Contemporary History

Contemporary history is an extremely dynamically developing field of social science. Its aim is to open the way for students to find answers to questions concerning the recent past, to reveal and understand the various types and levels of context that have an impact on the present, and to understand current developments in the Czech Republic, in Europe and in the world. On the one hand, students will become familiar with current trends in historiography; on the other, they will acquire competence in working with sources, in the use of research techniques and in data analysis, but also in their interpretation. The discipline develops analytical skills that are in demand today in various fields of human activity: in teaching at all types of school, research, the sphere of established and new social media, the non-profit sector and national and local government. On this course, graduates acquire qualifications that will enable them to continue in various social science master’s study programmes and in the future to engage in independent research or expert analytical work. The programme is suitable for all high school students interested in modern history. At the bachelor’s level, it is currently unique in the Czech Republic in that it offers concentrated teaching of contemporary history – i.e., history since the end of the Second World War. Its second unique aspect lies in the interdisciplinary cooperation of contemporary history experts and social science specialists.

After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• define relevant research questions regarding contemporary history;
• reveal and understand the various types and levels of historical context influencing the present and informing our understanding of contemporary developments;
• orientate themselves in current trends in historiography;
• work with sources and analyse and interpret data;
• use standard and new, advanced research techniques;
• create and defend their professional decisions and take responsibility for them.

Completion of the programme allows graduates to continue in various social science master’s study programmes and in the future to devote themselves to independent research or expert analytical work. At the same time, graduates of the programme are also ready to work in various fields of human activity: education, media, non-profit and for-profit sectors, and national and local government.

A mandatory part of the study programme is professional practice (the course entitled “Practice”), 100 hours of which are supervised. The internship should be completed in the fifth or sixth semester of study. Departments participating in the programme provide students with work placements with their long-term institutional partners (including museums, archives and the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes), where students may carry out their practical work. The practice is oriented towards the acquisition of competences both in terms of working with sources and basic research activities in the field of contemporary history.

The standard length of a bachelor’s thesis is 63,000 to 90,000 characters including footnotes, title page, table of contents, index, bibliography and abstracts. The bachelor’s thesis has the character of independent empirical research, carried out using both primary sources and secondary literature. Theses should document the author’s ability to define a research problem, orient themselves in the current state of knowledge on the given topic and relevant concepts and theories, formulate original research questions, identify suitable methods enabling these questions to be answered, carry out their own research and finally formulate conclusions. Instructions for state final exams and preparation for a bachelor/diploma thesis are regulated by FSS Directive No. 6/2019 On state final exams for students of the Faculty of Social Studies of Masaryk University.

A graduate of the bachelor’s study programme can (upon meeting the admission conditions) continue in any follow-up master’s study at the Faculty of Arts or at the Faculty of Social Studies of Masaryk University, or in any follow-up master’s programme of any Czech or foreign university with a humanities or social science focus.