SOC820 Social Minority Construction

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2013
Extent and Intensity
1/1. 6 credit(s). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Martin Fafejta, Ph.D. (lecturer), doc. PhDr. Ing. Radim Marada, Ph.D. (deputy)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Ladislav Rabušic, CSc.
Department of Sociology – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Soňa Enenkelová
Supplier department: Department of Sociology – Faculty of Social Studies
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 27 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
At the end of the course students are informed about basic mechanisms of social construction of minorities, including mechanisms of self-construction of social groups as minority groups.
Students should be
able to use theoretical instruments offered by social constructivism and poststructuralism to identify and analyze these mechanisms;
able to identify minorities that are made invisible by majority discourses (e.g. intersexual minority);
aware that from the analytical point of view, a minority status is given by social marginalization through hegemonic discourses and dominant social constructs rather than by the number of members belonging to given group;
aware that minority groups are not necessarily joined together by fellow feelings and mutual solidarity (e.g. Romanies);
able to identify persons of a minority status among the (apparent) members of majority that find themselves in marginalized positions and form a group identity through their sense of discrimination (e.g. emerging father movement).
Syllabus
  • 1) Theoretical sources of the course – social constructivism, poststructuralism.
  • 2) Basic categorization of minorities with stress on gender and ethnic minorities.
  • 3) Construction of minorities by majority – segregation, marginalization, exclusion.
  • 4) Self-construction of minorities – revitalization/revival, (ethno)emancipatory and self-consciousness movements.
  • 5) Ethnic minorities – ghettoization and culture of poverty, the Holocaust and categorial murder, discursive formation of delinquent group identities.
  • 6) Gender minorities – mechanisms of invisibilization (transgender, interssexuality), men and women in atypical gender positions.
Literature
  • BAUMAN, Zygmunt. Modernita a holocaust. Translated by Jana Ogrocká. Vyd. 1. Praha: Sociologické nakladatelství, 2003, 331 s. ISBN 80-86429-23-7. info
  • BERGER, Peter L. and Thomas LUCKMANN. Sociální konstrukce reality :pojednání o sociologii vědění. Translated by Jiří Svoboda. 1. vyd. Brno: Centrum pro studium demokracie a kultury, 1999, 214 s. ISBN 80-85959-46-1. info
  • BUTLER, Judith. Bodies that matter : on the discursive limits of sex. New York: Routledge, 1993, xii, 288. ISBN 0415903661. info
  • FAFEJTA, Martin. Úvod do sociologie pohlaví a sexuality. Věrovany: Jan Piszkiewicz, 2004, 159 s. ISBN 8086768066. info
  • FAUSTO-STERLING, Anne. Sexing the body :gender politics and the construction of sexuality. 1st ed. New York: Basic books, 2000, xii, 473 s. ISBN 0-465-07714-5. info
  • FOUCAULT, Michel. Dohlížet a trestat :kniha o zrodu vězení. Translated by Čestmír Pelikán. Praha: Dauphin, 2000, 427 s. ISBN 80-86019-96-9. info
  • FOUCAULT, Michel. Dějiny sexuality. V Praze: Herrmann & synové, 1999, 189 s. info
  • Pohledy na národ a nacionalismus :čítanka textů. Edited by Miroslav Hroch. Vyd. 1. Praha: Sociologické nakladatelství, 2003, 451 s. ISBN 80-86429-20-2. info
  • Romové : kulturologické etudy : (etnopolitika, příbuzenství a sociální organizace). Edited by Marek Jakoubek - Tomáš Hirt. Plzeň: Vydavatelství a nakladatelství Aleš Čeněk, 2004, 383 stran. ISBN 808647383X. info
  • KESSLER, Suzanne J. and Wendy MCKENNA. Gender : an ethnomethodological approach. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985, xv, 233. ISBN 0226432068. info
  • LYOTARD, Jean François. Rozepře. Translated by Jiří Pechar. Vyd. 1. Praha: Filosofia, 1998, 323 s. ISBN 80-7007-119-2. info
Teaching methods
3 tutorials, class discussions and analysis based on the reading of assigned literature
Assessment methods
Students have to submit two take-home opinion essays/papers – analysis of selected literature. The assessment of the papers is worth 25 per cent of the final grade. The course is finished by written test with open questions. The test result is worth 75 per cent of the final grade. Only those who submitted both take-home papers and got positive evaluation may complete the finale test.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught: in blocks.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2009, Autumn 2009, Autumn 2010, Autumn 2011, Autumn 2012.
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