SOCn5013 Morality and Public Sphere

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2021
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 10 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Taught online.
Teacher(s)
Dr. Werner Binder (lecturer)
doc. PhDr. Kateřina Nedbálková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Kateřina Nedbálková, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Soňa Enenkelová
Supplier department: Department of Sociology – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Thu 18:00–19:40 U33
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! SOC580 Morality and Public Sphere
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 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 9 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
This course offers an introduction into sociological theories of morality and the public sphere. Main interest will be the conjunction of both: public morality. We will read texts that offer insights into the emergence of public opinions on moral topics as well as on the autonomy and rationality of moral discourses. This year, the course focuses on political and moral responses to the Covid crisis. We will read cultural sociological texts investigating the public discourses, narratives, performances and icons of the pandemic.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students should be able to analyze public discourses with regard to their moral implications and cultural structure.
Syllabus
  • I Organizational Meeting
  • II Durkheim: Moral Facts, Human Rights and the Dreyfus-Affair
  • III Habermas: The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere and Civil Society
  • IV Alexander: Civil Sphere and the Watergate-Affaire
  • V Boltanski & Thévenot: Regimes of Justification
  • VI Adut: Scandal and the Public Sphere
  • Reading Week
  • VII Race and Gender in the Public Sphere: The Dolezal-Affair
  • VIII Cultural Sociology, Covid and the Public Sphere: The Case of the UK
  • IX Narratives in the Public Sphere: Global Warming and the Covid Crisis
  • X Performances in the Public Sphere: Performing Power and Affliction
  • XI Icons in the Public Sphere: The Refugee and the Covid Crisis
  • XII Alexander: The Societalization of Social Problems
Literature
  • BRUBAKER, Rogers. Trans : gender and race in an age of unsettled identities. Princeton: Princeton University Press. xvii, 236. ISBN 9780691172354. 2016. info
  • ALEXANDER, Jeffrey C. The civil sphere. New York: Oxford University Press. xix, 793. ISBN 0195162501. 2006. info
  • HABERMAS, Jürgen. The structural transformation of the public sphere : an inquiry into a category of Bourgeois society. 10th print. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. xix, 301 s. ISBN 0-262-08180-6. 1999. info
  • HABERMAS, Jürgen. Between facts and norms : contributions to a discourse theory of law and democracy. 1st ed. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. xliii, 631. ISBN 0-262-08243-8. 1998. info
Teaching methods
Seminar discusions, presentations
Assessment methods
1. Participation in class – 15% 2. Presentation in class or final essay – 15% 3. Final paper – 70%
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2021/SOCn5013