SOC465 Future of Europe

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2004
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 12 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
prof. PhDr. Ladislav Rabušic, CSc. (lecturer)
prof. Bart Steenbergen, Dr. (lecturer), prof. PhDr. Ladislav Rabušic, CSc. (deputy)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Ing. Radim Marada, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Soňa Enenkelová
Prerequisites (in Czech)
Participants should have a good command of English, both reading and writing.
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
Course objectives (in Czech)
Based on some future oriented methods in the social sciences like historical development models, forecasting, the comparative prognosis and especially scenario writing, the political, social and cultural future of Europe and the role national states (and especially the Czech Republic)play in that process will be explored.
Syllabus (in Czech)
  • THE FUTURE OF EUROPE IN THE LIGHT OF THE MODERNIZATION PROCESS
  • October 8-14, 2003
  • Intensive Course
  • Place: Masaryk University Brno, Czech Republic.
  • Classes: Continental Hotel (salonek), we meet at 10.00 at the reception of the hotel
  • Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Bart van Steenbergen, Utrecht University/Nyenrode University.
  • The course will focus on a number of social, political and cultural aspects of the Europeanization process with an emphasis on future options and possibilities.
  • The course requires an active participation of the students.
  • Apart from the lectures there will be an emphasis on debate based on opposite statements and positions and presentations by the students. Fluency in english is imperative.
  • The requirements are: - presence during the lectures, - short presentation based on an assignment, - paper sent within three month after the course to the lecturer.
  • Content of the Lectures :
  • 1. What you always wanted to know about the future, but never dared to ask. What are the different approaches in the social sciences with regard tot he future (each one with relevant examples): - the prognosis/forecast (conditional and unconditional, the Delphi-method), - the historical models for the future, - the notion of progress. To what extent does modernization imply progress or not? - the role of utopias and utopian thinking, - Scenario-writing, the design for the future, - the historical analogy or comparative prognosis, - 'looking into the seeds of time' (Shakespeare), - empirical studies with regard to the future.
  • 2. Alternatives to Modernization: Holism and Postmodernity. Social scientists are familiar with the notion of modernization. Here two alternative and oppositional views on the concept of modernization will be discussed. - Holism: the new paradigm. the emphasis on totality, process. The relationship with systemstheory. The societal visibility of the holistic paradigm: social medicine, health care, transpersonal psychology, feminism, social ecology. - Postmodernity. PM in the arts, architecture, philosophy. The vision of a postmodern society: the end of the 'grand narratives'. Visibilty of postmodernism in society. - Holism and postmodernity compared: differences and communalities. - The future of modernity, holism and postmodernity. The picture of the 'good society' based on 'the Active Society' by Amitai Etzioni
  • 3. The revival of citizenship, civil society and civic culture - Three types of citizenship (Marshall) and critique, - The revival of citizenship around 1990. a. the UK: Thatcherism as a threat, b. Central/Eastern Europe: the need for a civil society and a civic Culture (Almond and Verba).High and low trust cultures. c. Western/Southern Europe: The problem of Inclusion and Exclusion: what to do with the newcomers (migrants, regfugees, asylumseekers) - New citizens in society. Policy choices and dilemmas between assimilation, integration and (self)segregation. - Citizenship in the future: Extension of the notion of citzenship: European Citizenship (Habermas), Global Citizenship (Falk), Ecological citizenship (van Steenbergen), Cultural citizenship (Pakulski, Turner).
  • 4. The Welfare State, a European invention - what is a welfare state? - typology of Welfare States according to Esping Andersen. - the forgotten welfare states: the Mediterranean countries, the countries of Central/Eastern Europe. - the recent problems of the welfare state. - The future of the welfare state The three possible routes of the modern welfare state: the neo-liberal, the labour reduction and the social investment route. Is there a 'social Europe' in the making? Developments and options,
  • 5. Will Europe work? The role of labour in modern and post modern society. - the notion of work centrality as a cultural factor. - the trend towards a decreasing centrality of work in the seventies of the 20st century. - The reversal of that trend since the eighties: from welfare state to workfare state. - some empirical data on the 'work- ethos' in different countries (among them Italy and the Netherlands). - The role of work in the future. Tendencies and trends strengthening and weakening the work-centrality Work as 'labeur' or work as 'fun'? work in the future, a post modern view.
  • 6. Europe in the world, the globalizationprocess. - What is globalization, what aspects can we distinguish and what are the main problems and dilemmas? - Economic globalization: does globalization lead to greater inequality? - Political globalization. Does the absence of a world government imply global anarchism? The difference between global government and global governance. - Social globalization. Does globalization mean the end of the welfare state? The growing role of global actors like the IMF and the Worldbank with regard to global social policy. The special position of the countries of Central/Eastern Europe in this respect. - Cultural globalization. The dilemma of homogenization (McDonaldization) and heterogenization (a post modern melange). Globalization and the future. Here special attention will be given to the problem of a 'clash of civilizations' (Huntington); the tension between universalism and particularism.
Assessment methods (in Czech)
The course will start on Wednesday October 8 at 10.00 and will end on Tuesday October 14 2003.That means six working days of three hours of classes, altogether 18 hours The course will be finished by an assignment which will be a paper, preferably in the form of a scenario.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
The course is taught only once.
The course is taught: in blocks.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2002, Autumn 2003, Autumn 2005, Autumn 2006, Autumn 2007, Autumn 2009, Autumn 2010.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2004, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2004/SOC465