SDEb1006 Milestones in modern history

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Jiří Němec, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Jiří Němec, Ph.D.
Department of History – Faculty of Arts
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
the aim of the course is to provide an overview of long-term processes and significant events in the social, political and economic development of European and world society over the last three centuries and to outline the broad historical context of the formation of contemporary globalized society. Attention will be given to four thematic areas: a) the economic and social transformation of early modern state and rural society into modern industrial and urban society, b) the birth and development of the modern state between the nation-state and empire, c) the secularization of thought and the transformation of cultural patterns, and d) the collective social traumas resulting from revolutions, wars, and genocides.
Learning outcomes
Students will gain the ability to: - define the long-term historical processes in the development of society from its pre-modern form to its current form, - identify the basic milestones in the emergence of contemporary society, - explain the modern transformation of the state, citizenship and the birth of modern political ideologies, - identify the turning points in the political history of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Syllabus
  • 1. The idea of progress 2. The origins of industrial society and the dynamics of its development (industrial revolution, industrialization, urbanization) 3. Religion, education, secularization of thought and the importance of science for the transformation of European society 4. The birth of the modern nation and state 5. Revolution, state, public, citizen in the 19th and 20th centuries 6. The formation of political ideologies between tradition and emancipation 7. Milestones in the development of political parties (with a focus on Central Europe) 8. The rise and fall of European empires as the first wave of globalisation 9. War and peace in the modern era (the relationship between the military and society, the transformation of war from an extraordinary instrument of politics into an aggressive crime, peace congresses) 10. War and revolution in the first half of the 20th century 11. The flip side of modernity and its roots (colonialism, racism, anti-Semitism, genocides, the Shoah)
Literature
    required literature
  • BAYLY, C. A. Zrod moderního světa 1780-1914 : globální spojitosti a srovnání. Translated by Jana Ogrocká. 1. vydání. Brno: Centrum pro studium demokracie a kultury, 2019, 570 stran. ISBN 9788073254971. info
  • KERSHAW, Ian. Do pekel a zpět : Evropa 1914-1949. Translated by Zuzana Krulichová - Daniela Orlando - Pavel Vereš. Vydání první. Praha: Argo, 2017, 526 stran. ISBN 9788025723012. info
  • BLACK, Jeremy. A century of conflict : war, 1914-2014. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015, xv, 223. ISBN 9780199372324. info
  • HLAVAČKA, Milan. České země v 19. století : proměny společnosti v moderní době. Praha: Historický ústav, 2014, 478 s. ISBN 9788072862191. info
  • DINER, Dan. Porozumět dvacátému století. Translated by Pavel Váňa. 1. vyd. Brno: Centrum pro studium demokracie a kultury (CDK), 2010, 219 s. ISBN 9788073252083. info
  • LOEWENSTEIN, Bedřich. Víra v pokrok : dějiny jedné evropské ideje. Vyd. 1. Praha: Oikoymenh, 2009, 559 s. ISBN 9788072983032. info
  • FERGUSON, Niall. Válka světa : dějiny věku nenávisti. Translated by Zuzana Gabajová. Vyd. 1. Praha: Academia, 2008, 751 s. ISBN 9788020016508. info
  • VINEN, Richard. Evropa dvacátého století. Translated by Monika Vosková - Vladimír Novák. Vyd. 1. Praha: Vyšehrad, 2007, 556 s. ISBN 9788070217351. info
  • Historie moderní války. Edited by Charles Townshend, Translated by Leonid Křížek. Vyd. 1. Praha: Mladá fronta, 2007, 429 s. ISBN 9788020415400. info
  • LAQUEUR, Walter. Měnící se tvář antisemitismu : od starověku do dnešních dnů. Translated by Petruška Šustrová. Vyd. 1. Praha: NLN, Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, 2007, 216 s. ISBN 9788071069270. info
  • KŘEN, Jan. Dvě století střední Evropy. Vyd. 1. Praha: Argo, 2005, 1109 s. ISBN 8072036122. info
  • RÉMOND, René. Náboženství a společnost v Evropě. Translated by Anna Hánová. Praha: Lidové noviny, 2003, 273 s. ISBN 80-7106-496-3. info
  • SCHULZE, Hagen. Stát a národ v evropských dějinách. Translated by Pavla Lutovská - Karel Kubiš. Praha: Lidové noviny, 2003, 366 s. ISBN 80-7106-393-2. info
  • HILBERG, Raul. Pachatelé, oběti, diváci : židovská katastrofa, 1933-1945. Translated by Margarita Troševa. Vyd. 1. Praha: Argo, 2002, 298 s. ISBN 8072034723. info
Teaching methods
lectures, seminars, seminar papers
Assessment methods
seminar papers, oral examination
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
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