RLDrA10 Theory and Method

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2026
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 10 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Milan Fujda, Ph.D. (lecturer)
prof. PhDr. David Zbíral, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Radek Chlup, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Tomáš Bubík, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. David Zbíral, Ph.D.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Jana Gryc
Supplier department: Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites (in Czech)
RLDrA01 Dissertation Project
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
Abstract
The course teaches deeper theoretical and methodological skills through the reading of up-to-date theoretical and methodological texts and discussion of their content.
Learning outcomes
After passing the course, students are able to:
  • analyze thoroughly the problems of objectivity in research;
  • embody critical reflection of the research practice and its situatedness into ones research activity;
  • respectfullyreflect on ethics and politics in research and comply with formal ethical guidelines where applicable;
  • integrate ethical reflection concerning interests or risks and uncertainties embedded in research participation or in research subjects and their environment into research practice;
  • plan and design research pragmatically and efficiently with regard to its theoretical goals;
  • avoid elementary errors in the analytical process.
    • Key topics
    • Research objectivity.
    • Critical relfection of research practice and its situatedness in research.
    • The researcher's identity in the field and in relation to a research topic.
    • Ethical aspects of research practice.
    • Research design in relation to the research aim.
    • Data analysis.
    Study resources and literature
      required literature
    • LATOUR, Bruno. Reassembling the social : an introduction to actor-network-theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005, x, 301. ISBN 9780199256051. info
    • NORENZAYAN, Ara; Azim F. SHARIFF; Will M. GERVAIS; Aiyana K. WILLARD; Rita A. MCNAMARA; Edward SLINGERLAND and Joseph HENRICH. The cultural evolution of prosocial religions. BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES. CAMBRIDGE: CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS, 2016, vol. 39, p. 1-30. ISSN 0140-525X. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X14001356. info
    • LANG, Martin; Benjamin G PURZYCKI; Coren L APICELLA; Quentin D ATKINSON; Alexander BOLYANATZ; Emma COHEN; Carla HANDLEY; Eva KUNDTOVÁ KLOCOVÁ; Carolyn LESOROGOL; Sarah MATHEW; Rita A MCNAMARA; Cristina MOYA; Caitlyn D PLACEK; Montserrat SOLER; Thomas VARDY; Jonathan L WEIGEL; Aiyana K WILLARD; Dimitris XYGALATAS; Ara NORENZAYAN and Joseph HENRICH. Moralizing gods, impartiality and religious parochialism across 15 societies. Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences. The Royal Society Publishing, 2019, vol. 286, No 1898, p. 1-10. ISSN 0962-8452. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0202. URL info
    • GINZBURG, Carlo. Clues, Myths, and the Historical Method. John Hopkins University Press, 1990. info
    Approaches, practices, and methods used in teaching
    The course is based on seminar discussions. Its topics reflect the required reading and the students' presentations, which aim at solving relevant problems in their dissertation projects. The main outcome is the first draft of the dissertation chapter that deals with theoretical orientation and key methodological issues of the doctoral research.
    Method of verifying learning outcomes and course completion requirements
    An essay in the form of the theoretical-methodological introductory chapter of the dissertation (70%).
    Essay defence - colloquial defence of the methodological chapter of the dissertation (30%).
    Language of instruction
    Czech
    Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
    The course is taught each semester.
    The course is taught every other week.
    Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
    Teacher's information
    A detailed synopsis of seminars is available in the e-course in ELF.
    The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023, Autumn 2024, Autumn 2025.
    • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2026, recent)
    • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2026/RLDrA10