Interactive Syllabus

Lecturers

Vladimír Hyánek Vladimir.Hyanek@econ.muni.cz

Alena Kluknavská Alena.Kluknavska@econ.muni.cz

Jiří Navrátil jiri.navratil@fss.muni.cz 

Intro

This course is designed to introduce students to the major perspectives in the study of civil society in the context of the economy and public policies. The classes consist of three blocs, each of which entails several lectures and seminar discussion.

The course aims at bridging the gap between civil society studies, economics, and public policy studies. It provides theoretical foundations from both economics and non-economics social sciences, whilst developing an expansive knowledge of applied areas of the research.

First, the perspective of civil society as an economic actor is introduced.

Second, the course focuses on the perspective of economic and political sociology in the study of civil society.

Finally, the course aims at understanding the interaction between civil society and politics, which helps to gain insight into the key questions of public policy-making.

This course enhances students' comprehension of the characteristics, determinants and consequences of collective action with regard to economy and public policy-making in liberal democracies. The convergence of approaches offers students with a background in economics to expand their knowledge of non-economics social sciences and students from non-economics social science studies to broaden their understanding of economic perspective in the research on civil society. At the same time, the course shall provide insightful knowledge of the issue also for the students of humanities, law, philosophy, education and other disciplines.

The requirements for the students are: 

1. Presentation of a selected article/paper in a seminar discussion (10 min presentation)

o   Presentation should include

• A brief overview of a problem identified by a research paper: problem statement, research questions posed by the author(s), methods, findings, discussion of the findings, conclusions – offer an overview of the paper, but be brief and concise;
• Your own review of the paper: discuss its strengths and weaknesses, provide arguments and counter-arguments against its main claims, etc. Look for what seems problematic in either part of the paper, for instance, in the main argument of the paper, questions asked, theory chosen, hypotheses created, data or method used, interpretations of the findings, the conclusion drawn; in other words, what is unclear and why;
• A summary describing your position towards the paper and justification of your criticism/appraisal. Note to keep in mind: this exercise shall improve also your writing and analytical skills when preparing your own research paper or thesis.

o   Presentations take place during the final seminar meeting within each bloc (semester weeks 5, 8, and 12); you can find the list of papers at the end of each bloc. PLEASE DO NOT FORGET TO ANNOUNCE YOUR PRESENTATION TOPIC SELECTION TO THE HEAD OF THE BLOC AT LEAST ONE WEEK BEFORE THE PRESENTATION (maximum 2-3 students per one study bloc)!

2. Final paper: 10 pages, it shall reflect some of the issues covered by the course. Please consult your topic individually with the head of a particular bloc and submit your topic during week 7 at the latest (maximum 2-3 students per one study bloc)! Deadline for paper submission is 31/12/2020.