RLMgB522 Religion and Culture from the Perspective of Macrohistorical Factors

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2023
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Tomáš Glomb, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Aleš Chalupa, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Jana Valtrová, Ph.D.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Matouš Vencálek
Supplier department: Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
each odd Tuesday 16:00–17:40 J.509
Prerequisites (in Czech)
TYP_STUDIA(MND)
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 50 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 1/50, only registered: 0/50, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/50
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to acquaint students of the study of religions (as well as prospective students of history, Mediterranean studies, ancient history or of other fields) with selected macro-historical factors that had a major impact on the history and development of human cultures and societies. In this course, macro-historical factors are primarily understood as 1) technological inventions that either contributed to the transformation of human physiology or led to a dramatic transformation of the way of life and the form of culture and religion; 2) ecological and environmental factors that have shaped cultural strategies of different societies with major implications for their future development and history.
Learning outcomes
After successful completion of this course, students:
- will have a wider and more thorough knowledge of key macro-historical factors
- will be able to explain the course of some important historical events and processes in the light of these macro-historical factors
- will be able to apply one of the discussed theories to explain specific historical processes
Syllabus
  • 0. Introductory Class; 1. Introduction to Macro-History and “Deep History”; 2. Hominization and evolutionary success of Homo Sapiens; 3. Neolithic Revolution and its implications for the future history of mankind I; 4. Neolithic Revolution and its implications for the future history of mankind II; 5. Ecological and geographical factors and their influence on the history of civilizations; 6. Cliodynamics: a project of mathematization of history I; 7. Cliodynamics: a project of mathematization of history II; 8. Axial Age: Causes and Consequences; 9. Technology of the word and its influence on the course of history; 10. Parasites and cultural diversity; 11. Formalized modeling and agent based simulations in historiography; 12. Final discussion.
Literature
    required literature
  • DIAMOND, Jared M. Osudy lidských společností : střelné zbraně, choroboplodné zárodky a ocel v historii. Translated by Zdeněk Urban. 1. vyd. Praha: Columbus, 2000, 525 s. ISBN 8072490478. info
  • HARARI, Yuval N. Sapiens : úchvatný i úděsný příběh lidstva. Translated by Anna Pilátová. V nakladatelství Leda vydá. Voznice: Leda, 2014, 518 stran. ISBN 9788087440896. info
Teaching methods
Lectures and seminar discussions about the obligatory texts.
Assessment methods
For the final colloquium, the student prepares a research proposal on a chosen topic that will address one of the two problems listed below:
1.How to explain the historical development of a particular culture or religion or a certain historical event based on the influence of a macro-historical factor?
2. How can the predictions based on some of the theories presented in the course be empirically verified?
The submission of a research proposal is an entry condition for a participation in the oral colloquium. The oral colloquium consists of:
- Presentation of the research proposal up to a maximum of 10 minutes (obligatory is the preparation of powerpoint presentation) and its defense in a subsequent discussion (70% of the evaluation)
- Verification of factual knowledge in the extent of the topics presented during the lectures and included in the obligatory reading (30% of the assessment).
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Zápis mimo religionistiku je podmíněn souhlasem vyučujícího.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2023/RLMgB522