural practices in a post-socialist society.
Syllabus
  • 1. What Is East-Central Europe? Political and Cultural Geographies
  • 2. What Was Socialism? Historical Development and Economic Conceptualizations
  • 3. East-Central Europe as an Area of Anthropological Studies
  • 4. Political and Economic Theories of State Socialism
  • 5. Practical Critique: Economic Reforms, Consumer Socialism, Second Economy Activities
  • 6. Theories and Histories of the Transition
  • 7. Student Presentations
  • 8. Wild East: Global Capitalism in East-Central Europe
  • 9. Privatization, Consumerism, and the Discourse on Normality
  • 10. Trajectories of Social and Cultural Change after 1989
  • 11. Student Presentations
  • 12. History and National Identity in the Post-Socialist Context
  • 13. Forms of Nationalism in East-Central Europe
  • 14. Gender and Generation: Enduring Traditions of Exclusion
  • 15. Student Presentations and Discussion of Field Observations
Literature
    required literature
  • Verdery, Katherine (1991) Theorizing Socialism: A Prologue to the ‘Transition’. American Ethnologist, Vol. 18, No. 3, Representations of Europe: Transforming State, Society, and Identity (Aug. 1991), 419–439.
  • Sampson, Steven (1991) Is There an Anthropology of Socialism? Anthropology Today, Vol. 7, No. 5 (Oct. 1991), 16–19.
  • Uncertain transition : ethnographies of change in the postsocialist world. Edited by Michael Burawoy - Katherine Verdery. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1996, vi, 322 s. ISBN 0-8476-9042-3. info
  • HALPERN, Joel Martin and David A. KIDECKEL. Anthropology of Eastern Europe. 1983. info
  • HOFER, Tamás. Anthropologists and Native Ethnographers in Central European Villages:Comparative Notes on the Professional Personality of Two Disciplines. 1968. info
    not specified
  • Wolfe, Thomas C. (2000) Cultures and Communities in the Anthropology of Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. Annual Review of Anthropology, Vol. 29 (2000), 195–216.
  • Verdery, Katherine (1996) What Was Socialism, and Why Did It Fall? In What Was Socialism, and What Comes Next? (Princeton: Princeton University Press), 19–38.
  • Altering states : ethnographies of transition in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. Edited by Daphne Berdahl - Matti Bunzl - Martha Lampland. Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 2000, vi, 252 s. ISBN 0-472-11058-6. info
  • BRUBAKER, Rogers. Nationalism reframed : nationhood and the national question in the new Europe. 1st pub. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996, xi, 202 s. ISBN 0-521-57224-X. info
Teaching methods
The format of the course is a combination of brief lectures and a thorough discussion of assigned readings. The students are encouraged to read both classic and innovative ethnographies as well as theoretical syntheses of the relevant literature, and be prepared to give concise presentations on them. They are also required to conduct a brief ethnographic research on cultural practices and write down their observations in a field diary.
Assessment methods
The course grades will be based on written work and class participation. The in-class presentation of selected readings and active participation in the classroom discussions will account for 30 percent, completion of the brief research assignment on ethnographic observations for 30 percent, and submitting the final take-home essay for 40 percent of the grade. It is not allowed to miss more than one seminar session – sign up for the course only if you are able to be present during all classes.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2008, Autumn 2009, Spring 2010, Autumn 2010, Autumn 2011, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2014, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2016.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2012, recent)
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