FPFVA007 Constructing Identities in 19th Century Central Europe

Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava
Summer 2014
Extent and Intensity
0/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Martin Pelc, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Martin Pelc, Ph.D.
Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 20 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The main idea of the course is that identities are not a primordial heritige, on the contrary, they can be constructed actively. The 19th century as the "prehistory of today" means a turn in European History in the process of substitution premodern identities by modern ones. Some traditional identities are instrumentalized, but new ones have to be invented in order to grant the population a satisfying orientation in the rapidly changing world. The course aims at showing that the modern identities have a different quality than the pre-modern ones. The main focus is on state/national identities which were pivotal to the 19th century Europe. Geographically, the course focuses on Central Europe, i. e. Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, whose complicated ethnical, confessional and social structure provides a high number of examples of construction of modern identities.
Syllabus
  • 1. Changing Identities in the Age of Modernization
    2. Europe as a Cultural Construct and the "Others"
    3. German Nation and German State
    4. Austria-Hungary: An Empire Without Identity?
    5. Language and Modern National Identity
    6. Historiography and Modern National Identity
    7. Representing Nation
    8. Constructing National Identities: The Czech Case
    9. Constructing National Identities: The Jewish Case
    10. Constructing National Identities: European Comparation
    11. Modern Social Identities in Central Europe
    12. Discussing other modern identities
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
Teacher's information
" 80% attendance in classes
" active participation in discussions
" critical essay of 5-10 pages debating a chosen modern myth
The course is also listed under the following terms Summer 2015, Summer 2016, Summer 2017, Summer 2018, Summer 2019, Winter 2019, Summer 2020, Summer 2021, Summer 2022, Summer 2023, Summer 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Summer 2014, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.slu.cz/course/fpf/summer2014/FPFVA007