HIB0405 Chapters to study totalitarianism and political religions

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2012
Extent and Intensity
0/2. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Jiří Němec, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Jiří Malíř, CSc.
Department of History – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of History – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Mon 9:10–10:45 M24
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 25 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/25, only registered: 0/25, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/25
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Political historiography found a new concept of totalitarianism in second half of the 20th Century to describe European authoritarian political regimes of national socialism and communism. In the beginning was the concept not elaborated by historians, but political thinkers and philosophers like Franz Borkenau, Carl J. Friedrich und Hannah Arendt. In addition to their interpretations developed Raymond Aron and Eric Voegelin their own concepts of „political religion“. Although all of these interpretations were during the time criticised, a rethinking of them can bring some new ideas to study the 20th Century. A good example is study of relationship between ideology, propaganda and ethics of the „New man“. The aim of the course is to familiarise with these classical interpretations of totalitarianism and an attempt to apply their results in study of contemporary publications.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Brief history of totalitarian system of national socialism
  • 3. Brief history of totalitarian system of communism
  • 4. Georg Orwell and literary fiction of totalitarism
  • 5. Concept of totalitarianism according to Franz Borkenau
  • 6. Concept of totalitarianism according to Carl J. Friedrich
  • 7. Concept of totalitarianism according to Hannah Arendt
  • 8. Concept of totalitarianism and political religion according to Raymond Aron
  • 9. Concept of political religion according to Eric Voegelin
  • 10. The idea of „New man“
  • 11. Ethics, moral and rituals of „national socialist“ man
  • 12. Ethics, moral and rituals of „socialist“ man
Literature
  • Aron, R.: Historie XX. století. Praha 1996, s. 137-216.
  • Bärsch, C.-E.: Die politische Religion des Nationalsozialismus. München 1997.
  • Voegelin, E.: Vzpomínky na život a filozofii. Brno 1998.
  • Voegelin, E.: Die politischen Religion. Wien 1938 (nové vydání 1993).
  • GENTILE, Emilio. Politická náboženství : mezi demokracií a totalitarismem. Translated by Hana Mondelli-Lhotáková. 1. vyd. Brno: Centrum pro studium demokracie a kultury, 2008, 223 s. ISBN 9788073251536. info
  • WOLTON, Thierry. Rudohnědá - nemoc 20. století. Vyd. 1. Praha: Volvox Globator, 2003, 436 s. ISBN 8072075136. info
  • ARON, Raymond. Opium intelektuálů. Translated by Helena Beguivinová. 1. vyd. Praha: Mladá fronta, 2001, 355 s. ISBN 8020408428. info
  • BURLEIGH, Michael. The third reich :a new history. 1st pub. London: Pan Books, 2001, xxv, 965 s. ISBN 0-330-48757-4. info
  • FURET, François. Minulosť jednej ilúzie :esej o idei komunizmu v 20. storočí. Vyd. 1. Bratislava: Agora, 2000, 630 s. ISBN 80-967210-4-6. info
  • BESANÇON, Alain. Nemoc století :komunismus, nacismus a holocaust. Vyd. 1. Praha: Themis, 2000, 94 s. ISBN 80-85821-89-3. info
  • VOEGELIN, Erich. Nová věda o politice. Translated by Tomáš Suchomel - Ivo Lukáš. 1. vyd. Brno: Centrum pro studium demokracie a kultury, 2000, 170 s. ISBN 80-85959-67-4. info
  • MAIER, Hans. Politická náboženství :totalitární režimy a křesťanství. Translated by Klára Osolsobě. 1. vyd. Brno: Centrum pro studium demokracie a kultury, 1999, 134 s. ISBN 80-85959-43-7. info
  • ARON, Raymond. Demokracie a totalitarismus. Translated by Vladimír Jochmann. 2. vyd. Brno: Atlantis, 1993, 218 s. ISBN 8071080640. info
Teaching methods
Reading and interpretation of texts, active participation on discussion.
Assessment methods
Final colloquium; seminar paper in form of an essay on given topic.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2010, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2016, Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2012, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2012/HIB0405